Chips aren’t the healthiest of snacks—but they’re pretty difficult to resist. However, the way one TikToker eats salt with her chips has left the internet divided.
Chips have gone viral on the internet before, whether that be for potato chips growing roots or for the stingy servings of Doritos in bags. However, TikToker Callie’s (@callieeeef) chips videos have sparked a different kind of debate.
The main video, which has garnered 6.4 million views, shows her reaching into her bag of chips, opening a container of salt, and dipping the chip in there, providing it with a generous coating of salt. She then appears to eat the chip, doing this multiple times.
What Did Commenters Say?
The vast majority of commenters were concerned.
“Hey, hi. Nurse here,” one wrote. “Stop doing that. Immediately.”
“Hey, sis! So, this was me and turns out I have Addison’s Disease,” a second added. “Go get your labs done!”
While a third quipped, “Hiya – I’m an EMT. Love the lemon sweater btw! Mind if come over in my ambulance to see it?”
Similarly, a fourth said, “Hey twin! I’m bored. We should go get blood work done together!”
Meanwhile, a fifth shared, “This was me…. Then found out I have POTS… now I have a reason to continue eating hella salt.”
Still, there were other commenters who defended this dietary choice. “Everyone saying get labs done..I’m obsessed with salt, I chew on ice….my labs are perfect every single time…some people just like salt and s—,” a sixth claimed.
What Else Happened?
Callie then issued a follow-up video.
As she continued to dip and eat, she said, “There’s a video of myself eating tortilla chips with sea salt, and it’s blowing up. I don’t know why.”
“I’m getting all different types of comments from, ‘I need to see a doctor’ to ‘I found my bestie.’ But I was doing it with tortilla chips. Think that’s good?” she asks.
The TikToker then picks up the bag of potato chips and shows it to viewers, sharing that it is the Border chips with the beef tallow.
“So good,” Callie added, continuing to make her way through the salt and her chips. “You’re eating a steak dinner.”
“Also, for those of you asking, no, I don’t eat sea salt all the time.” She then held up a bag of Realsalt and told viewers that she usually eats this salt. “It’s Realsalt with real minerals,” she added.
“A lot of the salt that we eat doesn’t contain the minerals that we need. So, I use that salt. And then when I want to be fancy, I use the flaky sea salt that you can get literally anywhere,” she explained. Callie then coated a chip with sea salt and held it to the camera.
“And for all the people commenting that I have low iron, or I have POTS or whatever the other comments were,” she said. “Um, I have none of that. I actually did get blood work done and my blood work is completely normal, it’s just me wanting salt.”
Callie then pointed out that she doesn’t do this all the time: “It’s just sometimes I want salt and I want chips. It’s my salsa!”
The video is overlaid with on-screen text reading, “Saltsa,” along with a salt and dancing woman emoji.
Introducing ‘Saltsa’
Callie’s second follow-up contained the same overlaying text. With her trusty salt and chip combo, she told viewers, “Before you call me crazy you have to try it yourself.”
She then debunked claims that she was cutting videos to make it seem like she was consuming salt when she wasn’t, and further denied that her video was “ragebait.”
“You can think that, but I just like salt,” she said, before continuing to eat the combo.
In this video, she was eating the dill pickle-flavored Boulder Canyon chips with salt. The TikToker also remarked that her favorite flavors were the classic and beef tallow.
“Yes, I drink water after this,” Callie added, continuing her snack.
She then remarked that viewers “aren’t ready” for her “butter videos.”
“I eat butter like it’s a blueberry,” she admitted. The TikToker pointed out that one commenter had found said butter video further down on her page and commented about it.
“I’m surprised that more of you didn’t find it,” Callie added. “But someone did and made me giggle because I eat a lot of butter.”
Does She Do This Often?
In an emailed interview with BroBible, Callie said, “I realized I was doing something that most people probably don’t do, so I figured it would be fun to post.”
When asked about the reception to her video, she classifies it as “crazy” and adds, “Most comments have been negative and/or others concerned with my health. I did not expect the video to blow up considering I posted it about a month prior.”
As for the comments regarding her health, the TikToker added, “I appreciate the ones that are actually concerned and not mean about it. I regularly consult my doctor, and he told me I was fine.”
She also said she has been eating this combo for “a few months now,” but admits that she has “always been a salt lover.”
In terms of how often she eats the combo, Callie says it is “every once in a while.”
“I would say on a monthly basis, maybe two or three times,” she said. “I can only eat a few chips/salt at a time in one sitting.”
Finally, when asked if there’s a particular reason she likes it so much, Callie explains, “Aside from loving salt, I realized one day that I wanted the boulder chips sea salt flavor to be slightly saltier, so I dipped my chip in the sea salt. It was a game changer.”
@callieeeef Salt salsa 💃
How Much Salt Should You Eat?
According to the American Heart Association, Americans eat an average of over 3,300mg of salt daily. However, the organization recommends that people should eat no more that 2,300mg daily. Optimally, they suggest American adults should aim for 1,500 per day.
In an interview with USA TODAY, cardiology dietitian Michelle Routhenstein said, “For most people, consistently consuming more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day can have negative health effects, including damage to the endothelial lining of blood vessels, increased blood pressure, and a higher risk of heart disease and plaque progression.”
That being said, one observational study found no clear link between consuming sodium above the recommended guidelines and mortality. However, it should be noted that the authors said this data “should not be used as a base for nutritional interventions.”