Snacks come in small packages, but they can have a big impact on heart health.
Many are loaded with sugar, salt or saturated fat — ingredients linked with weight gain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Nutritionists say snacking is not necessary, and some cardiologists agree.
Dr. William Kraus, a preventive cardiologist at Duke Health and professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, avoids snacking to maintain a healthy weight and keep a regular schedule of meals.
Late night snacks are especially unhealthy, he says.
“My No. 1 recommendation to every patient who walks in my office is not to eat after dinner,” Kraus tells TODAY.com.
“It’s just going to get stored. Your body doesn’t need it … so it’s unnecessary calories going in your body. It also interrupts sleep if you eat too close to going to bed.”
Other heart doctors make room for snacks during the day.
Dr. Jennifer Mieres, professor of cardiology at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell in Hempstead, New York, eats an early breakfast so she has a small mid-morning snack to combat hunger before lunch.
She also has a mid-afternoon snack before dinner. Mieres says she has a sweet tooth, so she makes sure to pack a healthy snack option and have it with her.
“Always be prepared,” Mieres, co-author of “Heart Smarter for Women: Six Weeks to a Healthier Heart,” tells TODAY.com.
“If I allow myself to get hungry without having something that I know will work for me, I can easily go to the cafeteria or to the (vending) machine and be tempted.”
What cardiologists eat when they snack:
Nuts
Kraus tries not to snack, but when he does, he eats nuts. His favorite is a handful of peanuts.
Mieres’ mid-morning snack is a handful of almonds.
Both cardiologists praised nuts as a snack because they contain protein, healthy fat, fiber and antioxidants, and are filling. Studies have found a handful of nuts each day may lower the risk of heart disease.
Nuts are…
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