To Snack or Not To Snack

While coffee helps us stay awake in the short term, it will likely rear its ugly caffeinated head when we try to fall asleep at night, leaving us tossing and turning and setting us up for another afternoon slump the next day.

The chocolate bar, on the other hand, offers a quick burst of energy – maybe enough to slog through a few tasks – followed by an equally quick drop in energy, the result of blood glucose surging through your system and then dissipating, leaving us with lower energy than we started.

Still, that candy bar is hard to resist.

Why we crave sugar and carbs

According to a 2013 study from the University of California at Berkeley, when people are tired, the regions of the brain that control food choices are less capable of making smart decisions.

“What we have discovered is that high-level brain regions required for complex judgments and decisions become blunted by a lack of sleep, while more primal brain structures that control motivation and desire are amplified,” said Matthew Walker, senior author of the study appearing in the journal Nature Communications. “High-calorie foods became significantly more desirable.” (Ref. 1)

Should we be snacking?

There are two schools of thought when it comes to snacking. Those on the snack side say that eating smaller meals several times a day (not regular-sized meals with snacks in between) can keep our metabolism revved up all day, while keeping us full and fueled.

Those on the non-snack side say that snacks add excess calories, since most of us will eat regular-sized meals and choose unhealthy snacks. They suggest filling our plates with nutrient-dense foods that will keep us full so we have no need for snacking. (Ref. 2)

The truth is, all of us are likely to require a snack from time to time, and in these cases, grabbing healthy options – fruits and veggies for mild hunger or a mix of protein, carbs and a touch of fat if your next meal is hours away – are the smartest options, and the least likely to backfire with further fatigue.

Natural Energy to the rescue

If you find yourself eating regular meals and still experiencing between-meal hunger, you might need a helping hand.

Our Natural Energy not only helps reduce those afternoon slumps that cause us to reach out for unhealthy food options, it also helps suppress cravings for junk food – naturally - making it an excellent addition to your supplement arsenal, especially if you’re looking to lose weight.

Designed for those with high-stress lives to augment the benefits provided by Total Balance, Natural Energy can be taken as a replacement for the trip to the vending machine or communal coffee pot, so you survive the afternoon without unnatural bursts of high and low energy and don’t disrupt your sleep at night.

It’s also a better option than those energy drinks flooding the market, which contain too much caffeine, calories and chemicals and have been linked to many problems.