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HEALTH
good for you/bad for you // LATE-NIGHT sometimes it's hard to tell. SNACKING
It's that time of night we all dread. We had dinner a long time ago, but we have a long time until breakfast. Taco Bell even has its own name for it: Fourth Meal, the late-night hankering for more food. Is late night snacking making us pack on the pounds, or are we simply satisfying our cravings?
Staci Hendrickson, registered dietician at Healthy Balance, 535 Gateway Drive, says as long as people don't go over the total calories they should be eating in a day, it doesn't really matter what time of day they eat. Hendrickson says the problem most people have with late-night snacking is they eat while watching TV or trying to stay up and study and are just adding extra calories on top of what they've already eaten throughout the day.
Photo illustration by Amy Johnson
To avoid the past-midnight fast food line, combine drinking water with eating snacks high
"It's all in how you're doing it," Hendrickson says. "If you're just doing that snacking and you're not really hungry then your body doesn't really need it, but if you're actually hungry and you maybe didn't get to eat dinner, then you need to eat."
Snack attack. Eating late at night can bust your diet, but also can be healthy if done right.
in fiber, such as whole-grain crackers, wholegrain cereals or popcorn, which Hendrickson says is very filling but doesn't have a lot of calories as long as it isn't loaded with butter. If it's your sweet tooth that is nagging you, Hendrickson says drinking sugar-free hot cocoa can be a good strategy for quieting the craving without the extra calories.
VERDICT: GOOD FOR YOU
As long as you stick to healthy snacks and only eat when you're actually hungry
// AMY JOHNSON
that's disgusting // NOT WEARING SOCKS
lude. gross. WITH YOUR SHOES
There are all kinds of excuses — it's way past laundry day and there isn't a clean sock in the drawer or on your floor; you don't like the look of socks with your shoes; you were in a rush this morning and threw on the nearest pair of shoes and ran for the door. But the bottom line is that the sock was invented for a reason.
Lawrence Gaston, Lawrence podiatrist,
says the problem with not wearing socks is
that our feet perspire throughout the day.
The moisture from the perspiration (which is
normally whisked away by our trusty socks)
attracts organisms like bacteria, fungus and yeast. "Essentially you're allowing those organisms to get into your shoes," Gaston says. "Yeast, fungus, bacteria, viruses and plantar warts can live and grow inside the materials in your shoe."
This community of bacteria you create in your shoe also causes odor, in addition to the odor caused by the perspiration, officially making you the smelly kid in class.
If you still insist on nor wearing socks, Dr. Gaston recommends letting your shoes air out and get lots of sunlight in between use. He says throwing the shoes in a dark closet or underneath
Photo illustration by Armv Johnson
No socks, no service. Skipping the sock step leaves your kicks vulnerable to yeast, fungus, bacteria and viruses. Not to mention fashion faux pas.
a bed creates a good environment for the organisms to grow. By putting the shoes in sunlight, you can dry the shoes out and possibly kill the bacteria.
On the contrary, if you've been converted to a sock user, Dr. Gaston recommends investing in socks that can wick away moisture and breathe well, instead of a thick, heavy-duty pair.
// AMY JOHNSON