Small things add up. Whether this is good or bad news for your health depends on what these small things are. If the small things are steps you take in a day or servings of vegetables you eat, that is a good thing. If they are bites of high calorie snack foods, such as snack chips, cheese, pepperoni or candy, that can be a problem. Snacking may sound like a bad idea, but it can be good for your health if you do it right.

Benefits of snacking

€ Snacks may help you control your portions at meals by preventing the ravenous hunger that comes from not eating for several hours.

€ Eating smaller amounts more frequently causes your stomach to shrink. As a result, it does not take as much food for you to feel full, which can help prevent overeating (if you stop eating when you feel comfortably full).

€ Eating six small meals and snacks instead of three large meals may improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

€ If you are trying to include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low fat milk in your diet, snacks can help.

Problems with snacking

€ Many snack foods are calorie dense so that it is easy to overeat without feeling like you did.

€ Snacking while watching television becomes a habit and may lead to overeating.

€ Salty snack foods make you thirsty. Drinking sugared soda, fruit juice or beer to quench your thirst adds significant calories to your snack.

€ Eating snack foods out of large bags and boxes makes it more likely that you will eat too much.

€ Snacking when you are not hungry adds calories to your day without reducing the amount you eat at the next meal. If you do this frequently, you are likely to gain weight.

Smart Snacking

€ Listen to your stomach, not your mind, to decide when to have a snack. If you are looking for a snack when you are not hungry, get out of the kitchen fast!

€ Include vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low fat dairy foods in snacks.

€ Buy high calorie snack foods less often and in smaller amounts.

€ Use a small plate or bowl when serving a snack.

€ Sit down when you are eating.

€ If your snack turns into a meal, make your next meal a snack.

For nutrition information and easy recipes, go to www.cce.cornell.edu/cayuga.

Christine Gutelius, MA, RD, CDN, is a nutrition educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County