Reader’s Digest – Snacking

By: Dr. Keith Kantor

What’s your take on snacking?

Snacking depends on the individual. If I am helping someone with no health concerns and moderate activity levels try to lose weight I promote a reduced carbohydrate diet, whole unprocessed foods, healthy fats, and abundant servings of vegetables and fruits. In most cases I would also suggest for them to try intermittent fasting as a way to train their metabolism to use stored fat for fuel rather then relying on snacking for our fuel throughout the day. Intermittent fasting is when you only eat within a 5-8 hour window throughout the day and this is typically a couple of hearty meals and possibly a small snack but not typically.

 

Why do you think it’s beneficial, especially in relation to your specialty, and what
science backs that up?

I believe that snacking throughout the day is NOT beneficial to most individuals. Snacking frequently can cause our body to have spikes and falls in insulin hindering our natural ability to burn fat and hurting our weight loss efforts. Eating throughout the day trains our body to rely on food as our primary fuel source rather then burning fat stores already within the body.

 

Obviously not all snacks are created equal. What’s your advice in terms of what to choose and when/how much to eat?

It depends, if your activity level is high then the macronutrient content should also be high, like meal replacement shake, bars, or fresh fruit with nut butters or nuts or seeds. For those looking to lose weight they should consume fresh vegetables, fruits, a small portion of nuts, seeds, nut butter or hummus. Avoid processed snacks with little to no nutritional value like crackers, cookies, granola bars, etc.

 

Please provide a short bio, along with a link to your website.

Dr. Kantor has a PhD in Nutritional Science, a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine, and a Doctorate in Business Entrepreneurship. He also holds undergraduate degrees in Biology and Chemistry. He is currently CEO and Founder of NAMED Program, which helps people with substance abuse problems, mental illnesses and now almost all diseases by using special menus and proper specific hydration. Dr. Kantor has been an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps since 1976, and just finished serving in the reserves in April 2016 after 40 years. www.namedprogram.com www.drkeithkantor.com