Have you ever found yourself reaching for a snack every couple of hours, thinking it’s a healthy way to keep your energy levels steady? While occasional snacking can be a part of a balanced diet, constantly munching throughout the day might be doing more harm than good. Let's dive into why frequent snacking can negatively impact your health and what you can do to keep your body in top shape.

Whenever we consume food, our bodies increase blood glucose levels where insulin is released to help get glucose and other nutrients into the cell. This is not to say that insulin and glucose are bad; we are supposed to go through these processes. We want that response to shut off afterwards so that your body can go back to burning fat stores and get into a reparative/non-stressed state. For most people, they get a big spike in glucose, which leads to a crash, leaving them with low energy for the rest of the day.

So, when you constantly spike your blood sugar/glucose, that insulin response becomes more chronic, which leads to your cells becoming resistant to that insulin. This is where the term insulin resistance comes into play. Your blood sugar can also spike from stress, toxins, or overall inflammation. This constant spiking is at the root of many health issues, such as high blood pressure, hormonal issues, skin problems, brain fog, fatigue, difficulty losing weight, anxiety, fatty liver, cardiovascular issues, cravings, or any other chronic illness.

It is important to give your body time in between meals so that your insulin level lowers enough. But this may be tough for a lot of people because cravings and hunger kick in if your blood sugar crashes. How do you combat this? Real, whole foods with high fiber and high protein. Instead of a bagel for breakfast (which can elicit a big glucose spike), have some eggs, some avocado, and some fruit. This will keep your glucose from spiking too much, keep you more full, and prevent cravings.

If you need further guidance to help battle your health issues, our clinical nutritionist here at BodyFit would be glad to help you out. Contact us today to schedule your clincal nutrition assessment!