Snack mix: a salty, dense snack with little research of its own

The best human data on snack mix come from a trial that used it as a comparison food. In a randomized crossover trial in 21 fasted healthy adults, honey nut Chex Mix eaten before a moderate dose of alcohol lowered peak blood alcohol from 0.064 to 0.047 percent, in a single open label session. Over 90 minutes it cut the alcohol reaching the blood by 22 percent against no food. A protein and fiber bar cut it by 45 percent and a mixed meal by 67.9 percent, and the trial was built around that bar. Outside this trial, snack mix is mostly a question of amount. The generic US survey code lists 504 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g), so a 60 g cup gives about 302 calories and a small 28 g bag about 141 calories. Those portion values are recalculated from 100 g, for a code that covers many brands.

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Plain Chex-type snack mix is lower in energy than the generic snack mix code, at 417 calories and 707 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g). — US survey food code, snack mix plain (Chex Mix) Evidence E source
  417 calories and 707 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g) vs 504 calories and 729 mg for generic snack mix
• The savory snack mix tested in the 21-person alcohol trial was a honey nut Chex Mix bought in a supermarket. — 21 healthy adults, randomized crossover (n = 21) Evidence B source
  Product identity of the snack mix arm

What a real portion looks like

• A generic snack mix provides 504 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g), so one cup (60 g) gives about 302 calories and a small single-serving bag (28 g) about 141 calories. — US survey food code, snack mix Evidence E source
  504 calories/100 g; 1 cup 60 g = 302 calories; small bag 28 g = 141 calories; medium bag 57 g = 287 calories; large bag 85 g = 428 calories

What your body absorbs

• In a randomized crossover trial in 21 fasted adults, eating 210 calories of savory snack mix before a moderate alcohol dose lowered peak blood alcohol from 0.064% to 0.047%. — 21 overnight fasted healthy adults (10 men, 11 women), alcohol 0.3-0.35 g/kg (n = 21) Evidence B source
  Peak BAC 0.064 +/- 0.003 (no food) vs 0.047 +/- 0.002% (snack mix), P < .001
• In the same trial in 21 adults, the snack mix cut alcohol bioavailability over 90 minutes by 22% versus no food, less per calorie than a protein-fiber bar. — 21 overnight fasted healthy adults, 90-minute breath alcohol monitoring (n = 21) Evidence B source
  BA90 reduced 22.0 +/- 2.2% (snack mix) vs 45.0% (bar) and 67.9% (635 calories meal); pBAC reduction per 100 calories 11.8% vs 24.0% for the bar

What it does to your health

• In a crossover trial in 47 healthy adults, a breakfast and snack mix made with whole grain barley, whole wheat or refined rice did not change energy intake at lunch. — 47 healthy subjects, single-day crossover with ad libitum lunch (n = 47) Evidence B source
  No difference in lunch energy intake; barley lowered pre-lunch hunger vs pre-breakfast
• A scoping review of 24 reviews for the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 found mixed results for snacking, with some consistent positive associations with body weight in adults. — 24 reviews on meal patterns, all ages, normal weight to obesity (n = 24 reviews) Evidence C source
  Mixed; some consistent positive associations between snacking and body weight in adults

Safety, limits and interactions

• Snack mix carries 729 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), so one cup (60 g) gives about 437 mg, roughly 19% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value. — US survey food code, snack mix Evidence E source
  729 mg/100 g; 1 cup 437 mg; small bag 204 mg; large bag 620 mg

Who this works differently for

• Observational data from 630 long-term care residents in Canada suggest energy and protein dense snacks could help residents at risk of low intake. — 630 residents of 32 Canadian long-term care homes, median age 88 (n = 630) Evidence C source
  Intake lowest in the oldest group (-59 calories, -3.6 g protein); authors suggest dense snacks to support intake

What is still unknown

• The Nordic scoping review of 24 reviews concluded that evidence on snacking and other meal patterns is limited and inconclusive. — 24 reviews on meal patterns (n = 24 reviews) Evidence C source
  No consistent evidence to set recommendations

The bottom line

Salt is the part to watch. The same code carries 729 mg of sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), about 437 mg in a cup, roughly 19 percent of the 2,300 mg Daily Value by our own arithmetic. A large 85 g bag reaches about 620 mg. Plain Chex Mix is a little lighter at 417 calories and 707 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), from a single code with no sample spread. We found no study of allergens or contaminants in snack mixes, so this page cannot say which allergens a given mix carries, and the only caution it can support is sodium. Whether the grain changes appetite was tested once. In a crossover trial in 47 healthy adults, a breakfast and snack made from whole grain barley, whole wheat or refined rice did not reduce energy eaten at lunch, although barley lowered hunger. That was a single day. On snacking and weight, a scoping review of 24 reviews for the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 found mixed results, with some consistent positive associations between snacking and body weight in adults. Every review it included was rated low or critically low in quality, and the authors call the evidence limited and inconclusive. It covers snacking in general and says nothing about snack mix specifically. Very old people who eat too little are a different case. In 630 residents of 32 Canadian long-term care homes, median age 88, intake was lowest in the oldest group, and the authors suggest protein and energy dense snacks could help support it. That is an exploratory suggestion about snacks in general, from one cross-sectional analysis.

Sources

1. snmx-daily-r6-02 · USDA FNDDS dataset
   Snack mix, plain (Chex Mix), FNDDS code 54420220, fdc_id 2708291: Energy 417 KCAL, Sodium, Na 707 MG per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 54420220 (FDC 2708291) · checked 2026-09-30
2. snmx-daily-r6-06 · randomized crossover trial
   The test foods included a savory snack mix (SSM, honey nut Chexmix [General Mills], a MCM (5 cheese Bistro Crustini [Stouffer's], strawberry yogurt [Oikos], orange juice [Tropicana], and an oatmeal cookie [Dad's]), and the RABB.
   J Med Food, 2020 · checked 2026-09-30
3. snmx-daily-r6-01 · USDA FNDDS dataset
   Snack mix, FNDDS code 54402200, fdc_id 2708213: Energy 504 KCAL per 100 g; 1 cup 60 g; 1 small single serving bag 28 g; 1 medium single serving bag 57 g; 1 large single serving bag 85 g; 1 100 calorie package 20 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 54402200 (FDC 2708213) · checked 2026-09-30
4. snmx-daily-r6-04 · randomized crossover trial
   The pBAC of each group was different (P < .001) from all other groups (NF = 0.064 ± 0.003, SSM = 0.047 ± 0.002, RABB = 0.031 ± 0.002, MCM = 0.020 ± 0.002%; mean ± standard error of the mean).
   J Med Food, 2020 · checked 2026-09-30
5. snmx-daily-r6-05 · randomized crossover trial
   Furthermore, the bioavailability of alcohol over 90 minutes (BA90) was reduced compared to the NF group by similar margins (SSM = 22.0 ± 2.2, RABB = 45.0 ± 3.8, MCM = 67.9 ± 3.1%) with the mean BA90 of each group different from all other groups (P < .001).
   J Med Food, 2020 · checked 2026-09-30
6. snmx-daily-r6-07 · randomized crossover trial
   In conclusion, intake of a whole grain high-fiber barley, whole grain wheat, or refined rice breakfast and snack did not decrease energy intake acutely, but consumption of whole grain high-fiber barley foods significantly decreased hunger whereas whole wheat and refined rice foods did not.
   Appetite, 2009 · checked 2026-09-30
7. snmx-daily-r6-08 · scoping review
   In snacking, mixed results were found, although among adults, some consistent results showed positive associations between snacking and body weight.
   Food Nutr Res, 2024 · checked 2026-09-30
8. snmx-daily-r6-03 · USDA FNDDS dataset
   Snack mix, FNDDS code 54402200, fdc_id 2708213: Sodium, Na 729 MG per 100 g; 1 cup 60 g 437.4 MG; 1 small single serving bag 28 g 204.1 MG; 1 large single serving bag 85 g 619.6 MG
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 54402200 (FDC 2708213) · checked 2026-09-30
9. snmx-daily-r6-09 · cross-sectional study
   Protein and energy dense snacks could also be used more extensively to support intake.
   J Hum Nutr Diet, 2020 · checked 2026-09-30
10. snmx-daily-r6-10 · scoping review
    Given the overall low to critically low quality of the reviews, the evidence is limited and inconclusive.
    Food Nutr Res, 2024 · checked 2026-09-30