The 8 Unhealthiest Tortillas & Wraps, According to a Nutritionist

Tortillas and wraps can—and should—be simple, wholesome foods. When made at home, they typically require just a few basic ingredients: flour or cornmeal, salt, water, and a source of fat. Mixed together and rolled flat, they create a soft-yet-sturdy base for all kinds of delicious fillings.

The trouble is, commercially made tortillas and wraps aren't always so straightforward—or healthy. Some are oversized to restaurant-level portions, while others are packed with fillers, sodium, or artificial colors and flavors.

As a decades-long resident of the Southwest, I know what makes a tortilla truly great. And as a nutritionist, I've learned to carefully examine nutrition facts labels when shopping for them at the grocery store. I look for options with a short ingredient list, moderate calorie count, and limited sodium. Here are eight that don't make the grade. Read on, and for what to buy instead, check out 6 Healthiest Tortillas & Wraps, According to a Nutritionist.

Old El Paso Restaurant Style Grande Flour Tortillas

If you're watching your carbs, leave Old El Paso's Restaurant Style Grande Flour Tortillas on the shelf. Each individual tortilla supplies 52 grams of carbohydrates.

These king-sized wraps also contain palm oil and hydrogenated vegetable oil. Palm oil has been called a "cruel" oil by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, due to its harms for human and environmental health. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, meanwhile, contains trans fats—the kind associated with increased risk of heart disease.

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Guerrero Sonora Style Flour Tortillas

Holy guacamole! This giant flour tortilla has the highest calorie count on our list at 360. (That's 40 more calories than the tortilla at Chipotle.) Not only is Guerrero's product practically big enough to be a blanket, it's seriously heavy on sodium at 34% of the Daily Value (DV). Since you might be loading up your burrito with salty fillings like refried beans or seasoned ground beef, you could end up with more sodium than you bargain for.

Mission Garden Spinach Herb Wrap

You'd think, from its green color and the word "spinach" in its name, that Mission's Garden Spinach Herb wrap would be a good choice. Unfortunately, that's not the case. This 220-calorie wrap isn't made with fresh spinach. Rather, it uses a seasoning that contains spinach powder. This seasoning is the fourth ingredient in its list, meaning it probably doesn't contain much spinach at all.

You might not like what else this wrap conceals: artificial colors like Yellow 5, aluminum lake, and Blue 1. Though the FDA approves the use of these in small amounts in food, they're still controversial, since some studies indicate that colorings like Blue 1 could have toxic effects.

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Ortega Flour Tortillas

Ortega Flour Tortillas may only be 120 calories each, but a look at their ingredient list reveals that they're not so innocent when it comes to nutrition. After flour, water, and oil comes a list of 15 additives and preservatives. Yikes! Since these tortillas have only 1 gram of fiber and 3 grams of protein, they don't offer much in the way of keeping you full, either.

Toufayan Keto Wraps

This one's another case of a lengthy ingredient list with some questionable elements. To stay low-carb, Toufayan Keto Wraps don't use flour or corn in their recipe. Rather, their first ingredient is a "keto mix" made of modified food starch, vital wheat gluten, cellulose, oat fiber, wheat protein isolate, and a host of additives. All of these are considered food additives, not grains.

This blend makes the finished product low in carbs and high in fiber. But it also makes it extremely processed. If you'd like to go low-carb—but want to stick with whole foods—you might be better off using a large lettuce leaf as a wrap.

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Guerrero Riquismas Burrito Grande Tortillas

Guerrero isn't kidding when they call these tortillas "Burrito Grande." At 12 inches in diameter, they're made for the biggest of Mexican entrées.

Their large size is reflected in their nutrition—and not in a good way. Each serving is brimming with 310 calories, 18% of the DV of saturated fat, and 25% of the DV of sodium. Like other options on this list, the Riquismas tortillas are also very highly processed, featuring a dozen-plus extras like a margarine blend, hydrogenated oils, and artificial flavor.

L'Oven Fresh Sun Dried Tomato Wraps

Sometimes, when throwing together a wrap, you want a little flavor in the tortilla itself. It's understandable that you might reach for the sun dried tomato flavor or Aldi's in-house L'Oven Fresh wraps.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Just do so with caution. While I give these credit for containing real tomato as their second ingredient, I have to give their calorie content some side-eye. Two hundred calories per serving is rather high, compared to the 100 calories or less you'll find in other sun dried tomato tortillas. Palm oil and a lengthy list of additives are other points in the minus column for these wraps.

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Mission Extra Grande Flour Toritillas

According to the American Heart Association, burritos and tacos are one of the biggest sources of sodium in the American diet. Starting one of these Mexican favorites off with an Extra Grande Flour Tortilla from Mission won't help. Each serving is pre-loaded with 37% of the DV of sodium. Three grams of added sugars are also mysteriously high for a food like tortillas.