A Doctor Shares: The Best Snack to Keep Your Gut Healthy

With those principles in mind, these five strategies help my patients become more aware of snacking mindfully to get lean, feel better, avoid overeating, and heal their gut:

More likely than with meals, I’ve found food sensitivities and additives slip in during snacking. Gluten, dairy, and soy are big offenders, but the biggest snacking obstacle for most people is sugar in all its many forms, including "healthy" sugars like agave or honey. Why is sugar so problematic? Sugar contributes to mood swings, including depression and irritability, symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), migraines, body aches and pains, chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, and obesity. Be especially aware about food sensitivities that hide in "healthy" snacks, like soy or dairy in protein bars or flavored almonds.

Many patients admit to habitually reaching for sugar-laden snacks when they’re bored or down, like eating ice cream in front of the TV at night or late-night snacking in the kitchen. On the other hand, mindful snacking can help keep your metabolism moving and prevent you from arriving at dinner hungry, which often leads to poor food choices and overeating.

"I did so well during the day," patients say, "and then I opened the freezer at 10 p.m. and that half-eaten pint of butter pecan was just sitting there." Nighttime snacking isn’t always bad if you’re not doing it out of habit (in other words, you’re genuinely hungry) and when you’re eating the right foods. Studies show1 eating a healthy snack at night can help you lose weight and be healthier. As an alternative, a nighttime herbal tea blend with relaxing herbs, like valerian root and chamomile, can help fill you up while relaxing your body and mind, ending any hunger pangs so you can skip that late-night snack altogether.

If you’re snacking out of habit, making the wrong nighttime choices or gaining weight while snacking, I recommend instead relaxation techniques like meditation. These reduce cravings for sugary or salty snacks and help you relax, especially at night before going to sleep. Once you get into this habit of calming your mind rather than reaching for food, you’ll have more energy during the day and sleep better at night.

Whether I’m traveling or stuck at the office and know dinner isn’t for hours, I’ll reach for this delicious, gut-healing, hunger-curbing snack that helps me feel full and focused so I can help patients optimize their gut health. Make them at home and enjoy these crackers anytime on-the-go.

Ingredients

Method

Tip: These crackers go great with hummus, which you can easily keep in the fridge at the office.