Snacks: Safe or Scam?
You don't have to be an athlete to be familiar with the snack. It's a great, bite-sized source of energy that can keep us comfortable and energetic until our next big meal. This is especially useful in athletes since they can burn so many calories in a day and need to maintain top performance throughout a meet. However, not all snacks are created equal; some products are loaded with extra sugar and lack the essential components a growing athlete needs yet are marketed and perceived as healthy. So how can we determine which snacks are safe and which are scams?
What To Look Out For:
Snack manufacturers will often label their products with key phrases that are attractive to a consumer opting for healthier snacks. However, the inclusion of such phrases is misleading— it does not mean that the snack is good for you. For example, a "gluten-free" snack might not have gluten but will have added sugars to enhance taste, effectively rendering the snack unhealthy. Here is a list of just some of the snack labels that require your extra inspection:
low fat
low sugar
low carb
vegan
gluten-free
dairy-free
Biggest Offenders:
Some snacks in particular are notorious for masking excessive amounts of added sugars yet are still perceived by many as being a healthier snack. Here is a list of 5 of the snack market's biggest offenders, along with real, actually healthy alternatives to them:
Yogurt. Flavored yogurts as well as yogurts with added fruit cubes sound like a healthy and tasty snack, but the truth is that these products have massive amounts of added sugars in them. Even "low or zero-fat" versions, such as certain Yoplait products, have at least 15 grams of sugar in them: the same as a chocolate bar.
Instead, opt for the Fage Total 0%, which has no added sugar at all, or simply buy plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt and add your own fruit/natural sweetener afterward.
Granola bars. Although granola itself is quite nutritious, the bars in which they are commonly sold are not, as they contain loads of added sugars that quickly cancel out the low-fat and high-whole grain benefits of granola. Deceiving portion sizes can also trick consumers into eating nearly 20 grams of sugar in one sitting!
Instead, ensure you are buying a granola bar with 6 grams of sugar or less per bar, or better yet, make your granola bars with healthy additives such as nuts, oats, and dried fruits.
Protein bars. These bars can be especially attractive to those seeking extra protein for muscle-building but like granola bars, hidden added sugars lurk within, often even exceeding the amount of sugar in servings of ice cream and donuts. Also, protein bars can have unnecessary substances like artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, oils, and thickeners that have no reason to be in anyone's body.
Instead, get protein from protein-rich foods, such as quinoa, broccoli, chickpeas, and almonds, just to name a few. Or, buy RX bars; they have no added sugars at all, as well as no artificial colors, flavors, or artificial ingredients.
Cereal. It's marketed as one of the best ways to start a morning, yet the nutrition label on the back reveals it is very much the opposite. With refined grains that lack the necessary quantities of protein and fiber and are very high in added sugars, it is far from being heart-healthy, as Honey Nut Cheerios would claim.
Instead, try starting your day with oatmeal, muesli (think of it as the German take on cereal), or even your own chia pudding, which I can confirm from personal experience is filling, easy to make, and delicious.
Veggie sticks. Don't let the word "veggie" fool you; the straw-shaped snacks are just fried or baked processed potatoes with added vegetable powders for color and taste. Not only that, but the snack exceeds the USDA’s limit of sodium per serving, with virtually no trace of fiber or protein.
Instead, choose to snack on actual vegetable sticks; that is to say, carrot, cucumber, and pepper sticks. Can't beat the real thing.
Conclusion:
We must take better care of what snacks we choose to consume, athlete or not, and ensure that snack manufacturers don't get the last say on what we put in our bodies. By being more meticulous about our search for healthy snacks (this includes being well-versed in reading nutrition labels; see our article on this to learn more) as well as being more skeptical of eye-catching claims, we can learn to change our snacking habits for the better.
Sources:
“10 Foods That Sound Healthy but Aren’t.” Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, www.heartandstroke.ca/articles/10-foods-that-sound-healthy-but-arent. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.
“11 Foods and Drinks with a Ton of Hidden Sugar.” CNET, www.cnet.com/health/nutrition/11-foods-and-drinks-with-a-ton-of-hidden-sugar/. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.
Kubala, Jillian. “14 ‘Health Foods’ That May Not Be as Nutritious as You Thought.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 8 Nov. 2021, www.healthline.com/nutrition/junk-health-foods.
Mawer, Rudy. “6 Reasons Why High-Fructose Corn Syrup Is Bad for You.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 27 Sept. 2019, www.healthline.com/nutrition/why-high-fructose-corn-syrup-is-bad.