Snacks on Snacks on Snacks

Writ 1133: Eric Leake

Fifth Short Essay

-       Zach Quinn

Snacks on Snacks on Snacks

It’s only 3:30 but your stomach starts to growl, saliva accumulates in your mouth and the sight of someone else eating triggers feelings of jealousy.  Who knows what’s making you hungry, someone nearby may have been talking about your favorite food or even worse you may have fallen prey to an advertisement for a food you like.  You ate lunch at noon and you’re going to eat dinner at 7 so this is right in-between.  A meal would be too much so you give in and snack.  You might stop by the vending machine, or reach into your backpack to find that bag of chips you put in there in case of emergency.  The snack food industry includes over 500 companies and produces combined annual revenues of $27 billion. (Snack Foods Manufacturing) Their advertisements and influences are tough to avoid and they can initiate bad habits.

Snacking is not inherently bad for you, however.  In fact, eating 5 or more, small meals a day, is supposed to be better for you than gorging at 3.  This originated from Jorge Cruise’s book The 3-Hour Diet and has been supported and criticized by many in the dietary field. Cruise writes that the trick is, “If you eat the right foods every three hours, you will keep your blood sugar level stable, so you’re never hungry” (Cruise).  This isn’t the same as snacking, however.  The problem is that when people snack, not only do they eat junk food but also, they don’t decrease the size of their regular meals. This leaves them eating regular meals plus junk food in-between.  Few snacks are actually healthy.  Most foods that don’t qualify as meals and fall into this category are candy bars, bags of chips, fruit snacks, popcorn, beef jerky and pretzels.  In the right quantity, a few of these are good for you but most snacks come overloaded with sugar, sodium and fat.  To add to these unhealthy foods, most seasoned snackers pair their chips or candy bar with a soda, Gatorade or juice.  Nutritionally, this only adds more sugar.

The goal is for people to learn how to snack appropriately.  A Consumer Reports Journal on Health featured a study on 15,000 English men and women.  The study found first found that eating “minimeals” could help people control hunger, calorie intake and thus lower their weight.  It went further, however, studying the cholesterol levels of those who at big meals and those who ate small meals.  They found that even participants who ate more calories snacking than eating normal meals, had lower cholesterol levels.  Among the participants who ate 6 or more meals a day, their cholesterol levels were about 5 percent lower.  Not only did the study find that snacking provided most consumers with a greater control over calorie intake but also that when they failed to do so, snacking kept them healthier.  The article recommends that for healthier snacking, consumers should, “Think of snacks as part of your whole meal plan, not as add-ons. So you may need to eat smaller portions at your regular meals. Keep healthy snacks on hand, such as flesh or dried produce and whole-grain products” (Snacking Cuts Cholesterol).  According to this article and many other sources, we don’t need to be afraid of snacking.  It can be a helpful tool to keep from getting to hungry and gorging at meal times.  It is simply important to stay observant of the calories you’re consuming, choose healthier snacks and of course keep your body active while doing so. 

Works Cited

Cruise, Jorge. The 3-Hour Diet. New York, New York: HarperCollins, 2005. Print.

“Snack Foods Manufacturing.” Hoover’s: a D&B company. Hoover’s Inc., 2012. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.hoovers.com/‌industry/‌snack-foods-manufacturing/‌1371-1.html>.

“Snacking Cuts Cholesterol.” Consumer Reports on Health 14.4 (2002): 7. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/‌ehost/‌detail?sid=ad7906e8-42c3-4606-afda-30e46d3465a0%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=126&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=6371188>.