At the end of May it was held in Kiev XI Scientific-Practical Conference "Modern aspects of nutrition". Among the issues raised at the forum, and this was an extremely relevant topic as "Sneking - advantages and disadvantages of snacking." That was the name of the report the main freelance nutritionist Ministry of Health of Ukraine, President of the Association of Dietitians of Ukraine Oleg Shvets.
Snacks, snacks have become an integral part of the diet of most people, it is a reality and, therefore, the challenge is to make use of them as useful and healthy.
Nutritionist cited data from a large study recently conducted in 10 European countries. According to these data, the percentage of daily energy snacks in Europeans diets ranges from 15 to 30% depending on the region. 15% (about caloric breakfast) - a figure that is relevant to the south of Europe, the Mediterranean countries, where there are still traditions lunch / dinner in a restaurant. But in central and northern Europe the proportion of snacks is already about 30% of daily calories (that's more than a meal).
Europe is a major consumer of snacks in the world. The global snacks market is steadily growing in all categories: grains, meat, nut... It is expected that by 2020, global sales of snacks will exceed $ 630 billion.
"Today, people are living in such a rapid pace that offer nutritious, delicious and convenient food that can be eaten quickly, finds the answer for consumers. Snacks - a group of products, ready to eat. But how can we have in mind such products when talking about healthy eating? "- asks Oleg V..
Place snacks in the food pyramid or 'healthy plate' is heavily dependent on what they have nutritional value (optimum - high nutritional value at a moderate energy value), when used, how many people spent on this time and concentrate on whether that generally takes food. The latter aspect is even called experts complicating factor for objective research.
After all, people often said that eating two or three times a day, forgetting that between meals had a few more drinks and snacks. In this case, the daily energy value of the power at the expense of snacks is not redistributed between meals, but simply increases. Accordingly, such a person is at risk for weight gain.
How to make so that the snacks were good?
- Make a snack planned part of the diet, rather than "capture" food spontaneously. (An important detail: drinks - especially those containing sugar, cream, etc. - is also a source of energy, and consequently take into account that they also "bite".
- Choose as Sneek products with close to optimal balance of calories and nutritional value.
As an example, the optimal snack for adults and children from 3 years in the report are natural and have been given nutrition bars EatMe ™ from GC "New Products", which just two years ago have been approved by the Association of Dietitians Ukraine. They contain only natural fruit, nuts and dried fruit, with no added colors or preservatives, and bar EatMe «Monkey" does not even add sugar, which was made possible through the use of rice paper instead glaze.
Ukrainian President Dietetic Association reiterates that comfortable and affordable, ready-made snacks It may well be part of a healthy diet if they are to have a moderate energy content at high food values.
