More than 90% of American adults have one or more snacks a day, but snacking has gotten a bad reputation for being a harmful habit. Now, new research suggests that snacking can be good for you — when it’s done right.
The scientific analysis, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, analyzed data from the Zoe nutrition app, which was originally collected between 2018 and 2019. For the study, 854 participants recorded what they ate and when they ate it for two to four days. The researchers also gave the participants a series of health tests, including examining their cardiovascular health — in addition to levels of fat and glucose in their blood.
The researchers discovered that 95% of the participants were snackers, with most consuming more than two snacks a day. While having low-quality snacks was linked with higher levels of triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood linked to heart disease) and insulin resistance (when the body’s cells don’t respond well to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar), the opposite was true for high-quality snacks. How often people snacked didn’t seem to have an impact on these levels.
“Our study showed that the quality of snacking is more important than the quantity or frequency of snacking. Thus, choosing high-quality snacks over highly processed snacks is likely beneficial,” lead study author Kate Bermingham, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at King’s College London, said in a statement.
This isn’t the first study to find snacking to be helpful for your health. However, research around snacking has had mixed results, largely finding that eating between meals can either support a healthy diet or work against it. Here’s what nutritionists recommend when it comes to snacking in a healthy way.
How can snacking be beneficial to your health?
Snacks can help bridge the gap between meals, keeping up your energy levels and helping to prevent you from overeating at the next meal, says Jessica Cording, R.D., author of The Little Book of Game-Changers. “It’s important to de-stigmatize snacking,” she says. “Snacking can be strategic.”
Cording says that it’s “completely normal” to eat between meals when there’s a long stretch of time between them. “It’s just important to make smart choices,” she says.
Scott Keatley, R.D., co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy, agrees. “It’s not just about how often you snack, but what you snack on and when,” he says. “High-quality snacks — think fresh, minimally-processed ingredients — can positively influence triglycerides and insulin sensitivity.”
What should snacks look like?
Keatley recommends approaching snacks the same way you do regular meals. “Snacking should be an intentional act, not an afterthought,” he says. “I recommend treating snacks as miniature meals that contribute to the day’s nutritional balance.”
For optimal nutrition, Cording suggests having a balance of fiber, protein, and/or fat with each snack. “This combination of nutrients helps you to stay full,” she says. “We’re conditioned to think of snacks as foods that come in a package or carby stuff, but snacks can be a really great opportunity to nourish our bodies.”
But Keri Gans, R.D.N., author of The Small Change Diet stresses the “mini meal” aspect of this. “It should not be confused with a regular meal,” she says. “In other words, the total calories, fat, protein, and carbohydrates should be much lower than those of breakfast, lunch, or dinner.”
Nutritionists say these are great snack choices:
- Fruit and nut butter
- A handful of nuts
- Plain Greek yogurt with fruit, nuts, and chia seeds
- Cottage cheese and fruit
- Fresh vegetables and hummus
- A piece of fruit with a serving of nuts, roasted edamame, or roasted chickpeas
- A hardboiled egg with a handful of cherry tomatoes
“You can go sweet or savory with your snacks,” Cording says, also recommending thinking outside of the box when it comes to your choices. “Snacks could be dinner leftovers, a scrambled egg…they don’t have to look like traditional snack foods,” she says.
The best time to snack, according to nutritionists
The timing of your snacks matters. “Mid-morning and mid-afternoon are ideal moments to recharge and savor something nourishing,” Keatley says. “Avoid late-night snacking, as it can interfere with restorative fasting periods and leave you feeling sluggish.”
Overall, Cording recommends listening to your hunger cues, whenever you can. And, if your schedule doesn’t allow for making healthy snack choices when hunger strikes, she suggests planning your snacks out in advance. “Sometimes you have to think ahead,” she says. “If you have a window of more than three to four hours without eating, you may want to plan for a snack.”