Health Topics for Nutrition

Healthy Snack foods

Snacking is a popular pastime. Healthy snacking depends on making wise, nutritious, and enjoyable choices. It is also guilt-free.

If you want to improve your health, lose weight, and lower cholesterol, then restrict fatty foods and low-fiber foods. Restrict snacks like potato chips, cookies, crackers, bagels, pretzels, candies, and pastries. When low fiber foods like these are chosen, there is not enough fiber to make you feel full. So you end up eating too much and taking in too many calories. All extra calories are converted to fat by your liver.

Snack foods that are low in fat and high in fiber are best. Fiber fills you up without adding extra calories. Select snacks that include lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans. The National Cancer Institute recommends that people eat at least 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

Here are some great healthy snack foods:

• fresh fruit
• dried fruit
• frozen fruit
• fruit drink made with frozen fruit
• fruit salad
• vegetable salad
• raw vegetables
• canned beans like chickpeas or pinto beans
• whole grain cereals and whole wheat breads and crackers and
• low-fat bean dips or salsa dips made with fresh vegetables or fruit

Many high-fat foods are available in low-fat or fat-free versions. These healthier low-fat versions should be eaten in moderation because they are also very low in fiber. Examples are:

• cheeses, including cottage cheese and cream cheese
• milk, yogurt, ice cream, and frozen yogurt
• puddings, cookies, cakes, pies, and other pastries
• pretzels, bagels, and chips

Americans get more sugar from soft drinks than from any other food. (This means extra calories that convert to extra fat.) Every 12- ounce cola drink is 160 calories of nothing. No vitamins, minerals, or fiber. Choose a soft drink and you just wasted an opportunity to have a healthy serving of orange juice, or to boost your calcium with a glass of skim milk.

Remember, healthy snacking depends on making wise and nutritious choices.

Last Reviewed 2005

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

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