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Snacking

Snacks give you an energy boost and help you refuel between meals. Your body uses up the carbohydrate stored in your liver in about 4-6 hours. You need food to replace them.

Growing children with tiny appetites may not be able to meet their energy needs with only three meals a day. Snacks may provide the necessary nutrients. Teenagers are well known for their snack attacks because their energy and nutrient needs are high.

Older adults who eat only a small amount at a time may find it easier to maintain their health by eating snacks to supplement their meals.

Sensible snacks can actually help you lose calories. It is better to eat 3 - 4 small meals than staying hungry for long hours and hogging during mealtime.

Snacks which can offer nutritional advantages, can also become liabilities, depending on the types and quantities of food they contain. Mindless nibbling can lead to unwanted calories. Some snacks such as potato chips, chocolates etc. can add a fat burden to the diet and a high fat diet is clearly linked with heart diseases.

Some healthy Alternatives

Instead of	Try
Ice-cream bar	Frozen juice bar
Butter cookie	Marie biscuits
Milkshakes	Fruit smoothies
Potato chips	Popcorn
Fried food	Roasted food
Fried rice	Boiled rice
Deep frying	Shallow frying

Did you know that:

Preschoolers get nearly one third of their fats from snacks.
Snacking is on the rise: 75% of us eat at least one snack a day.
A planned snack can prevent overeating.
Television watching tends to increase snacking and calories.

Wrong ideas about snacks:

Snacks make you fat.

Eating a snack during a long stretch between meals can take the edge of hunger, which might lead to overeating otherwise. Of course, specific snack food choices will make a difference

Snacks spoil your appetite for meals.

Eating a small amount of food-maybe an apple or half a sandwich - 2 to 3 hours before a meal will not spoil your appetite. It may keep you from feeling ravenously hungry. By eating a snack, you can control your food choices. This way you'll be less inclined to overeat at your next meal.

Snacking causes cavities.

While snacks expose the teeth to food (and decay-producing bacteria) more often, choosing foods that are not sticky and brushing your teeth properly, helps prevent cavities. Some foods such as cheese have been found to have properties that prevent cavity formation.

Snacking is the same as eating junk food.

Snacking does not mean eating junk food. Choosing proper snacks can help fill in the gaps in meals to complete a healthful diet.

Healthful snacking means I can never eat potato chips again.

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