To Snack or Not to Snack?

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM · September 12, 2012 · Volume 10

4.9/5 - (15 votes)

A review of the best available science examining the impact of eating frequency on both weight and health.

Discuss

Transcript

To snack or not to snack? A review was recently published on the accumulated research about eating frequency, and both weight and health. Maybe we should eat throughout the day, to reduce hunger, increase our metabolic rate, mobilize our body fat. Or, maybe, snacking will just lead us to overeat. What does the science say? What do you think? A few big meals a day, or smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day, for weight management and optimal health?

According to the best available science, it doesn’t seem to matter. “Overall current evidence does not suggest that manipulating eating frequency greatly benefits weight and health.” What we eat is more important than how often we eat it.

If you do like snacking, though, a new study, thanks to the California Prune Board, suggests that (what else?) prunes may be a particularly good choice, given the “satiating power of prunes”—which they found, like with nuts, to compensate for the majority of their calories.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Kerry Skinner.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Sources

Acknowledgements

Image thanks to alamy.com

Topics

To snack or not to snack? A review was recently published on the accumulated research about eating frequency, and both weight and health. Maybe we should eat throughout the day, to reduce hunger, increase our metabolic rate, mobilize our body fat. Or, maybe, snacking will just lead us to overeat. What does the science say? What do you think? A few big meals a day, or smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day, for weight management and optimal health?

According to the best available science, it doesn’t seem to matter. “Overall current evidence does not suggest that manipulating eating frequency greatly benefits weight and health.” What we eat is more important than how often we eat it.

If you do like snacking, though, a new study, thanks to the California Prune Board, suggests that (what else?) prunes may be a particularly good choice, given the “satiating power of prunes”—which they found, like with nuts, to compensate for the majority of their calories.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Kerry Skinner.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Image thanks to alamy.com

Doctor's Note

That was a quickie! This is not the first time we’ve run across the Prune Board. Remember their appearance in Dietary Guidelines: With a Grain of Big Salt? For a comparison of dried fruits, see Dried Apples Versus Cholesterol (the graphic of which sneaks into the intro of Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death), and Better Than Goji Berries. Nuts are also super healthy snacks. See Fighting Inflammation in a Nut Shell; What Women Should Eat to Live Longer; and Nuts and Bolts of Cholesterol Lowering.

Be sure to check out my associated blog posts for more context: The Anti-Wrinkle Diet and Best Dried Fruit For Cholesterol.

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