Is snacking ruining your health??

I often get the question from clients/friends/family "What can I eat for snacks" or "I do great with meals, but have no idea what to eat at snack time".

My answer usually comes in the form of another question: Why are you snacking?

I grew up with the idea of snacks between meals. Especially the bedtime snack at 8:00 every night- usually a bowl of ice cream!

I described myself as someone who preferred to "graze" vs. actually sit down to a full meal. There were several reasons for this, one being I never wanted to take the time to sit and eat because I was too "busy" and in the days of my eating disorder, it seemed like I could keep the amount of food better "in check" if I only ate small amounts vs a full meal.

As I have learned more about Functional Medicine, Functional Nutrition, and health overall, I have learned the importance of eating at specific times of day and limiting eating between meals.

The idea that you need to "fuel your metabolism" by eating every 2 hours has been debunked. The idea behind this was based on the concept of the Thermic Effect of Feeding:

"The thermic effect of food (TEF) is the amount of energy it takes for your body to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food you eat. TEF makes up a part of your daily calorie expenditure (calories out), and usually represents about 10% of the caloric intake of healthy adults eating a mixed and balanced diet"

People who feel the need to snack throughout the day generally fall into 3 categories:

People who struggle to regulate blood sugar
People who struggle with mindful eating, and tend to snack out of habit or boredom
People who are unable to digest a full meal

ALL 3 of the above are addressed when working in a FUNCTIONAL capacity with a coach.

Each time we eat the body releases insulin in response to this food intake and shuts off fat burning. So if you are eating constantly throughout the day, your body rarely has the chance to tap into burning stored fat as fuel.

Another issue with constant snacking is from a digestive standpoint. There is something called the MMC or migrating motor complex.

The idea behind larger, less frequent meals makes more sense in the realm of gut health because the MMC- migrating motor complex- only kicks in when the stomach is empty which takes about 4-5 hours after a meal.

The MMC is like the Zamboni that comes in and cleans off the ice in between periods in an ice hockey game. It cleans up all the debris left on the ice and prepares it for the next group of players! It’s essentially “housekeeping”

The MMC is part of the process that moves food through the digestive tract and prevents bacteria from hanging out where it doesn’t belong. Like in the case of SIBO or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

So in order to keep your digestive system “humming along” and prevent the overgrowth of potentially harmful bacteria, it would make sense to space your meals and/or snacks out by at least 4 hours and not eat in between.

Other considerations with snacking throughout the day:

"bites, licks, and tastes" can add up without you noticing and derail your goals
the gut microbiome also operates on a circadian rhythm and expects you to eat at certain times of the day. Constant snacking can disrupt the microbiome balance
snacking can add to the decision fatigue involved with your food prep for the week
other detoxification processes are impacted by constant intake of food since our digestive systems never get a real break

My question to you is: why do you need that snack?

If it's one of the 3 reasons listed above, consider working with a Functional Medicine or Functional Nutrition Coach to help work on the root cause of these issues!

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Why snacking is ruining your health

Is snacking ruining your health??

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