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  |  Eat Right  |  Healthy Eating  |  Make snacks work for you
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Finger lickin' good
Some surprising facts from the Colonel

Make snacks work for you

by Suzannah Olivier

Make snacks work for youWhen you've got the munchies nothing but immediate gratification will do. So many of us suffer a dieting downfall and end up snacking on unhealthy options like crisps and chocolate. Yet by choosing wisely, snacking can be a positive and healthy contribution to your diet


Why we snack
There are many reasons why we snack: comfort eating, boredom, a quick energy fix, or just because of a desperate 'I want it now!' feeling. Snacking is linked to the fact that we're designed to graze. Our Neolithic hunter-gatherer ancestors ate what was available when they could get it and didn't necessarily sit down to square meals. They also didn't have a fridge full of temptation and food adverts constantly screaming at them.

It's not me, it's my brain
There's no doubt that sugary, fatty and salty snacks are attractive and addictive. Attractive: we're designed to enjoy fat, sugar and salt because during evolution these were scarce commodities. Addictive: any food that we find pleasurable triggers the same brain chemical pathways that satisfy our pleasure centres in the brain and reinforce addictive behaviour. Add the fact that sugars and refined carbohydrates (white bread and white flour products) significantly contribute to blood sugar swings and it's easy to see why snacks such as biscuits and sweets are so tempting. When we're feeling low and lethargic, they quickly lift us out of a blood sugar rut, but in the long run contribute to the problem.

Change your view of snacks
Think about snacks as mini-meals and not as treats. By ditching the 'I deserve a little reward' thought pattern and thinking of snacks as ways of feeding, nurturing and supporting your body, you can change the choices you make. Instead of eating three large meals a day, eat five or six small, healthy meals. This helps to boost blood sugar levels in a positive way. Additionally, by eating foods that provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre, proteins and healthy unsaturated fats, your body is nourished and excess weight is lost.

Worst snacks
As a rule of thumb, anything over the following amounts is a bad snack (these are considered absolute upper limits anyway and lower amounts than these are recommended):

  • 10g of sugar per 100g of product
  • 0.5g sodium per 100g of product
  • 20g of total fat per 100g of product

You're probably already familiar with this list:

  • Colas
  • Sugary coffees or teas
  • Crisps
  • Sugary breakfast bars
  • Biscuits
  • Pies (sweet or savoury), as they're nearly always high in fat
  • Fruit juice based winding snacks (which are mainly sugar and not fruit with fibre)
  • Sugary breakfast cereals
  • Confectionery


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