The snack can do a lot more than provide some tastiness to your day, though. When chosen thoughtfully, snacks can help you get important nutrients, satisfy hunger, and keep you energized and focused throughout the day. Recognizing what makes a healthy snack—and learning some examples—can help upgrade your snack time.

Some ways that snacks can be beneficial in a diet are: they can increase nutrient intake, sustain energy levels, help the body recover from exercise and give individuals plenty of healthy options. Certain snacks can help improve the quality of a diet.

Selecting the right snacks can offer many benefits, including: Getting more essential vitamins and minerals that may be lacking from regular meals Providing sustained energy when you need it most (like during that morning and afternoon slump) Helping you meet any goals around weight loss and overall healthy eating

People who ate high-quality snacks were more likely to have healthier triglycerides and blood sugar levels than those who ate highly processed snacks. Late-evening snacking, which lengthens eating windows and shortens the overnight fasting period, was associated with unfavorable blood glucose and lipid levels.