Why Snacking Is Important in a Healthy Diet | WOOMBIE
Any food eaten between principal meals is considered to be a snack. It would be easy to assume that more often than not snacks might be bad for us and yet most of us will snack at least once a day. Children may snack even more.
The usual reason for our snacking is that hunger pains begin and stomachs may even growl a bit, or we experience a drop in energy that a cracker or cookie might keep at bay. Kids may become ornery and act out if hungry. Or we may just be crazy about a particular food.
But are snacks good for us or are they simply contributing to our weight gain and child obesity?
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Maintain or Gain Weight through Snacking: The Dilemma
While some will insist that snacking causes weight gain, others insist that snacking helps them maintain their weight rather than pack on the pounds. Dieticians will generally include snacking as a part of a dietary regime, however, whether snacks help maintain or gain weight depends on what is the snack food, how often one snacks, why one is snacking, and the calories, carbs, etc. ingested in an overall dietary plan.
Although nutritionists and researchers have invested in attempting to find a specific answer as to whether snacking should be considered positively or negatively, there is no definite answer. This lack of an answer may depend on the fact that a snack is rather loosely defined.
Science and medicine do, however, point to a need for healthy snacking. Foods that are high in sugar, salt, or saturated fats are to be avoided particularly if a person snacks twice daily at mid-morning and mid-afternoon because the calories can add up.
The U.S. government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 suggests opting for snacks that are rich in nutrients like nuts, fruit, raw vegetables, and yogurt. The major risk of choosing unhealthy snacks is undesirable weight gain especially if portions are not limited or a person snacks all day long. This leads to lots of unnecessary calories.
Another risk of frequent snacking is that meals are skipped because hunger has been reduced and skipping meals implies not getting enough daily nutrients. This is dangerous for children who are still growing. Plus, highly palatable foods often contain high amounts of sugar, salt, and fat that can create a preference if not a dependence on this type of food.
Why Snacking Is Important in a Healthy Diet
Snacking is important in a healthy diet for several reasons. Above all, a snack will furnish an energy boost when several hours pass between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. As the hours pass, blood glucose levels drop and energy wanes. A healthy snack in between meals can maintain glucose levels in the bloodstream.
This is particularly true for kids. Apart from the energy necessary for growth and development, children tend to be quite active and require extra energy and nutrients. Yet they have small stomachs so snacking becomes an essential tool. They need a sufficient number of calories but cannot ingest large quantities in a single meal. This is where healthy snacking can aid children in getting enough calories and daily nutrients. Children also can easily become cranky or be unable to concentrate when hungry. A healthy snack can boost much-needed energy.
Another advantage is controlling appetite. If you have breakfast at seven a.m. and then don’t have lunch until noon, five hours have passed. You and your child probably arrive at the lunch table famished and feelings of extreme hunger can lead to overeating. Snacking curbs hunger pangs so that you arrive at your meal hungry, but not overly so.
If you select a healthy snack like a piece of fresh fruit or a handful of nuts, you’ll be getting extra protein, vitamins, and minerals thanks to snacking. For kids, each snack will contribute to their intake of nutrients essential to healthy growth.
For adults and children with health issues, snacking can be a lifesaver. People that are unable to eat full meals due to medical conditions, illnesses, or poor appetites can aid in satisfying nutritional needs through frequent snacking.
Snacking Wisely
When following a healthy diet, planning is a big part of the formula. Nutritional planning should not only be applied to meals but to snacks as well to ensure that snacking supports health as opposed to working against it.
To incorporate snacking into a healthy diet, identify when you or your child are most likely to snack or feel the urge to eat something. Evaluate the why of snacking. Do physical activities cause hunger or is it boredom or stress that stimulates the reach for comfort food? If it’s emotional eating, other kinds of strategies may be needed. If it’s hunger alone, it’s proper to snack but necessary to choose wisely.
To promote healthy snacking by your child, involve your kids in selecting snacks and shopping for them.
Choosing a Snack
Because snacking is an important part of your daily menu, you need to select a snack that will satisfy, eliminate or contrast those hunger pains, and taste good. A snack should take the mind off food until it’s time for the next meal.
While nutritionists may suggest sea salt popcorn, nuts, yogurt, raw veggies or fruit, a snack should make you happy. Snacking on something unsatisfying may leave a craving for a second snack. Pick something filling if it’s just hunger.
Children particularly tend to reject snacks that they don’t enjoy. Encourage your child to eat healthy snacks such as trail mix, fruit, animal crackers with peanut butter, or string cheese. Make snacking fun.
A final consideration is how much of any one thing you should eat when snacking. Portions make a difference. Snacks should generally contain 150 to 250 calories. If you or your children prefer a packaged commercially prepared snack, make it a habit to read the nutrition content on the packaging as well as the size of a serving and the calories per serving. If it tastes good, it’s easy to eat too much.
Including healthy snacks in your diet and your child’s diet is beneficial in many ways from increasing nutrient intake to maintaining energy levels, maintaining blood sugar levels, recovering from physical exercise and activities, improving concentration, or staving off hunger pains. Healthy snacks also aid in growing healthy kids with healthy eating habits. Snacking can do a lot including helping feel happier throughout the day.
