Reasons behind why we eat snacks

levels of glucose go up and down constantly and so your body communicates to you that it needs more energy by sending you hunger signals for more sugary foods.

The tricky thing about this cycle is that if your body is predominantly utilising glucose as your fuel, you’re more likely to reach for things that provide you with quick energy such as sugar, carbohydrate-based products like bread or crackers, and caffeine – which of course only perpetuates the same rise and crash of your blood glucose levels.

Eating more fat will help to balance out your blood glucose levels and keep you satiated for longer. This means you will usually be satisfied with three (or even two) meals per day. You also communicate to your body that is it is safe to use body fat as a fuel because it is available.

So start to notice: How often do you feel hungry? If it’s an hour after your last meal whatever you ate did not serve you.

What are you constantly craving? If it is sweet food, it is either your body communicating to you that you need to top up your body’s glucose levels or you’re trying to meet an emotional need and looking for food to give you sweetness or joy in life.

If you choose nutritious, real-food snacks, do you find you eat less across the day because you aren’t ravenous for main meals? Or does even real-food snacking lead you to eat too much across your day? There is no right or wrong. There is simply what best serves your body, and this will likely change over time – or even from day to day. So simply pay attention to what best serves your health and see unresourceful or out of control snacking as feedback that something needs to change.

Dr Libby is a nutritional biochemist, best-selling author and speaker. The advice contained in this column is not intended to be a substitute for direct, personalised advice from a health professional. See drlibby.com