Senior News Line
Snacks Are Good for Us
BY: MATILDACHARLES

In my heart I knew it was true, but now there's scientific evidence to back up my belief: Snacks and eating between meals are good for us!

Auburn University just released the results of a study of seniors over the age of 65, and it turns out that those who ate snacks on a daily basis are healthier because the snacks provide additional calories and nutrition.

According to the study, reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, those of us who snack get about 250 more calories per day than those who don't. For many of us, that 250 calories is crucial. As we age, we just don't eat as much, for a number of reasons: changes in sense of taste, medications and different problems with our health that impact our appetite. Many of us just don't want three big meals a day, or we don't always feel like cooking, especially if we live alone.

In fact, the typical 70-yearold man eats 1,000 fewer calories than he did when he was 25. For women, the loss in calories per day is between 600 and 800. The result can be an unintentional loss of weight, not to mention lack of adequate nutrition.

The key when we're snacking is to grab something healthy to eat: fruit (fresh, dried or in a can with its own juice) or fruit juice, whole grain crackers (with low-fat cheese, peanut butter or tuna), veggie sticks like carrots or celery, yogurt, a whole-grain muffin with cream cheese, string cheese or a hardboiled egg. And even though it doesn't have calories, don't forget to drink enough water!

Add some healthy snack items to your grocery list to make sure they're on hand every day, especially when you don't feel like cooking.

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions. Do not send any material requiring return mail. Write to her in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475, or send e-mail to letters.kfws@hearstsc.com.

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.