Healthy Eating & Snackin
Before you start munching on a snack, ask yourself what's in the food you've chosen. Is it loaded with sugar? If it is, think again. Another choice would be better for your teeth. And keep in mind that certain kinds of sweets can do more damage than others. Gooey or chewy sweets spend more time sticking to the surface of your teeth. Because sticky snacks stay in your mouth longer than foods that you quickly chew and swallow, they give your teeth a longer sugar bath.
You should also think about when and how often you eat snacks. Do you nibble on sugary snacks many times throughout the day, or do you usually just have dessert after dinner? Damaging acids form in your mouth every time you eat a sugary snack. The acids continue to affect your teeth for at least 20 minutes before they are neutralized and can't do any more harm. So, the more times you eat sugary snacks during the day, the more often you feed bacteria the fuel they need to cause tooth decay.
If you eat sweets, it's best to eat them as dessert after a main meal instead of several times a day between meals. Whenever you eat sweets -- in any meal or snack -- brush your teeth well with a fluoride toothpaste afterward.
When you're deciding about snacks, think about:
- the number of times a day you eat sugary snacks
- how long the sugary food stays in your mouth
- the texture of the sugary food (chewy? sticky?)
If you snack after school, before bedtime, or other times during the day, choose something without a lot of sugar or fat. There are lots of tasty, filling snacks that are less harmful to your teeth -- and the rest of your body -- than foods loaded with sugars and low in nutritional value. Snack smart!
Low-fat choices like raw vegetables, fresh fruits, or whole-grain crackers or bread are smart choices. Eating the right foods can help protect you from tooth decay and other diseases. Next time you reach for a snack, pick a food from the list inside or make up your own menu of non-sugary, low-fat snack foods from the basic food groups.
How can you Snack Smart?
You can snack smart by picking a variety of foods from the food groups below:
Fresh fruits and raw vegetables
- berries
- oranges
- grapefruit
- melons
- pineapple
- pears
- tangerines
- broccoli
- celery
- carrots
- cucumbers
- tomatoes
- unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices
- canned fruits in natural juices
Grains
- bread
- plain bagels
- unsweetened cereals
- unbuttered popcorn
- tortilla chips (baked, not fried)
- pretzels (low-salt)
- pasta
- plain crackers
Milk and dairy products
- low or non-fat milk
- low or non-fat yogurt
- low or non-fat cheeses
- low or non-fat cottage cheese
Meat, nuts and seeds
- chicken
- turkey
- sliced meats
- pumpkin seeds
- sunflower seeds
- nuts
Others
- pizza
- tacos
- snacks above combine foods from the different groups
Things to Remember are:
- choose sugary foods less often
- avoid sweets between meals
- eat a variety of low or non-fat foods from the basic groups
- brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste after snacks and meals
Many parents struggle to know which foods are healthy for their children. When they are able to opt for healthy choices, about two-thirds struggle to get their children to eat healthily. The easiest way for children to eat healthy is if there parents eat healthy at every meal. Parents need to cook healthy meals and bypass going out for fast food. Cooking is actually easier than most people think. Cooking on a gas grill is very simply, quick and easy for healthy and delicious meals.
A simple way to improve nutrition is to add raw fruit and vegetables to family diets. These are foods that have no preservatives or added color. They provide plenty of vitamins, mineral, antioxidants, fiber, water and trace elements. (All necessary for good nutrition.) They look appetizing and have high water content. They have a firm texture which means we need to chew them well. This aids the digestive system. The body quickly and easily processes them. This means less work for the digestive system. They are natural, that is, not processed and pre-packaged with extra chemicals. They are pure energy – living foods. Look for different colored vegetables and fruits when you shop. Experiment with ones you have never tasted. Visit a market for more variety and fresher foods. Eat at least one from each group every day.
Red/Purple Group includes tomatoes, watermelon, berries, cherries, and grapes
Orange/Yellow includes carrots, sweet potato, squash, mangoes, cantaloupe, apricots, oranges, mandarins pineapples and many stone fruits
Yellow/green among this group are avocado, spinach, beans, peppers, corn, beans, broccoli, green leafy vegetables,
White/green some in this group asparagus, celery, garlic, leeks, mushrooms, pears
