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Even before you swallow a bite of food, taste receptors in your mouth start “talking” with your brain and stomach—letting them know food is on the way, says Belinda Lennerz, M.D., an endocrinologist and nutrition researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital.
That leads to hormone shifts and other metabolic changes that help your digestive system prepare to handle a big influx of food, Dr. Lennerz says. (One example: Your insulin levels tick up in order to keep your blood sugar from climbing too high post-feed.)
All this is good and necessary if you’re taking down a whole meal. These preparations keep your body in a happy state of homeostasis, Dr. Lennerz says.
But in that break-room scenario—and in many other snacking situations—your body doesn’t know you only intended to have a bite or two, she says.
Your gut and digestive system react as though a big meal is on the way. The resulting drop in blood sugar can shoot your hunger through the roof, Dr. Lennerz says. That can send you running back to the break room to pound those cookies and chips by the fistful.
What can you do about all this? Follow these three snacking rules:
DON’T START WHAT YOU CAN’T STOP
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She reiterates much of what Dr. Lennerz describes above, and says the main message here is an obvious one: If you’re not hungry, don’t eat anything.
Keep in mind, it may be especially tough to stop eating salty or sweet treats after just a bite or two, says Kent Berridge, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience at the University of Michigan.
“A lot of modern packaged foods are made to tap into the brain’s reward pathways,” he explains.
Particularly if a snack combines sweet and salty flavors—a combo that fires up you’re your brain’s “GIVE ME MORE” sectors—you may find it tough to stop after a bite or two, he says.
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“Even thinking about food can trigger the kinds of hormonal responses that increase hunger,” Tucker adds.
Their advice? Clear your environment of temptations.
At work, you want to keep your office and desk free of snacks or food imagery, Tucker says. If you know the break room may be loaded with goodies, keep away.
The same rules apply at home, she says. Keep snack foods tucked away in cabinets—not out on the counter where a stroll through the kitchen will expose you to them.
REACH FOR THE RIGHT SNACKS
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“Homeostatic refers to energy deficits, so you’re eating because your body needs energy,” she explains. “Hedonic eating is eating for pleasure.”
While these two kinds of eating are not mutually exclusive—you can eat both for pleasure and to satisfy your body’s energy needs—most of the situations mentioned above have to do with hedonic eating. That is, you crave food because your senses were exposed to tasty goodies—not because your body needs energy.
On the other hand, there are lots of times when your body really IS running low on energy—like after a big workout, or late in the afternoon when you’ve been grinding at the office and haven’t eaten for hours. In those cases, the right snack can help quell hunger until your next meal, Tucker says.
What should you reach for?
“Proteins and healthy fats,” Dr. Lennerz says.
Your body digests both slowly, and neither triggers the kind of hunger-stoking insulin response you get from sugar or refined carbs, she says.
What does that translate to in real-food terms? Snacks like avocado, nuts and full-fat yogurt.
Tucker says fiber-rich carbohydrates—mainly, whole fruits—can also be a good snack. Apple and peanut butter combines a whole fruit with some fat and protein. Hummus and vegetable sticks is another satisfying option, she says.
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