The truth is that most of us crave a snack between meals. We find ourselves consuming sweet treats like cookies or craving other junk foods like chips. But the problem lies in the fact that snacking on the wrong foods means unnecessary calories without the perks of consuming nutrients vital to your body’s health. The more of these unhealthy snacks you consume, the more likely you’ll experience unwanted weight gain.
For instance, while chips are a common go-to snack, they are high in fats, salts and preservatives. The process of frying them degrades any nutritional value which translates into empty calories for your body. As for sweet treats, be aware that their primary ingredient is sugars. White flour and white sugar are refined carbohydrates that have lost much of their nutritional value through the refining process and are packed with sugars. Remember, when carbohydrates are digested they become sugar in your system. Sugar is a primary source of energy for our bodies and is converted to glycogen for future use. However, the more sugars your body produces, the less storage space available for glycogen, thus forcing your body to store the sugars as body fat.
A better alternative to these unhealthy snacks are vegetables. A healthy snack can not only curb your hunger and calories consumed, but also boost your immune system. Vegetables are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. And unlike snacks with refined carbohydrates, their nutritional values aren’t degraded in processing. Vitamins are essential to our health and our body cannot produce them on its own.
Another important fact is that vegetables contain Chlorophyll that is beneficial for supporting the production of red blood cells, reducing cholesterol and blood pressure. It will also boost your immune system and has been known to produce enzymes in your body that protect against cancers. Consuming vegetables that haven’t been degraded by food processing means a higher chance of ingesting the nutrients required to ensure that your body is in a healthy balance. So help your body out by grabbing veggie tray instead of a bowl of chips at your next holiday party.
