The Worst Snacks for Your Body
These between-meal munchies may seem harmless, but they could actually hurt your health
To snack or not to snack? That depends on the snack. Done the right way (calorie-controlled, nutrient-rich), snacking can keep cravings in check and up the nutritional quality of your diet. But all too often some of the most common snacks—even the ones that seem healthy—are filled with salt, sugar, excess calories, and even harmful chemicals, according to Tiffany Jackson, ND, and Kate Kennedy, RD, practitioners at Cenegenics Carolinas, an age-management medical practice in Charleston, South Carolina. Here, they share the 10 worst snacks for your health:
This is a triple threat snack if there ever was one. Not only are potato chips high in fat, calories, and sodium (threat No. 1), they are a high glycemic vegetable (threat No. 2), which can spike blood sugar. And finally (threat No. 3), when potatoes are heated to a high temperature, they release acrylamide, a harmful chemical associated with nerve damage. And no, you can’t eat just one.
