Good Lifestyle

There have been a lot of chatter on the so-called "French paradox", a mysterious capacity that the French population must remain thin and healthy, despite the amount inordinate of rich dishes they consume. Some attribute it to theirRed wine consumption rich in resveratrol, while others crowded their penchant for long and slow meals. But it can also have something to do with the fact thatThe French simply do not sound.

This is true: the tip of the healthy snack that we can remove from France is that they do not do it.

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The average French child begins his day with a large bowl of milk accompanied by some sandwiches: fresh bread slices extended with butter or jam. French adults, meanwhile, samples a little (or all) milk for coffee and many sandwiches are entirely to fast effectively instead of breakfast.

Breakfast Is traditionally the longest and biggest meal of the day: adults working in offices usually get an hour (or two!), And it is not uncommon to enjoy lunch with colleagues in a restaurant - and Even a glass of wine. A French dinner is a smaller version of lunch: typically an aperitif (a shape of salad, like grated carrots with a vinaigrette, a root of grated celery with a remilade or beet with herbs), a main cheese, a cheese, a cheese, a cheese and onedessert-What, despite the fact that French have access to a variety of delicious pastries, more often, a simple cup of yogurt.

And that's all.

Between meals, France has no real culture of snack: reaching in the cabinets for a bag of chips, having a bar of granola "just in case" in your purse, or even catch a green juice, a Smoothie or milky latte during the day just not happened to the French. The only thing that makes? A small piece of middle afternoon for children, nicknamedThe four-hears, or "the four hours". Usually eaten sitting at the kitchen table when children come home from the school, this snack helps small belly belly between a lunch and an 8 m. Dinner, but otherwise you will never catch anyone in France snack.

This lack of pasture among the French seems to be a major contributory factor in their ability to stay slim, and it makes sense. After all, you give fewer possibilities of eating during the day helps you reduce calories, as evidenced by the popularity of the popularity ofintermittent fast to lose weight. In reality,According to a 2013 study, Those who cut a meal ended up taking 400 calories of less than 400 calories, does not feel like they needed to eat more during the other meals they ate. So here is the big question ...

If you stop nibbling?

Many American experts agree that in use,not intentional Grazing is a habit of Americans must fall, including Nealy Fischer, author ofFood you want: for life you want.

"In fact, I do not believe in the snack, personally," she says, with the warning who, like the French, she believes that children could sometimes need something extra between meals. "I think there are times when snacks are appropriate, especially after school," she says.

On the other hand, to elect the museles, the psychology of psychology and certified nutrition andPodcast host once a food story, think that children and adults can benefit from an afternoon snack, especially if there is a big gap between lunch and dinner.

"I look at snacks like a bridge to keep your blood glucose stable," she says. "Even if you eat the most balanced lunch, if you eat it at 12 or 1 hour and wait for six or seven o'clock, I'm a big believer with something to keep your blood glucose stable between these hours. Having said that , if your eating habits are more like you eat in a shorter time, you go three or four hours between lunch and dinner, you do not necessarily need a snack for that unless your body you saying that you need it. "

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It is this last point that our experts point out that the lynchpin to discover if the snack is a good idea for you: to learn to identify your own signals of hunger, a skill that many Americans have never really developed.

"My position is and will always find a dietary rhythm that really works for you," says Lindsey Kane, Director of Nutrition and RD forSunset. She encourages people to listen to their own hunger signals to find out what looks better at their body. "Your body is biologically wired to give you a friendly boost when it has to be fed. Concentrate less on the number of snacks I am" allowed "to have, and rather to return the script. Give yourself the permission to eat as many snacks as you need to honor your hunger and feed your body. "

This state of mind flies in the face of popular fasting protocols, but our experts insist that, although it is certainly a good idea to wait for you to hungry, wait for you to stimulate that losing your delay.

"Privivate yourself with a single meal a day creates the toxic mentality" All or nothing "," says Kane. "When you allow yourself to eat, you enter a crazy and blurred frenzy, not exactly a state of mind where the most nutritious food choices are made."

Museles accepts.

"When we do not have a snack and we are waiting for a long time between, our blood glucose crashes, then we go to the next meal not to be able to think clearly, and that can affect our choices," says- she.

Essentially, there is no unique approach: all people: some people do well on two or three meals a day; Others need three square meals and a snack or two - and it's good.

"Some people are sufficiently fed and happy with three square meals a day, others prefer up to six small meals, and some like myself, have settled that we feel our best and that we are satisfied with three meals and of a large afternoon snack, "says Monica Austlander Moreno, MS, RD, LD / N, nutrition consultant forRSP Nutrition. "As long as you are more or less satisfying the levels of daily admission of the target for the entire variety of food groups, methods and consumption calendar do not particularly have much weight."

What should you stick?

If you decide that snacks are right for you, keep in mind that all snacks are not created equal. While the FrenchFour hours Tends to be quite soft-baguette and dark chocolate, biscuits, cake of books or chouquettes, to name only a few - the ideal snack of the middle of the afternoon should be safe and nutritious-dense .

"The same simple set of guidelines for creating healthy meals also applies to the snack category," says Kane. "When you focus on the quality of your snacks, the quantity becomes almost irrelevant."

"I think people should put as much reflection with their snacks as they eat," says Museles. "It should be balanced, they should try to get fresh fruit or vegetables in this too, and it's not just a reflection afterwards."

Kane also notes that, ideally, snacks should be planned in advance, to prepare for success.

"For some reason, we tend to act surprise when hunger strikes just 3 hours, but more times that no, this hunger strikes like a clock every day, so it should not really be a surprise ", she says. "Instead, take note of these hunger models. When you are aware of the patterns, you can anticipate them by packing a healthy snack so that you are armed and ready for use whenever hunger pang strikes. "

Here are some ideas for balanced and balanced snacks to help you start:

• An apple withalmond butter
• Cheese and whole grain crackers
• Plain-protein yogurt with berries
• Slices of pepper withHoummous
• Chips of gluten-free tortilla withguacamole
• Papaya sliced, high protein yogurt and berries
• A mason pot of hummus and crudités (an easy snack and on the plane!)
• Homemade energy bars with nuts and seeds
• Fruit and a handful of walnuts

The big healthy snack council: Take a conscious approach.

Although these suggestions certainly deviate some of the standard French options, we would do well to embrace an element of theFour hours: How and where it happens.

"Use a snack as you would serve a meal, on a plate or in a bowl," says Kane. "The snack out of the bag makes it incredibly easy to make subordinate without even noticeing." Kane also encourages the conscious time of the consciousness of your snack.

"Try to get away from your other tasks for a few minutes so you can give you the time and space you need to be fully present," she says. "In this way, you can really honor your hunger and respect your satiety and can recognize each time you feel refueling and recharged to come back on the rest of your day with a revimored energy burst."

Approving the snack with this conscious and conscious philosophy will ensure that any food consumed between meals is useful and nourishing.