70 JUNE 2017
WANDER DOWN ANY SNACK AISLE, AND YOU’LL FEEL AS IF YOU’RE BEING INVITED TO A DOZEN parties
at once. Shelf after shelf of bright colours and bold promises vie for your attention: more flavour! Thick
’n’ crunchy! Chocolate in every bite! You don’t feel that same rush when you’re shopping for garbanzo
beans, and for good reason: the spell cast by those snack packages is the result of sophisticated science
and psychology. Consider the very popular snack Fritos (pictured opposite page). As the story goes, says
food scientist Steven Witherly, Ph.D., about 50 years ago somebody overcooked a batch of corn chips. But
when people ate the “flawed” chips, they were blown away by the new version. Apparently the extra time
in the oven enhanced the flavour compounds. (Frito-Lay did not confirm this story.) Fritos also have
Fix the 5
Snacking
Mistakes
You Make
Every Day
more salt than most snacks, so they
send your pleasure receptors into
overdrive. They disintegrate in
your mouth, making them more
addictive. Even the smell on your
fingers afterward is part of a plan to
make that bunch you munched more
memorable, Witherly says. But all
those tricks are primitive compared
with the more subtle tactics food
companies now use to keep you
snacking. New “healthy” versions,
sometimes posing as post-workout
fuel, promise fewer calories, more
protein, and more nutrients – but
these updated options may be just as
bad for you as the junk.
This snacking situation wasn’t
always so confusing. Back in
the 1980s, bad science and good
marketing collided to sell the myth
that metabolism burns like a fire
- and that if you feed it regularly,
you’ll keep the flame burning. Snack
producers pounced, suggesting that
pretzels and chips would make fine
kindling. And so a 370-plus-billion-
dollar bonfire erupted around the
crunchy, salty, fatty, and sweet.
And everyone bit. Between 1977
and 2008, consumers’ daily snack
consumption doubled. Although
the kindling theory may sound
logical, your body doesn’t work that
way, says MH nutrition advisor
Alan Aragon, M.S. People who eat
throughout the day burn the same
number of calories as those who eat
less often – say, three or four times –
but in larger portions. “Small meals
have a small calorie-burning effect.
Large meals have a large calorie-
burning effect,” Aragon says, “but it
all ends up as a wash.”
Researchers have also discovered
that the body’s hormonal response
to snack foods makes them even
more dangerous to your waistline.
Hormones released when you eat
snacks don’t signal your brain that
you’re full in a way that’s similar to
what happens when you eat a meal
of lean meat, fruits and vegetables,
and whole grains, says Georgie Fear,
R.D., the author of Lean Habits for
Lifelong Weight Loss.
So though a 300-calorie candy
bar mid-morning may provide
temporary relief to an energy dip
or a hunger pang, you’re not likely
to compensate for those additional
calories by eating less at lunch, Fear
says. Plus, constant feeding trains
your brain to expect a hit of sugar
at certain times, and your stomach
pumps out an anticipatory burst
of the hunger hormone ghrelin to
remind you.
To fight back against this
nationwide snack attack – and
the numerous health problems
that accompany it – use the advice
on these pages to decide what to
snack on and when, and how to stop
yourself from shaking every last
crumb out of the bag.
If you want to lose
or maintain weight,
your nutrition needs
should come from
3 or 4 large meals.
If you’re still hungry,
follow these
guidelines. You’ll
eat more of the
good stuff and less
junk as you watch
your gut deflate.
new illo
coming
Mar 14
W
Unless you’re trying to
bulk up, Aragon
recommends limiting
your snack calories to
750 a day. Foodwise,
that’s approximately 2
to 4 servings of fruits
or vegetables, 1
serving of nuts, 1
serving of cheese,
and a 2-scoop protein
shake. Note that none
of those options
includes chips or
Double Stuf Oreos.
You Eat
the Wrong
Foods
3
If you’re very active –
training for a marathon
or lifting heavy several
days a week – add
25 grams of protein
on either end of the
two-hour window
surrounding your
workout. That’s a
1-scoop protein shake,
four large hard-boiled
eggs, or 2 ounces of
beef jerky. That’s the
kind of dose that’ll fuel
muscle growth.
You Need
More
Protein
4
If you find yourself
constantly snacking,
hit pause. Are you
truly hungry? Or are
you tired, stressed
or bored? If you’re
seeking food as
temporary relief, sweat
it out. Cardiovascular
exercise may activate
areas of your brain that
help you resist sweet or
salty foods, according
to research from the
University of Waterloo.
You’re
Not Even
Hungry
1
Office birthdays
happen. So why not just
a half slice of cake?
When researchers in
the Netherlands gave
large and small
desserts to two groups,
the result was no
surprise: the big-
dessert group ate more
cal ories and enjoyed
’em. But guess what?
The people served the
small portion felt every
bit as satisfied.
You Take
Too Big
a Serving
5
The lower the sugar
content, the better
- though producers
often hide the
sweetness with
jargon. Any ingredient
name ending in “ose”
(dextrose, sucrose)
tells you the product
probably has sugar. But
watch out for “natural
cane syrup” or “natural
fruit juices” too. They
may come from nature,
but they’re still sugar.
You’re
Hooked
on Sugar
2
FOOD STYLING
MICHELLE GATTON/STOCKLAND MARTEL
PROP STYLING
EMILY MULLIN/HELLO ARTISTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
RADIO
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