For many Americans, snacking is an activity that transcends tiding oneself over until the next meal. We snack while at work, while watching TV, at parties, during the holidays, and endless other occasions. Moreover, the variety of snack foods we indulge on is just as diverse: chips, cookies, crackers, pretzels, candy ... the list of foods goes on and on. But while noshing on snacks between meals seems relatively innocuous, the truth is that most of this snacking involves foods that are chock full of added sugar, salt, fat, and empty calories.
The reason this matters from a health perspective is that these snack foods represent just one part of an American diet that has been getting worse overall for decades. What’s even more troubling is the connection between poor diet and heart health. In fact, while there are indications that the trend has been gradually improving since the 1960s, cardiovascular heart disease still kills hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease takes more lives each year than all forms of cancer combined.
It is this concern about heart health that is at the center of why we need to rethink some of our daily habits. After all, other than smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are two of the most important factors in the development of heart disease, and they are both heavily linked to dietary choices. It can be difficult, however, to totally switch to healthy eating overnight, so that’s why switching to healthy snacking can be a great first step on the way to an overall healthier diet and a healthier heart.
The first step in reevaluating snack choices is tracking the actual calories in the snacks you currently eat. Most people don’t stop to count calories, so they are fairly oblivious to the quantity of calories, fat, sugar, or cholesterol in what they eat or drink. For example, a venti Caramel Frappuccino at Starbucks contains over 400 calories, or about 20% of the daily recommended calories in a 2000 calorie diet. When you add three meals a day and a variety of snack foods, it’s easy to see that the calories (and sugar, fat, etc.) can add up fast.
Indeed, for some people, just reducing or changing up the snacks and sugary beverages consumed in between meals can make a huge difference in curbing the intake of unhealthy foods. Assuming you’re not ready to ditch all snacks, though, there are other ways to modify your diet to reduce the amount of heart-impacting food elements that can keep you sufficiently satisfied at the same time as pivoting to a healthier diet. Below are some healthy snack ideas that are good for your heart and your calorie count:
Being mindful of heart health is an important part of both short term and long term health, and the snacks we choose can be a great first step in the right direction. Even modest shifts toward a healthy diet can begin to make a difference to your health, but that’s only the beginning; this is especially true if weight loss (and the health benefits related to weight loss) is also one of your goals.
At True You Weight Loss, we understand that traditional weight loss methods that focus on a restrictive diet and hard-to-sustain exercise regimens are often not effective at helping you achieve your goals. So to help you live the life you want, True You offers a variety of non-surgical, cutting-edge weight loss procedures that lead to lasting results and sustainable changes to your diet and overall health. If you’d like to talk with one of our weight loss professionals to learn more, solicitar una consulta today!
Dr. Christopher McGowan, MD, a leader in endobariatrics, specializes in non-surgical obesity treatments and is triple-board-certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Obesity Medicine. Renowned for pioneering endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) with over 2,000 procedures, his global influence and research contributions define him as a top expert.