100-calorie snacks often lack nutritional value for dieters
29.09.11
In defiance of the best efforts of food companies to convince consumers otherwise, 100-calorie packs aren’t a magic-bullet deciphering to healthy eating, experts say.
“You’re not getting much quality eatables, and it’s not really filling,” said Indi Maharaj, a registered dietitian at Erlanger’s Lifestyle Center. “It’s Dieting 101 for inactive people.”
About five years ago, snack food manufacturers such as Nabisco (Oreo, Chips Ahoy! and Ritz Crackers) and Frito-Lay North America (Cheetos, Fritos and Sun Chips) began producing lines of one by one packaged, 100-calorie snacks.
Experts said a well snack should weigh in at less than 400 calories. While 100 calories falls well under that limit, crackers, cookies and chips have low nutritional density, which doesn’t update by coming in a smaller pouch.
When used properly, a morsel can help stave off hunger and maintain metabolic vigour between meals. The carbohydrate- and fat-rich foods found in many 100-calorie packages can spike insulin, however, which impedes fat absorption, said Shawn Jones, doctor of chiropractic and material therapy at the Clinical Nutrition Center on Vance Technique.
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press