The Healthy Eating Guide

Many healthy eating gurus will tell you that snacking is bad for you, an equal number will tell you that grazing is what you should do – so which is right.  In my view, both have merit.  It really depends on your body type, your lifestyle and the balance of your overall diet.   Eating smaller meals more often prevents snacking – but isn’t it the same thing?

The real question there perhaps is ‘Why are you Snacking?’ If it’s because you are hungry, then the chances are you are not eating enough to supply your energy needs, if it boredom or habit, liking eating Popcorn when watching TV then you should perhaps look at your behavior patterns – or what you choose to snack on.  Very often people think they are hungry when what they actually want is a drink so if you find yourself continuously tempted when you know you aren’t hungry – have a drink instead.

If you do feel the need to snack then try and make sure you choose foods that are healthy.  Cereal Bars are better than chocolate bars, fruit or vegetables are better still.  It’s easy enough to have a box of prepared fruit or vegetable sticks in the fridge if you are at home.  When you are out or at work then cereal bars are a more practical choice.  Crisps, sweets and chips are not good but a handful of crunchy nuts and seeds are more satisfying and much healthier.

If you find that it is thirst, not hunger that is driving your snack habit, consider what you drink.  Sweet fizzy drinks give you a quick sugar buzz that will soon drop and leave you feeling worse than before.  If you don’t want water, try fruit juice diluted with water as a thirst quencher, fruit or green tea can be good too, if it’s something more substantial you want a fruit smoothie can go down well but they can also give you something of a sugar buzz as they don’t take long to get into your bloodstream.

The main thing you should bear in mind when you choose a snack is ‘Does this fit sensibly into my diet’, if it does, great!  If not, think again and try to follow the healthy eating guidelines by choosing something different.