DEAR DR. BLONZ: Are corn chips, bean chips or any of the other types of fried vegetable chips any better for you than plain potato chips? There is a definite split on the answer in my group of friends. The Nutrition Facts panels on the packages are not much help. Who is right? -- G.G., Claremont, California

DEAR G.G.: Sorry to confound your quest for an absolute winner, but among the contenders you cite, this one is a bit of a draw. The chip family continues its population explosion, perhaps because it represents such a “value added” enterprise for the manufacturer. There is some nutritional progress, in that all these products must now reveal any trans fats along with the other substances and ingredients. With few exceptions, however, the new members, at least those in the fried-chip family, do not stray that far in terms of nutritional assets.

Corn or bean chips will be slightly higher in some nutrients, while potato chips will have more of others. But neither would be considered good sources for any of the essential vitamins, minerals or fiber. As such, neither should claim to be “better” for you. These are snack foods, not items that deserve consideration for the center of the plate.

Aside from potato and corn chips, you can now find chips that are made from vegetables such as black beans, carrots, spinach, taro, plantains, bell peppers and beets. These vegetables are usually present in small proportions, and usually in combination with corn. Their strong colors lend eye appeal and a novel marketing angle. Fruit chips are also available: apple, pear, peach, banana and more. If these catch on, bits of the entire harvest may find their way into the deep-fat fryer.

All chips share a large surface area, so regardless of their lineage, a deep-fat fry will leave them with that caloric residue -- discernable on your hands when you eat them. If there isn’t any nutritional information available, you can estimate 7 to 10 grams of fat per 12- to 15-chip serving. If you find yourself drawn to chips, opt for those made with a non-hydrogenated canola oil, peanut oil or high-oleic safflower oil.

Fried chips remain the most popular kind, but there are new lines of baked chips to consider. When made from whole foods, they may be worth a try. Whenever dealing with chips, be sure to check the level of sodium per serving.

As always, I recommend the whole food over a chip made from its parts. The whole food provides the fiber and all the phytochemicals the plant produces to assure its continued survival; with chips, we get an extract formulated to provide an attractive appearance, taste and texture that holds together as a thin layer. To see what you are missing, visit the USDA database for any given whole food (ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb), then compare that with the equal weight of the chips you are considering.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: I am concerned about the dark circles under my eyes. They seem to run in my family, and I wonder if there are any vitamins, minerals or herbs I can take that might help. -- D.C., Tucson, Arizona

DEAR D.C.: Darkness under the eyes can be brought about by certain medical conditions, including allergies, dehydration, sleep difficulties and stress, and you should consult your physician if you have questions as to whether any of these might be involved.

Another common cause is the natural thinness of the skin under the eyes. The skin itself isn’t dark, but it is often thin enough to see the vascular bed underneath. This trait can indeed run in families, and its presence does not necessarily reflect any health problems. If one is fatigued, ill or under stress, the skin can become pale, and this would accentuate the darkness.

I am sorry to report that aside from using a normal, healthful diet and lifestyle to cope with life’s stresses, I am unaware of evidence showing that particular vitamins, minerals or herbs can help eliminate this problem.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: During my childhood, my grandmother from northern Italy made delicious candy from the seeds of peaches. Every fall, after we feasted on the fresh fruit, she took the seeds and fried them in butter, then added sugar till it all melted. It became the most delicious brittle candy. Now I have learned that there is poison in peach pits. Was the candy dangerous? We never got sick from it. -- L.D., Hillside, New Jersey

DEAR L.D.: It is fortunate that you did not get sick from that candy. Peach pits are not really the safest items to have in one’s diet. They, along with apricot kernels and apple seeds, are sources of a cyanide-containing compound known as amygdalin. Although a natural substance, cyanide is a very potent poison because it can effectively shut down metabolism. The body has a recovery mechanism, and as with most toxic materials, it’s the dose that determines the impact. The fact that you’re around to relate this story shows that the amount of cyanide in the peach pit brittle was insufficient to cause any obvious harm. But this is not a recipe I would pass down to future generations.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: I like to grind flax seeds and use them in my foods. I do not want them to go rancid, and was wondering if they need to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Also: Can fish oil capsules and other omega-3 supplements go rancid in the same way? -- E.A., San Diego

DEAR E.A.: You are correct in your approach to flax. The seed wall is designed to protect the oils within, but once the seeds have been ground, there needs to be some protection from oxidation. I would not recommend purchasing ground flax from a bulk bin, for example, where the grounds may have been sitting around for long periods of time.

If ground flax is in a well-sealed container, it should be OK at room temperature, but would do even better in the refrigerator. As regards fish oil, capsules are designed to protect their contents. If unbroken, they should be performing that function.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: Aluminum cookware has been rumored to be associated with some health problems. We have been using a set of premium hard-anodized aluminum pans, but some friends who were over for a meal were saying I should replace them. These are quality products, but I do not want to put my family at risk. I noticed that this company’s product literature has dropped the word “aluminum” and now just says that their cookware is hard-anodized. -- S.L., Tucson, Arizona

DEAR S.L.: This question about the potential dangers of aluminum cookware comes up periodically. It is based on circumstantial evidence, rather than established evidence of cause and effect. The concern carries special weight because it involves the risk of Alzheimer’s disease: the progressive, as-yet incurable loss of mental faculties. Some claim that a “toxic” level of aluminum in the brain leads to the disease.

There is no evidence that exposure to aluminum through the diet is responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. One part of the puzzle is that patients’ levels of aluminum in their blood, hair and skin remain normal, which would suggest we are not dealing with an aluminum “toxicity” as much as a malfunction in brain tissue that results in aluminum’s accumulation.

It is important to understand that aluminum is present throughout our environment. In fact, it’s the third most common element in the Earth’s crust, and occurs naturally in plant and animal foods. It is also found in some food additives, medications such as antacids, and deodorants. To put this in perspective, a study in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants (Jan./Feb. 1995) reported that if you were to take an entire day’s food supply, store it in aluminum containers, prepare it in aluminum cookware and wrap it in foil, your aluminum intake for the day would be approximately 6 milligrams. If you did that for a full week, that would be a weekly intake of 42 mg. The tolerable weekly intake, set by a joint U.N./World Health Organization expert committee, is just over 3 milligrams per pound of body weight: so, for a 150-pound individual, 450 mg per week would be tolerable. That’s quite bit higher than the 42 mg if the aluminum exercise were to be done for an entire week.

Shifting from this information to other issues, the new breed of hardened (anodized) aluminum is considered safe for all foods, including high-acid foods. This means that little or no aluminum would be released into the food, irrespective of the type of food prepared. Hardened aluminum, therefore, gets moved even further down the suspect list.

I don’t know why the company changed its advertising, but it may be a desire to distinguish their product from other forms of aluminum cookware -- even though the connection between eating foods prepared with aluminum cookware and the risk of disease remains to be established.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.