Why It's Ok To Snack

Nibbling between meals has gotten bad press in recent years. In fact, snacking can be good for you.

- Dawn Yanek

To snack or not to snack? That is the question ... for doctors, for nutritionists, and for you, as you try to decide what to do about your grumbling stomach when it’s nowhere close to mealtime.

The short answer: Have the snack. Snacking has fallen out of favor in certain dieting circles, thanks in part to the popularity of intermittent fasting, in which you severely restrict your food intake on a periodic basis. Some folks interpret the paleo diet, in which the diet-conscious attempt to imitate the food habits of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, as anti-snacking as well.

But many modern-day studies have found that snacking can have positive effects on your health, both physical and mental. Like what? Grab a banana—or a handful of peanuts— and read on!

Weight Loss

Can snacking help you drop a few pounds? Yes, but nutritionists’ insight into what works has changed. They once thought that eating more frequently could boost your metabolism—your body would be working more often to burn calories. Alas, studies have been mixed when it comes to proving that theory.

But a smart snack can prevent the kind of unhealthy binge eating that comes from hard-core hunger. “Your body is always talking to you—you just have to listen,” says internal and functional medicine specialist Robert Graham, MD, MPH. “So if you’re starting to feel a little hungry, don’t wait.” He recommends a simple approach: a three-meal plan interspersed with two or three snacks.

But you can’t grab any old snack. Chips, cookies, crackers, and other simple carbohydrates boost your blood sugar quickly, which ultimately leads to the sugar crash we’ve experienced. Instead, try nuts, complex carbs, and fruits.