Sugar and fat is an irresitable combination, and once you start eating cookies it is hard to stop. Two simple ways to make healthier and tasty snacks.
Not your fault
Scientific research has shown that the combination of sugar and fat is hard to resist. Eating products that are high in sugar and fat, such as donuts, triggers parts of our brain that are involved in behavioral control and in feelings of hunger and satiation, making it very challenging to stop eating. Sometimes this trigger is described as or compared to addiction or addictive behavior. Instead of trying to control or limit the amount of donuts you eat, it is easier to ignore the donut and not touch it at all.
But, sometimes one just prefers to eat something sweat.
Do not be fooled
Many food manufacturers claim to offer healthy alternatives such as light products, or products with natural sugars.
Light
Light products should contain 30 pecent less calories, fat or sugar compared to the regular version. But, when a product contains less fat, that fat is often replaced by carbs or protein. The product may then stioll contain more calories. For example, light peanut butter often contains the same amount of calories compared to regular peanut butter. Furthermore, these type of products are often highly processed and contain many artificial ingredients.
Natural
Natural sugars, such as honey or dried fruit, are processed by the body no differently than other sugars. Sugar is sugar. Also, products such as unbranded unsalted nuts, superfoods or coconut oils have a healthy image but can still make a product very calorie-dense and unhealthy.
Alternatives
Making conscious choices of what to eat when, and having a well balanced diet with a tasty snack every once in a while might be the best option. Also, preparing home- made snacks helps to get better control over the type of food products and the amounts you eat. It can also be helpful, and is very easy, to replace certain elements for healthier options:
- Butter and sugar can both be replaced by apple sauce or mashed banana
- White flour can be replaced by by whole wheat flour or oatmeal to increase the nutritional value and intake of fibers
Create your health!©
