Snacking and controlling blood sugar levels

By Cherice Bronte-Tinkew, RD

Snacking is fantastic. Snacks are mini meals for the long breaks between main meals. It helps to meet your energy intake, and it helps to control your blood sugar levels. This is part of my counselling to clients, but all snacks are not equal.

Many people will think of snacks like crunchy, salty, cheese snacks, deep fried dough, candy, sweet biscuits and lollies. These are not the best for anyone’s health, especially a diabetic.

When a person is diagnosed with Diabetes, blood sugar levels can be out of control, and they are at risk for other diseases which affect organs like the heart and kidneys.

To gain back control, reducing or avoiding added sugars, reducing salt and fat in diet, increasing dietary fibre, exercising and reducing stress can help.

Many can be frustrated with not knowing what snacks are diabetic friendly. So, what are some clues to look out for when purchasing snacks?

Snacks should contain dietary fibre, three to six grams per serving. Dietary fibre breaks down slowly in one’s body and this has a smaller impact on blood sugar levels between meals. Dietary fibre can increase satiety and ensure you don’t overeat. This is a bonus for controlling weight too.

Snacks should have small amounts of sodium and fat. Why should a person with Diabetes worry about this? Well, they are at a higher risk for heart diseases and stroke compared to a non-diabetic.

It’s important to preserve the health of your blood vessels. High amounts of sodium increases pressure on the blood vessels’ wall and too many fats can create a blockage in the blood vessels.

Choose snacks with less than 10 per cent saturated fats and sodium with less than 140 mg per serving when looking at the nutrition facts label.

Look out for added sugars. They can be in different forms such as syrups, honey, glucose, maltose, dextrose and molasses on the ingredients list or simply look on the nutrition facts label for added sugars in grams.

Too many can cause high blood sugar levels. Snacks can be made with natural sugars from fruits which would have a smaller impact on blood sugar levels, but the amount used and timing matter too. Eat snacks at least three hours apart from your main meal.

Remember snacks are mini meals. They are small amounts of energy. A snack should be between 100 to 200 calories. They should contain dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals too.

Look for ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, peas, beans, nuts and seeds. Did you know you can get your daily dose of Vitamin C from two small oranges? Snacks can be combinations of the six Caribbean Food Groups too and it gets easier the more you practise.

Helpful tips for snacking

• Use fresh fruits or fruit juices to substitute sugar in baked goods
• Combine dried herbs and spices for savoury snacks
• Bake instead of frying chips from plantain or sweet potato

Cherice Bronte-Tinkew has been a registered dietitian for over nine years. She is a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Nutritionists and Dietitians.

For more information: Facebook and Instagram pages @JustCherNutrition.

Email- justchernutri@gmail.com

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/living-with-diabetes/eating/healthy-swaps/healthy-swaps-snacks

https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-material