Medical School. If you wait too long to
eat between meals, your body thinks
it’s starving and releases the stress hor-
mone cortisol to correct your glucose
levels. “Cortisol will cause the release
of inflammatory substances like cyto-
kines and leukotrienes, which can pro-
duce symptoms of depression and
anxiety,” Dr. Nadkarni explains. Again,
snacking helps you sidestep this trap.
Fasting and meal-skipping, along
with dehydration, are also migraine
triggers. As Dr. Graham explains,
“When the brain is starved of both
sugar and water, it will talk in the form
of a headache.” His prescription? In
addition to drinking water, snacking
on fresh fruit, with its natural sugars,
can help. A small study published in
the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience
also found that snacking at night,
rather than earlier in the day, de-
creases the odds of having a headache
the next day by 40 percent.A Word of Caution
Except in the case of preventing mi-
graines, researchers generally advise
skipping that midnight snack. People
are more likely to make bad food
choices late at night, which can con-
tribute to weight gain. And studies
show that nighttime snacks increaseproblems with blood sugar regulation,
inflammation, cholesterol and tri-
glyceride levels, and cognitive ability.
If you must have a snack at night,
try cottage cheese. A 2018 study pub-
lished in the British Journal of Nutri-
tion found that eating 30 grams of it
30 to 60 minutes before bedtime canfill you up without making you gain
weight. It can also have a favorable
effect on metabolism and improve
muscle quality and overall health.The Bottom Line
There are different ways to go about
this whole snacking thing. The one
constant is to choose a healthy, filling
option in an appropriate portion size.
Do that, and the benefits don’t stop at
weight loss and improved health; your
general approach to life might be af-
fected. When you snack mindfully,
says Dr. Nadkarni, “it’s easier to take
a deep breath, focus on exactly what
you’re eating at that moment, and en-
joy the day around you too.”SNACKING CAN
POSITIVELY AFFECT
YOUR HEALTH.Occupational Hazard
A bore is a fellow who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it.
henry ford, industrialistReader’s Digest How to Snack Your Way to Better Health
22 september 2019 | rd.com