Have you recently added healthy snacks to your daily repertoire? Whether you’re intermittently fasting, cutting out sweets, or completely changing your dietary habits, what and when you eat is something most people consider.
Snacking has measurable effects on your overall wellness. Humans experience a drop in blood sugar somewhere between three and five hours after eating a meal. This stimulates us to eat and often times it’s not at our predetermined lunchtime.
Eating a healthy snack not only curbs that hunger when it happens, but it also helps prevent overeating when it comes time to eat our meal. Megan Mullin, a Las Vegas dietitian advises her clients to eat every three to five hours but warns about portion control.
“…the hard part is keeping [meals] small. We are used to big meals. If you can match your intake with your output, you’ll be better off with your weight-control goals.”
Sometimes people are worried about snacking because of the unhealthy connotations. Many think that snacks can only consist of sugar, salt and carbohydrates. That makes sense, carbs releasse serotonin in the brain which makes us feel better. The downside is simple sugars like bagels and candy bars satisfy temporary needs but don’t address the actual hunger itself.
Plan healthy snacks ahead of time
Snacks also get a bad rap from their association with vending machines. When you look into the big glass case it can be tough to pick out what is a healthier option when dealing with the branding and advertising of more familiar brands.
So what do you do? Dr. Redberg is a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center has an answer
“The best way to avoid eating food that you shouldn’t is to not keep any around,” says Dr. Rita Redberg. “For the same reason you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry — you buy a lot of stuff you really shouldn’t.”
Redberg also contributes to health-oriented cookbooks.
You won’t need to run to the vending machine if you already have a snack with you or have healthy snacks delivered to your office. Healthy snacks don’t just have to be fruit and granola. Many plant-based and vegan-friendly options are delicious and available right alongside other, less-healthy goodies.
ThirdLeaf NW provides a service that would be helpful. We deliver fruit and healthy snacks to offices all around the Puget Sound. We’d love to show you how we can help with a free tasting!