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:
Part of the problem with granola bars is their sheer ubiquity as an afternoon snack—and the organic promise that is on so many of these bars’ labels. Nearly all of them are loaded with processed carbs, dried fruit (which is high in sugar), and held together with even more sugar in the form of honey or even the health-nut favorite agave. Plus, they don’t contain much in the way of filling fiber and are often loaded with calories. Save them for the 10-mile hike.
