Many people give up the benefits of healthy meals and replace them with unhealthy snacks, which increases the risk of strokes and cardiovascular disease. a Stady The publication in the European Journal of Nutrition describes the snacking habits of 854 people enrolled in the ZOE PREDICT study, finding that participants did not match their healthy meals with healthy snack options.
Researchers from the School of Life Course and Population Sciences and ZOE reported that half of the participants negated the positive benefits by not matching healthy snacks with healthy meals and vice versa, and this had negative effects on health measures such as lipid and blood sugar levels. Levels.
He said: “Given that 95% of us snack, and that nearly a quarter of the calories we consume come from snacks, replacing unhealthy snacks like cookies, chips and cake with healthy snacks like fruit and nuts is a really simple way to improve your health.” “. Dr Sarah Berry from King’s College London and Chief Scientist at ZOE.
The study revealed that participants were getting 24% of their daily energy intake from snacks such as fruit, pastries, and cereal bars. 95% of participants snacked and enjoyed a quick meal 2.28 times a day, 47% ate snacks twice a day, and 29% ate more than two snacks a day. Timing is also important, as snacking after 9pm was linked to poorer blood markers. Those who snack at this time tend to choose energy-dense options that are high in fat and sugar.
Snacking itself is not necessarily unhealthy, it is what you choose to eat that makes it unhealthy. The analysis showed that those who ate high-quality snacks such as fresh fruit and nuts most often were more likely to be a healthy weight compared to those who never snacked and those who ate snacks most often. Additionally, good quality snacks have been found to help promote better metabolic health and reduce hunger.
26% of participants reported eating healthy main meals and poor snack choices such as sugary foods and highly processed foods, which are associated with poor health scores and leave participants still feeling hungry. Unhealthy snacks were associated with higher visceral fat mass, higher postprandial triglyceride concentrations, and higher body mass index, all of which are associated with metabolic diseases such as obesity, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.
The results revealed that the most popular snacks were crackers, fruits, nuts, seeds, cheese, cookies, pancakes, granola and cereal bars. Snacks with the greatest contribution to calories were cakes and waffles at 14%, breakfast cereals at 13%, ice cream/frozen dairy desserts at 12%, pastries and donuts at 12%, candy at 11%, and cakes and cookies at 11%. and seeds/nuts by 11%.
“This study contributes to the existing literature that food quality is a driving factor for positive health outcomes from food. Ensuring we are eating a balanced diet from “Fruit, vegetables, protein and legumes is the best way to improve your health.”
(tags for translation) Snacks