A healthy diet shall never lack snack foods. Some snacks are rich in vital vitamins and nutrients that play an important role in maintaining your body function. A healthy and nutritious snack can satisfy your mouth and mind, thus improving the efficiency of your work or study.
It should be noted that not all snacks are healthy for your wellness, and you shall schedule healthy snacks for you and your families.
Here are some tips for smart snacking.
Go for fruits, dairy products and nuts
Fresh fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and phytochemicals that are essential for the human body. Moreover, a variety of organic acids contained in the fruits can help stimulate appetite and food digestion without affecting your normal meals.
Dairy products are good supplements for normal meals because they are abundant in calcium, high-quality proteins and vitamin B.
Nuts are rich in fat, protein, minerals, vitamins E and B. Unsaturated fatty acids in the nuts are a healthy source of essential fatty acids.
Avoid snacks high in fat, salt and sugar
A diet high in fat, salt and sugar can lead to obesity that is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and osteoporosis.
Snacks containing much fat, salt or sugar taste nice but they are really unhealthy. Long-term sugar consumption can raise your risk of getting dental caries. Sweets and pastries are children’s favorite and parents shall limit their children’s sugar consumption.
Drink water instead of sugary drinks
Sugary drinks like carbonated drinks, fruit and vegetable juice drinks, sports drinks are very popular, but it contains much sugar that is harmful to your health. For example, a can of 355 ml sugary drink can contain as many as 38 grams of sugar. Besides, alcoholic drinks shall be prohibited daily unless you are in social situations.
Water is the best and free drink for people, and it can help you stay alert, increase energy and relieve fatigue. You are advised to drink water in time to prevent dehydration.
Snack at the right times
The energy intake from snack consumption shall not exceed 10% of the total daily energy intake. Eating too much will impact your normal meals.
Additionally, snack consumption should not be close to meal time, and it had better eat snacks two hours before meals.
Don’t eat snacks before bedtime. Snacking before sleep can increase the burden of digestion and absorption in the gastrointestinal tracts, which makes it difficult to fall asleep.
