Diabetes: Healthy Snacks

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KEY POINTS

• Snacks can help to prevent low blood glucose (sugar).
• The best choices for snacks are foods that are high in protein, high in fiber, and low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol.
• It helps to work with a dietitian to learn to make good food choices.

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Is it OK to include snacks in my child’s diabetes meal plan?

The need for snacks depends on your child’s blood glucose control and how many calories your child needs to have each day. Active children and teens with high energy needs usually need to add snacks.

Snacks can help to prevent low blood glucose. You may want to include snacks in your child’s meal plan because:

• Snacks can help balance the food your child eats with the medicines your child takes.
• Eating smaller meals and having snacks with protein may help your child avoid hunger and overeating.
• Your child needs to spread the carbohydrates (carbs) that he or she eats more evenly throughout the day to help decrease spikes in blood glucose after meals.
• Your child is physically active and wants to prevent low blood glucose.

Which foods are good snacks?

Different types of snacks have different effects. The best choices for snacks are foods:

• Low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol such as lean meats, or low or fat-free milk products
• High in fiber such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, or whole grain foods

Sugar from fruit will last 1 or 2 hours, so fruit is good for a morning or afternoon snack. Carbs such as whole grain crackers or bread eaten with proteins such as low-fat cheese or meat, change to sugar more slowly. If your child has low blood glucose during the night, you can add a lean protein to your child’s evening carb snack. This can help your child’s blood glucose level stay stable through the night. Milk and yogurt are a natural mix of carbs and protein and make a good bedtime snack choice.

A typical bedtime snack should include 15 grams of carbs and 7 to 8 grams of protein. This amount can change based on your child's age, blood glucose levels, and activity throughout the day.

If your child is still hungry after a snack, try low-calorie foods such as a vegetable tray with cold crunchy vegetables and a fat-free dressing for a dip.

Help your child avoid mindless snacking while watching TV, driving, reading, or working at the computer.

For more information, contact:

• American Diabetes Association
  800-342-2383
  https://www.diabetes.org