A lot of people like to eat wraps, thinking that they are somehow better for them than eating a traditional sandwich instead, but is that really true? Well, as with so many other conundrums, the answer is “it depends”.

Wraps can be good for you, but they can sometimes actually be a worse choice. If you’re buying a wrap in a restaurant or a deli, then you should look at the calorie count and the ingredient list. The ‘theory’ about why wraps are good for you is that they are lower calorie, lower in carb, and therefore better balanced than a stodgy sandwich which will leave you feeling hungry after an hour or so.

Many wraps are calorie dense and full of trans fats, rather than being the wholesome high fiber solutions that people think they’re getting when they opt to avoid taking in two slabs of bread.

If you’re making a wrap at home though, you could well be making the better choice.

The reason for this is simple – if you buy a good, high quality wrap made of whole wheat or whole rye flour, then fill it with lean meat and fresh vegetables, you’re getting a fiber and protein rich meal. In addition, a single tortilla is going to be far lower in calories than two heavy slices of bread or a huge bun.

You need to be careful with the size, though bigger wraps can accommodate more fillings, and if you’re loading the wrap up with cheese and dressing, then you will end up taking in a huge amount of calories – and those dressings could be full of sugar. Wraps, like any other food, can be good or bad – depending on how much of them you have, and what you add to them.

A large wrap, like the ones that Mission makes – can contain 210 calories. If you buy a sandwich made from two slices of bread, the bread could be 120 calories per slice, so you’re saving a small amount on calories by buying the wrap. But, if the wrap gets filled to overflowing with tuna mayo, then you could end up taking in those calories and more, which undoes the benefit of the wrap.

Really, the most sensible solution could be to focus on eating at home, instead of eating out. When you prepare wraps at home you know exactly what is going in them, so you are less likely to over-eat. When you buy something in a takeout, it will be laden with salts, sugars and fat in order to make it as appealing as possible.

That’s not to say that the occasional calorie bomb will do you a lot of harm – although there is evidence to suggest that trans fats can be bad for you. The main problem is that it’s so easy to over-indulge and end up still feeling hungry later, because the food that you take in is so quickly digested, and your blood sugar spikes and then crashes again.

Cooking at home keeps you in control and it means that whether you decide to eat a wrap or a sandwich, you will be able to enjoy it guilt free, safe in the knowledge that it is made from wholesome ingredients and that if you have decided to treat yourself, it’s an educated decision made because it’s what you want to do. You aren’t just putting food in your mouth with no idea or care about what the food actually is. It’s a liberating feeling to be informed about nutrition and to make the right choices.