By Renee Hughes • May 26th, 2011

For those who have ever been on a diet, the idea of snacking may seem taboo, right up there with equally punishable behaviours like eating deep fried foods, white flour, and decadent desserts. But contrary to conventional thinking, research has shown that snacking is not only a healthy habit to adopt, but also a necessary one if weight loss or maintenance is your goal. This is because adding healthy snacks to your diet helps to keep you satisfied throughout the day, so you are less likely to overeat at the next meal. In fact, most nutrition professionals agree that one of the secrets to healthy eating is to eat at regular intervals, generally considered every 3-4 hours. This not only helps to manage your appetite by keeping your blood sugar stable, but also ensures you are energized and alert from sun-up to sun-down.

If you do the math, you’ll quickly realize that sticking to the standard breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal combination alone, does not allow for eating every 3 to 4 hours. This is why snacking is key! In addition to 3 meals, it is usually recommended that we eat 2 snacks per day, one between breakfast and lunch and the other between lunch and dinner. But before you reach for that bag of greasy potato chips or oversized muffin, there are a few things you should keep in mind when choosing a healthy snack.

Women should choose snacks that contain between 150 and 200 calories, while men should stick to the 200 to 250 calorie range. Snacks should also contain whole grains whenever possible and be low in sugar, fat, and sodium. Try to include fruits and vegetables more often at snack time as the fibre content will keep you satisfied until your next meal. Speaking of satiety, snack combinations that include protein with fruit, dairy and fruit, or protein and vegetables will help reduce hunger. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day will also keep you satisfied and as an added bonus, hydrated!   

If you’ve perused the aisles of your local grocery store, you likely found that there are plenty of packaged snack options to choose from. Please be weary of processed snacks like low fat cookies and crackers, or granola bars as these often contain sugar, fat, and sodium that make them a lackluster snack choice at best. Many also have high glycemic index values that may leave...

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Location:  Mississauga, CA

Renee Hughes is a nutrition communications specialist currently living in Mississauga, Ontario. She holds a Master of Health Science in Nutrition Communication from Ryerson University in Toronto. Her research interests include eating disorders, body image, and...