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Certain kinds of snacks are more beneficial for your overall health than others, and according to a new study.
If you are the kind of person that likes staying full between your meals or likes a little more fuel sometimes, then you might also find yourself eating snacks throughout the day.
While there are many options out there when it comes to types of snacks—from creamy to crunchy and sweet to savory —there are some choices that are much healthier than others.
For example, a recently released study has discovered that dried fruit and nuts could prevent abdominal fat as you age.
During the study, around 556 participants who were 65 to 79 years old were thought to consume 30 gm of either dried fruit or nuts for at least three days per week. In the end, researchers had noted that those who did not consume the recommended amount of healthy snacks had “a 19% increased prevalence of abdominal obesity.”
“It is exciting to see that there has been more research highlighting how dietary fruit and fats can help people remain at a healthy weight, especially since there are some people that tend to avoid these types of foods when they’re trying to lose weight,” said Gaby Vaca-Flores.
“Nuts have a lot of healthy unsaturated fats and calories,” and “they play a role in losing weight by helping you feel a lot less hungry throughout your day,” explains Vaca-Flores, while also noting that “some evidence indicates that consuming nuts could help boost the calories that are burned while resting.”
Vaca-Flores says that dried fruit “is packed with a lot of fiber” which “is a crucial part of any weight loss regime because it will help you feel fuller quicker which could leave less room for any unhealthier foods.”
With those benefits you are surely wondering about the number of nuts and how much dried fruit you need to be eating as well as how many times you can snack on these foods. Vaca-Flores recommends one ounce of nuts or 28 gm, while “adults should eat at least two cups of fruit every day. Eating a combination of fresh and dried fruit can help you achieve this goal.”
Granted, you should also know about the fact that, as Vaca-Flores explains, “some types of nuts are sold with extra salt for better flavor. Consuming foods that have added salt can have bad effects on your cardiovascular health and overall health.”
That is why Vaca-Flores suggests reaching for the plain, unflavored and unsalted nuts.
At the same time though, “there is some dried fruit that is sold with extra sugar which could set back your weight loss goals. Additionally, dried fruit is normally smaller than fresh fruit is, which could make it easy to overeat them and accidentally add too many calories to your diet. I suggest portioning out your dried fruits separately instead of eating them directly out of the bag to help prevent this from happening.”
