FEWERMOODSWINGS
Ifyou’veeversnappedatsomeone
whenyouwerehungry,youknow
thatfood– orlackof– caninfluence
yourmood.Butwhenyou’re‘hangry’,
it’snotjustbecauseyourbloodsug-
arhasdropped.Astudyinthejour-
nalEmotionrevealedthathunger
hastheabilitytomakeambiguousor
unpleasantthingsseemevenworse.
Snackinghelpsyouavoidthatprecar-
iousposition,resultinginfewermood
swingsandbetterfocus.Thiscanhave
apositiverippleeffectonyourday
andyoursubsequentfoodchoices.
Somestudies have shown that
healthysnackingmayalsoimprove
memoryandcognitiveperformance
andhelpalleviatementalhealth
issuessuchasanxietyanddepres-
sion,sayspsychiatristDrAshwini
Nadkarni.Ifyouwaittoolongtoeat
betweenmeals,yourbodythinksit’s
starvingandreleasesthestresshor-
monecortisoltocorrectyourglucose
levels.“Cortisolwillcausetherelease
of inflammatory substanceslike
cytokinesandleukotrienes,whichcan
producesymptomsofdepressionand
anxiety,”DrNadkarniexplains.Snack-
inghelpsyousidestepthistrap.
Fastingandmeal-skipping,along
withdehydration,arealsomigraine
triggers. AsDr Grahamexplains,
“Whenthebrainisstarvedofboth
sugarandwater,it willtalkintheform
ofa headache.”Hisprescription?In
additiontodrinkingwater,snacking
on fresh fruit, with its natural sugars,
canhelp.Asmallstudypublishedin
theJournalofClinicalNeuroscience
alsofoundthatsnackingatnight,
ratherthanearlierintheday,decreas-
estheoddsofhavinga headache the
nextdayby 40 percent.AWORDOFCAUTION
Exceptin thecase ofpreventing
migraines,researchers generally
adviseskippingthatmidnightsnack.
Peoplearemorelikelytomakebad
foodchoiceslateatnight,whichcan
contributetoweightgain.Andstud-
iesshowthatnight-timesnacksin-
creaseproblemswithbloodsugar
regulation,inflammation,cholesterol
andtriglyceridelevels,andcognitive
ability.Ifyoumusthaveasnackat
night,trycottagecheese.A 2018 study
publishedintheBritishJournalof
Nutritionfoundthateating 30 grams
ofit 30 to 60 minutesbeforebedtime
canfillyouupwithout making you
gainweight.THEBOTTOMLINE
Therearedifferentwaystogoabout
thiswholesnackingthing.Theone
constantistochoosea healthy,filling
optioninanappropriateportionsize.
Dothat,andthebenefitsdon’tstopat
weightlossandimprovedhealth;your
generalapproachtolifemightbe
affected.Whenyousnackmindfully,
saysDrNadkarni,“it’seasiertotakea
deepbreath,focusonexactlywhat
you’reeatingatthatmoment,and
enjoy the day around you.69
Snack Your Way to Better Health