There are different perspectives about snacking. Some people think that it’s healthy, while others believe that it can harm you and increase your weight. Here is a detailed look at snacking habits and how it affects your health. Snacking is when you have food or beverages between your regular main meals. The processed food, rich in calorie items like chips and cookies called as snack food. Snacking simply means to have something between meals, whether the food is good for health or not. Hunger is the main reason behind snacking, but other factors such as location, social environment, time of day, and food availability contribute as well
How unhealthy snacking habits affect your diet:
Weight gain: People usually snack at some time or the other. Conventional diet wisdom says that to lose or maintain weight, unhealthy snacking habits frequently throughout the day is a negative effect on body. Too much snacking could affect your blood glucose level. It will lead to weight gain when you eat food which is high in sugar and carbohydrate. Snacking should be on fruits only.
Health Repercussions: Many of the most widely consumed snack foods are rich in refined carbohydrates or added sugar and low in nutritional value. soft drinks, cookies, candy, pastries, granola bars, chips and crackers generally high in calories and are low in satiating than fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Having too much refined or sugar-rich foods can increase high blood triglyceride levels while decreasing levels of health-promoting HDL cholesterol and may lead to inflammation and oxidative stress.
Tooth Decay: Eating frequently increases the risk of tooth decay. When your teeth come in contact with food more often, the bacteria in plaque has more time to produce enamel-damaging acids. This is particularly true for carbohydrate-rich foods, because the simple sugars that make up carbohydrates are what feed plaque bacteria.
Dried fruits, biscuits, bars and crackers take longer to dissolve and therefore fuel acid production for significantly longer. To prevent oral health when snacking, eat the whole snack at one time instead of nibbling it intermittently. Rinse your mouth with water afterward to remove food particles, then brush and floss if possible.
Eating two or three hours before lunch or dinner, a small, nutritious snack can both tide you over and help prevent you from overeating at mealtime. Reserve sugary treats for special occasions, and avoid foods that provide nothing but empty calories. Such foods have little nutritional value and are generally not satiating. Instead, select whole foods that are nutrient-rich,give some amount of fiber and are relatively low in calories. Almonds and a small apple, for example, give about 240 calories, 7 grams of fiber and lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. On the other hand, bottles of non-diet cola, however, provide you 411 calories, 1.7 grams of fiber, nearly 100 grams of refined carbohydrates and 43 percent of the daily value for sodium.
