Are 100-Calorie Snack Packs Making You Fat?
There are lots of diet or weight loss foods out on the market these days. Low calorie, low fat, they scream "pick me, pick me" as you walk down the grocery aisles.
Well…aren’t they diet? South Beach, Weight Watchers, Atkins — all have their foods. But are they actually keeping you fat? Let’s take a look.
The Myth of the Snack Pack
You’ve seen them, because they are all over — the 100-calorie snacks. They seems so safe — just 100 calories — so they appear to be a wise choice. But are they?
Take a look at the ingredients of that snack, and chances are you’ll find a lot of highly processed foods — flour, sugar (regular or artificial) and so forth. Usually very little to no protein or fat. And that’s the problem.
Many of these snacks will raise your blood sugar shortly after you eat it. And a little while later, you get a blood sugar drop. Well, the snacks are just 100 calories, so eating one more won’t hurt, right?
But by day’s end, you’ve eaten a couple more on top of that. And for the most part, they are empty calories. All those little snacks add up pretty fast.
If you can keep your snacks to one a day, they are reasonable. But a better choice would be to eat that 100 calorie snack along with a piece of string cheese — also low calories, but offering the protein you need to keep your blood sugar from spiking.
How many snack packs have you eaten today?