Do you have a protein source with all your snacks and meals?

It’s funny all these years I thought eating an apple or an orange for a snack would be a healthy choice. Maybe eating a granola bar or a yogurt would also be a good choice. Then about an hour after I would eat my snack, I wondered why I would start to shake. I would get dizzy and light headed. It would be the same reaction as if I ate a candy bar an hour earlier. My blood sugar dropped and when I get to that point…I would eat anything to stop the shakes. So, let me tell you, whatever I could get my hands on, I would eat and eat and eat. Then I would be upset with myself for overeating. This became a vicious circle.

Since getting my certification in nutrition, I have learned why it’s important to eat a carb and a protein together. It may be contrary to what you have heard or been taught, but it is very important to balance meals and snacks with protein rich foods along with carbohydrate rich foods. I know so many diets out there tell you that “Carbs Are Bad” A meal comprised solely of carbohydrates and nothing else can be problematic because your glucose levels can spike up and then crash down. This leaves you feeling hungry, tired and weak it also gives your body an easy opportunity to convert those carbohydrates in that meal to fat.

When you include proteins you will stay full longer, and glucose levels stay more consistent, your metabolism will work more efficiently, and you will feel like you have more energy for longer periods of time. When we combine carbohydrates and proteins in a meal the carbohydrates are digested in about two hours, but the proteins take longer to digest. When the two are eaten together, proteins slow down the digestion of the carbohydrates, and energy from the carbohydrates is released slower. This is a positive result. In addition, eating carbohydrates with protein means the carbohydrates will be used for energy, leaving the protein for use in building and repairing muscle tissues. This is the primary function of protein.

Okay, so what are you going to eat along side of that apple the next time you grab one for a snack? How about a slice of low fat cheese or a small yogurt? When you eat some fresh cut up veggies have a few ounces of light soy milk. I love those little laughing cow triangles with a few multi grain crackers. I suppose that is why a good old bowl of low fat milk and cereal (high fiber / low sugar of course) is a great choice.