What is your mind snacking on today?

Tick… Tick… 3.30PM (I am looking at my watch): There is still some time to go home. I will have a healthy snack today. Umm… How about half a bowl of oats? It will be filling till the dinner.

Tick… Tick… 4.30PM (I am feeling a little hungry): Who will cook oats after going home? I will be so tired. Instead, I will have milk and chocolate-flavored cereal; I know it’s more sugary, but I am at least having milk. Great! It’s decided… Milk and cereal… Easy to have...

Tick… Tick… 5.30PM (I am already hungry): I can’t wait till I reach home. I will get some fruit juice on the way.

Tick… Tick… 6.00 PM (I am on my way, starving to death): Gosh! I am so hungry. Who will look for a shop now? Oh! I can see McDonald’s. It’s just 5 minutes away. Let me have at least a small size burger.

Tomorrow onwards a healthy snack, promise!

This is our everyday story. Evening time is the most crucial time when we deviate from the healthy choices. Reason is quite simple. Long gaps between the meals create hunger pangs. Our mind starts taking control of our hunger needs. As we become hungrier, we are tempted to indulge in to high-calorie, fatty, sugary foods, like chocolates, ice creams, burgers, etc.

Best way to handle this issue is by having healthy snacks between main meals to avoid hunger pangs. Along with the quality of the snack, we need to monitor its quantity too. Research has proven that 100kcal, portion-controlled snacks help to regulate energy intake than consuming snacks in the standardized packs.

Let’s take a look at some less-than-100kcal, healthy snack options which can be eaten at 3 or 4 o’clock, so you won’t feel too hungry before reaching home. It will add some variety and taste, and also offer you a few options depending upon the availability of time. I.e., if you have too much of workload at office, just sip a glass of fruit juice. When you have some time, nibble on a sandwich. Here are some good options.

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1.       Choose a fiber rich bowl of sprouted moong (green gram), grated carrots and cubed cucumber, dashed with lime juice.

2.       A cup of fruit salad (apples, oranges, grapes, pineapples, bananas, etc.) is an antioxidant-rich choice to have.

3.       A glass of unsweetened fruit juice becomes an easy option. There are also some dietary-fiber-added fruit juices available in the market.

4.       Fix a whole wheat sandwich along with tomato, cucumber with low fat cottage cheese. A filling, high fiber and tasty option.

5.       A bowl of salad (lettuce, grated carrots, spinach, cherry tomatoes and low fat cheese) with salt and pepper tastes best.

 

Sometime we don’t have time to fix a mid evening snack for us. Options given below and other shelf-stable items can be kept in your office drawer as contingency for occasional consumption.



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     1.       A mix of dry fruits (almonds, peanuts, resins, dates, etc.) can be stored in your office drawer. Have a handful of it whenever your brain starts giving hunger signals.

      2.      No-sugar granola bars and nutribars become very handy  to have while travelling.

      3.       High fiber biscuits are another quick snack option.
4.      There are many low-fat, non-fried, baked snacks available in the market, which can be consumed occasionally. Read nutritional labels carefully as sometime these snacks may contain high amount of salt.

5.       Even a mix of whole grain Muesli can be eaten as a snack along with milk or yogurt.

6.       Low fat khakras or other namkeen items can be thought as an option; but be careful about your choice as there are many falsely claimed products in the market.

 

So, don’t allow your mind to take control of you, have a healthy snacking day!

Oats : The heart grain

Oat is a wonderful whole grain cereal to have in your regular diet. There are various ways by which oats can be relished such as oatmeal, oat porridge, Instant oats, flavored oats, oat cookies, oat bars and so on… It has been scientifically proven that oats help to improve heart health through various mechanisms.

1.       Reduce the risk of heart disease: Oats, a whole grain cereal has a number of advantages. Research has shown that high levels of whole-grain consumption i.e. 3 or more servings per day are associated with reductions in risk for cardiovascular disease. Also,there are certain unique phenolic compounds  in oats called as avenanthramide which has shown to reducing early atherogenic events.




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2.       Cholesterol Reduction:  Oats contain a unique soluble fiber beta glucan which helps to reduce bad cholesterol i.e LDL cholesterol from your body. LDL cholesterol is major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. USFDA has approved a health claim on oats saying  that 3 grams of beta glucan from oats daily along with a diet low in saturated fat may help you to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease

3.       Reduce the risk of diabetes: Diabetes is an independent risk factor for heart disease. Epidemiologic studies have shown an inverse relationship between wholegrain consumption and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Oats is very good source of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber such as beta glucan helps to maintain steady glucose levels.

 

4.       Helps to decrease weight: Obesity is another cause for developing cardiovascular disease. Research has shown that 5-30 g of soluble or insoluble fiber daily can effectively reduce food intake and/or hunger and produce weight losses that last for up to 52 weeks.

 

5.       May aid in lowering blood pressure: High blood pressure increases the pressure on blood vessels of the heart which may lead to injury and increases the risk of coronary heart diseases. Observational studies indicate that population consuming whole grain cereals such as oats have lower blood pressure. A study conducted in China demonstrated that people consuming 25 g oats daily had lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure.