Is Snacking Healthy or Unhealthy?

Snacks are foods or even drinks that you take in between your regular meals. Snacking can be healthy as long as you choose things like healthy whole grains, proteins, or produce.

When it comes to snacking, people have a lot of opinions on whether or not it’s good for you. There are also many ideas about what foods are good snacks and what ones to avoid. So, are there benefits to snacking? Or should you avoid eating between your meals? Here’s what you need to know.

The word “snack” can bring different images to mind depending on the person. To one, it might be a piece of fruit. To another, it could be a bag of potato chips. Whatever you think of, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics defines snacks as foods or even drinks that you take in between your regular meals.

Americans eat more snacks now than previous generations did and eat more calories per day in general. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that Americans eat double the snacks now than people did in the 1970s. Some other data suggests that not everyone is eating more snacks, but people are taking in more calories than before.

Because of this, people often view eating snacks as a bad thing. They believe that eating or drinking caloric beverages between meals will cause your overall daily intake of calories to increase and that you’ll gain weight as a consequence. However, science is showing that this isn’t necessarily true, as long as you’re choosing the right kind of snacks and working them into a balanced diet.

People choose to eat snacks for many reasons. A few hours after a meal, your stomach may start to growl, and you’ll notice a dip in your energy levels. This is when you may reach for a snack to hold you over until the next meal. While this is the most common cause of snacking, people report snacking for a number of different reasons. Some say it’s to give themself a treat or give in to a craving. Others turn to snacks out of boredom or simply because food is there and available.

Studies show that the way that people eat is changing, including snacking. Factors like lifestyle and socioeconomic factors can alter whether you eat snacks and what kind of snacks you eat. People also eat snacks as a part of modern culture, like meeting up with friends for a drink or coffee. A survey from the Food Information Council in 2020 reported that 40% of Americans sometimes skip meals and replace them with snacks. People also report snacking more as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Choosing healthy snacks can help manage your hunger between meals and even help to prevent overeating when mealtime rolls around. Having a healthy snack can keep your energy up and keep you from becoming cranky if you’re too hungry. The key to snacking is to choose the right foods and to keep portion sizing in mind.

Snacking can be important for people who have to monitor their blood sugar levels, like those who have diabetes. When you eat a snack, your blood sugar levels rise, then fall again. Having a healthy snack can keep your blood sugar from getting too low. Eating a snack after exercising may help to get your energy back up and can even speed up the time it takes for your muscles to recover.

Snacks can also help fill in any nutritional gaps that might be missing from meals, especially for children. Most kids don’t get the nutrients they need by simply eating three meals a day. Picking nutrient-dense snacks can supply kids and teens with the nutrition and calories that their bodies need to keep growing and developing properly.

While snacking can be good for you, it’s only beneficial when done properly. It’s reported that the food and beverage industry spends $14 billion each year on marketing in the U.S., usually promoting unhealthy items like fast food, candy, or soft drinks. You don’t see too many advertisements that are marketing healthy whole foods. Instead, these ads urge you to treat yourself.

Snacking is frequently driven by emotion and not by hunger cues. Eating a healthy snack when you’re hungry is fine, but many people resort to snacking due to:

• Boredom
• Stress
• Indulgence
• Food insecurity
• A form of distraction

This kind of emotional eating usually leads to overeating and choosing the wrong type of snack. This is when people turn to unhealthy snacks, like chips, cheese, and chocolate.

For a while, some dieticians believed that eating several small meals a day could control hunger and maintain a good metabolic balance. Recent research shows that eating several times throughout the day isn’t better than eating three square meals a day. “Grazing” or eating several small meals and snacks during the day, can actually have the opposite effect and lead to weight gain.

The key to snacking is to choose the best snacks and avoid eating empty calories. Whole foods like fruits, veggies, and lean proteins are great options, as they will fill you up for longer and provide you with essential nutrients. Portion size is also important. Eating more foods that are low in calories will serve better than eating a handful of potato chips.

If you want to snack better, make a plan with some small goals. For example, a goal could be to eat a healthy snack, like sliced veggies or yogurt, twice a week instead of your usual go-to snack. Track your progress throughout the week, and allow yourself a small snack that you’ve been craving, like a handful of chips, on the weekend. Avoiding them altogether might lead to overindulging later on.

Choosing the best snacks, like healthy whole grains, proteins, or produce, may take practice. You may notice that you need time for it to become a habit. But making small snacking goals is a way to make a lifestyle change much more achievable.