The best site for learning how to snack in a healthy way
Most of us get hungry between meals. Then we enjoy a snack or two.
Too often snacks are unhealthy. We choose something that is easy to grab quickly or buy such as crisps, sweets, chocolate bars, cereal bars etc.
However, there are snacks that are healthy. Such as nuts (like almonds and peanuts), sunflower seeds, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, pasteli, healthy flapjacks etc.
Snacking is fine provided we only consume in one day what out body needs. Eating too much regularly leads to weight gain.
Eating a snack can mean we eat less at our next meal.
Snacks are an excellent way of getting extra nutrients such as vitamins and trace elements like magnesium.
The best snacks fill you up for a long time. Those that are high in protein have been shown to fill you up for longer.
Snacks that are high in sugar are unhealthy because they cause your blood glucose to rise too quickly. This causes your body to release insulin rapidly. The insulin leads to a sudden fall in blood sugar making you feel hungry again too soon.
It is best to consume snacks that release sugar slowly into the blood stream. The medical term which describes the speed of sugar release is the glycaemic index. Foods with a high glycaemic index allow the glucose in the food to speed into the blood very rapidly. Examples include glucose, cakes, white bread etc.
Foods with a low glycaemic let the glucose be released and absorbed slowly. Examples include nuts, most fruits, wholemeal bread etc.
Read more: Glycaemic Insulin and Snacks
The best snacks are high in protein, and fibre, have no or very little sugar, contain high levels of vitamins and minerals, are low in fat or have fat that is healthy such as mono-unsaturated fat.
An ideal healthy snack is a handful of nuts, such as almonds.
Read about: The health benefits of almonds
Examples of healthy snacks can be seen here: Avakian Products
