Snack A-T-T-A-C-K 😬
How much should we be eating?
Is it OK to snack during the day?
People unknowingly make two hundred food-related decisions every day. There are 5–6 eating occasions (3 main meals + 2–3 snacks) per day on average.
A new study showed that Americans are snacking so much, that they’re eating a meal’s worth of calories a day in snack foods.
Snacks constitute almost 25% of a typical American’s daily calories, and account for about one-third of daily sugar.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 20,000 people and found that Americans averaged about 400 to 500 calories in snacks a day with very little nutritional value. That’s typically more than what they ate at breakfast.
Today, I’d like to share some creative and common sense solutions to help you not fall into this harmful snacking scenario. Hopefully you’ll learn why uncontrolled snacking is a challenge, along with some helpful tips that can help 🤩
Before we get started, I hope you found last week’s newsletter “My self-improvement story” helpful. If you missed it, you can use this link, Here.
Okay, let’s see how you stack up to current trends in snacking!
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Though dietitians were very aware of Americans’ propensity to snack, the magnitude of the impact wasn’t realized until a new study actually took a good hard look at it.
The study found that snacks are contributing a meal’s worth of intake to what we eat without it actually being a meal.
We know what we have planned for dinner: a protein, a vegetable or two. But if we eat a meal in snacks, it becomes a completely different scenario of, generally, carbohydrates, sugars, not much protein, not much fruit, not a vegetable. Snacks tend to not be a fully well-rounded meal.
Researchers looked at data from 23,708 U.S. adults over 30 years old. The study recorded daily not just what, but when, they ate their food.
The participants were put in four groups according to their glucose levels: non-diabetic, pre-diabetic, controlled diabetes and poorly controlled diabetes.
Those who were working hard to control their type 2 diabetes ate fewer sugary foods, and snacked less overall than people without diabetes and those who were considered pre-diabetic.
Unfortunately the snacks eaten contributed very little nutritional quality for most participants. Americans are eating more snacks that are high in carbohydrates, fats and sugar than they do healthy proteins, fruits, grains and vegetables. Alcoholic beverages and sugar-sweetened drinks are consumed as snacks more than healthier options. To read more about the study, click Here.
In today’s diet-crazed culture, we’ve gotten to a point of demonizing certain foods (such as carbs and fats). But, it’s more important to consider a person’s total daily food intake.
When planning snacks, it’s important to look at the day’s total dietary picture to see which snacks will help to fulfill a person’s nutritional needs.
It’s all about a person’s environment (time, work, travel, socializing), what foods are readily available, and planning accordingly. Plus, it’s about shopping behavior: What is at home in the pantry?
Most of us think about what we’re going to pack for lunch and cook for dinner. But we don’t plan for our snacks. This is what puts us at the mercy of what’s available in our immediate environment.
If you’ve found yourself snacking more than you used to, there are several reasons that may have gotten you off-track.
ARE ALL SNACKS BAD FOR YOU?
Many people snack at least once during the course of a day, and there are several reasons why. The most common scenario is that our stomachs start growling a few hours after our last meal. Another might be a dip an energy levels that a small bite can remedy. Or maybe we just look forward to the taste of certain snack foods.
The most common American snack choices are fruit, cookies, chips, ice cream, candy, popcorn, soft drinks, crackers, cake, milk, nuts and seeds, tea, and yogurt. Snacks have been associated with both weight gain and maintaining weight, as well as with a lower or higher diet quality. Although snacks can be a regular and important part of a healthy diet, they can also lead to health problems. What differentiates the two scenarios is one’s snacking behavior: what you snack on, why you snack, frequency of snacking, and how snacks fit into your overall eating plan.
Benefits of snacking:
Provides a boost of energy if several hours pass between meals and blood glucose levels drop.
Helps curb your appetite to prevent overeating at the next meal.
Provides extra nutrients when choosing certain snacks like fresh fruit or nuts.
Can help maintain adequate nutrition if one has a poor appetite but cannot eat full meals, such as due to an illness.
Pitfalls of snacking:
Unwanted weight gain if portions or frequency of snacking is too much, adding excess calories.
Too much snacking can reduce hunger at meal times or cause one to skip a meal entirely, which increases the risk of losing out on important nutrients.
Regular intake of ultra-processed hyper-palatable snacks (basically anything that is prepackaged and has more than 2 or 3 ingredients) that contain added salt, sugar, and fats but that are low in nutrients and high in calories can increase a preference for these types of foods, leading to a change in eating behaviors and diet quality.
WHY DO WE SNACK SO MUCH?
We know that snacks are meant to be satisfying small bites between meals. But some studies show that snacking can lead to weight gain. Although eating too many snacks may be the obvious reason, there are several subtle factors that can feed this occurrence.
The size of snack packages has increased over the years, which directly influences total calorie intake. In other words, people tend to eat more of a snack food simply because of the larger size of the package.
Snack portion sizes can be misleading. The actual serving size of a snack is often surprising. For example, you may purchase a small package of trail mix or chips thinking that it contains one serving; however, closer viewing of the Nutrition Facts panel reveals that the package actually contains 2-3 servings—meaning that the calories must be doubled or tripled if consuming the entire package.
The wide variety of snacks offered can lead to eating more. Some research has shown that the greater the variety of foods available, the more one eats. This has been referred to as the “variety effect.” Just as a greater variety can increase the risk of more food eaten, the reverse is true in which the palatability and desire for food decreases when eating the same foods repetitively. Because there is such an abundance of snack options today with various flavor combinations of fat, sugar, salt, and spiciness, the risk of overeating snacks increases.
Snacks are often eaten while engaging in screen time (watching television, playing video games, working on a computer). This behavior leads to distraction so that one loses awareness of how much, and sometimes what, is eaten.
Eating with others can encourage more snacking. Studies show that individuals who eat with someone who consumes a large portion of snacks also tend to eat more snacks.
Simply being aware of these factors can help reduce the chances of snack overload. Use strategies such as being intentional about snack choices, savoring small bites and chewing thoroughly, eating slowly, and using the senses to fully appreciate the colors, textures, and tastes of snacks.
POWER SNACKING
The concept of meal planning can be applied to snacks. Take the time to incorporate snack planning to ensure that snacks work for you, not against you. Follow these simple steps and ask yourself:
WHEN: Reflect on a typical day: what hours of the day between meals might you feel hungry or tend to grab extra food?
WHY: If snacking occurs frequently, determine if you are truly hungry or eating because of an emotion (bored, stressed, tired, angry, etc.). If you are hungry, go to the next step. If you realize you are eating from emotion, consider going for a walk, listen to some music, making a phone call, or do something to keep yourself busy.
WHAT: Decide which snack choices will satisfy you. A satisfying snack will alleviate hunger, be enjoyable, and help you to forget about food until your next meal! Think about the last snack you ate — did you still feel hungry or want to keep eating shortly after finishing one portion of the snack? Studies show that snacking on whole foods containing protein, fiber, and whole grains (e.g., nuts, yogurt, popcorn) enhance satisfaction. But it’s also important to pause before making a snack choice to consider what will truly satisfy: if you choose an apple when you really want salty popcorn or a creamy yogurt, you may feel unsatisfied and want more. If you do not have a specific craving but are trying to quiet hunger, choose a snack that is high in fiber and water that will fill your stomach quickly. Consider these nutritious snack choices depending on your preference:
Crunchy—raw vegetable sticks, nuts, seeds, whole grain crackers, apple
Creamy—cottage cheese, yogurt, hummus, avocado
Sweet—chopped fresh fruit, dark chocolate
Savory/Salty—cube or slice of cheese, roasted chickpeas, handful of nuts, nut butter
HOW MUCH: A snack portion should be enough to satisfy but not so much that it interferes with your appetite for a meal or adds too many calories. A general rule of thumb is to aim for about 150-250 calories per snack. This is equivalent to an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter, or a string cheese with 6 whole grain crackers. If choosing a packaged snack such as chips, dried fruit, or nuts, read the Nutrition Facts panel to learn what is one serving, found at the top of the panel. Keep in mind that it is easy to eat two or three portions of some types of snacks!
THE BOTTOM LINE
“Your afternoon snack deserves a lot more than a neon yellow bag. Treat yourself to something real”
“Eat healthy food for snacks”
“Be careful of what you are eating”
Snacking is an issue for many people! It can get out of hand very quickly, and it’s a hard habit to break.
Other tips to consider:
Put snacks in small plastic containers or bags so they are easy to carry in a pocket or backpack. Putting snacks in containers helps you eat the right size portion. Plan ahead and bring your own snacks to work.
Limit "junk-food" snacks like chips, candy, cake, cookies, and ice cream. The best way to keep from eating junk food or other unhealthy snacks is to not have these foods in your house.
It is OK to have an unhealthy snack once in a while. Never allowing any unhealthy snacks or sweets may result in sneaking these foods or over-indulging. The key is balance and moderation.
Additional tips:
Replace the candy dish with a fruit bowl.
Store healthy snack foods like nuts, popcorn and veggies where they are easy to see or reach. Move the healthier foods to the front, at eye level.
If your family snacks while watching TV, put a portion of the food in a bowl or on a plate for each person. It is easy to overeat straight from the package.
If you are having a hard time finding healthy snacks that you want to eat, come talk with me for ideas that will work for your family.
Make an appointment and come talk with us if you are having doubts or questions about your family’s health. We will give you the honest truth, and the clinical research that supports it.
To make an appointment with me use this link: HERE.
Or, you can always give me a call at (973) 210-3838
I want to hear from you! Are you a snacker? Did you find this newsletter helpful?
Share your thoughts in the comments on our
We bring tools such as these to you, our patients, by using proven cutting-edge therapies to extend the health-span, life-span and years of health for everyone (no matter their age)!
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