| Snack Attacks |
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| Did You Know That... |
- Munching on just one carrot will meet your vitamin A needs for the entire day?
- Preschoolers get nearly one third of their energy from snacks?
- Snacking is on the rise: 75 percent of us eat at least one snack a day?
- A planned snack can help prevent overeating?
- Television watching tends to increase snacking--particularly on high-fat, high-calorie
"goodies"?
Snacking can help or hurt a healthful diet. The difference depends on what you choose and how
much you eat. Whether you like to munch, nibble, or simply quench the mid-afternoon "hungries,"
you can make snacking work for you. It just takes a little planning.
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| Benefits Of Snacking |
Snacks can give you an energy boost to help fuel your body between meals. Your body uses up the
carbohydrate stores in your liver (which help maintain a normal level of blood sugar) in 4 to 6
hours. You need food to replace them.
Many people can benefit from eating snacks. Growing children with tiny appetites may not be able to
fulfill their energy needs with only three meals a day. Snacks can provide what may be missing from
their meals.
Athletes of all ages have increased energy demands. They especially need energy in the form of
carbohydrates, which help power exercising muscles. Snacks such as sandwiches, bread, buns, fruit
and raw vegetable can help give athletes the additional energy they need.
Teenagers are well known for their snack attacks and for good reason. They also have high energy
and nutrient needs to support their growing bodies. Carefully chosen snacks can help fuel their
growth.
Carrying a baby places additional nutrient and energy demands on the mother. Selective snacking can
help pregnant women meet their extra nutrition needs. Small, frequent snacks can be especially
helpful for women who have morning sickness or who always feel full.
Older adults who can eat only small portions of food at a time may find it easier to maintain their
health by eating snacks to supplement their meals.
Snacks can offer nutritional advantages, but they also can become liabilities, depending on the
types and quantities of food they contain. Mindless nibbling can lead to trouble in the form of
unwanted calories. Some snacks--such as chips, chocolate, and shakes--can add a fat burden to
the diet. And high-fat diets are clearly linked with such chronic diseases such as heart disease
and cancer.
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Removing The Guilt: Snacking Myths
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Despite the benefits that snacking can offer, many people think of snacks as something extra they
should not eat. Here are five myths worth challenging:
Myth - Snacks are fattening.
Fact - Eating a snack during a long stretch between meals can take the edge off hunger, which
might lead to overeating otherwise. Of course, specific snack food choices will make a difference.
Myth - Snacks spoil your appetite for meals.
Fact - Eating a small amount of food--maybe an apple or half of a
turkey sandwich--2 to 3 hours before a meal will not spoil an appetite. But it may keep you from
becoming ravenously hungry. By eating a snack, you can be more in control of your food choices and
less inclined to overeat at your next meal.
Myth - Snacking causes cavities.
Fact - While snacks expose the teeth to food (and decay-producing
bacteria) more often, choosing foods that are not sticky and brushing your teeth afterward help
prevent cavities. Some foods such as cheese have been found to have properties that prevent cavity
formation.
Myth - Snacking is the same as eating junk food.
Fact – Snacking does not have to equate junk food, choosing
better alternatives can help fill in the gaps in meals to complete a healthful diet.
Myth - Healthful snacking means I can never eat potato chips again.
Fact - It's possible to eat fun foods and still follow a diet that is
low in fat, but it requires a little planning. If you have a high fat snack, you need to balance
that out with lower-fat choices at other meals.
One snack, one meal, or one day of eating cannot make or break your health. It is what you eat
consistently over time that counts.
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| Healthy Bites: Nutritious Notables
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By choosing your snacks wisely, you can take a sizable step toward meeting your nutrition needs. Here
are some snacks that are particularly nutrient-rich:
Food...Percentage Of Daily Nutrient Requirement*
- 1/2 cup of 100% orange juice...more than 100 percent of vitamin C
- 1 smal carrot...100 percent of vitamin A
- 1 cup of lentil soup...33 percent of iron
- 1 cup nonfat yogurt...33 percent of calcium
- 1/2 cup nonfat cottage cheese...33 percent of protein
- 1 medium banana...25 percent of potassium
- 1 whole-wheat bagel...20 percent of thiamin
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| * Based on the Recommended Dietary Allowance. |
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| Making The Most Of A Snack Attack |
| Follow these guidelines to help make snacking work for your health: |
- Plan ahead so that you have the desired food at hand when you need it. You don't
want to be forced to choose from the limited selections in a corner store, or a
randomly stocked refrigerator.
- Instead of munching absent-mindedly, make snacking a conscious activity. Ideally, this
means eating without doing anything else at the same time (for example, watching TV).
Otherwise, you can easily overeat without realizing it.
- Choose lower-fat snacks:
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Instead of |
Try... |
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Potato chips |
Pretzels |
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Ice cream |
Low fat frozen yogurt |
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Milkshake |
Fruit smoothie |
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Ice cream bar |
Frozen juice bar |
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Butter cookie |
Arrowroot cookie |
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Pound cake |
Bran muffin |
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Sour cream-based dip |
Salsa |
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| Keep the above tips in mind that next time you reach for a snack.
Happy Snacking!
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| Adapted from the American Dietetic Association (ADA) brochure
"Snack Attacks are OK" |
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