Wednesday, August 31, 2011
To Snack or not to Snack
One of the long-standing myths when it comes to eating with diabetes is that you have to snack - especially at bedtime. This can be counterproductive for a person with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes especially if he or she is trying to manage their weight in a world of medications that have weight gain as a side effect.
So what’s the reasoning behind the snacking myth? Well, back in the day when we relied on oral diabetes medications & insulin that “peaked” between meals, you ran the risk of having low blood glucose if you did not snack.
The good news is that diabetes medical management has come a long way in the last few years. We have flattened out those insulin “peaks” with friendlier types of basal (or background) insulin and we have medications that reduce the risk of plummeting blood glucose when taken properly. The days of the mandatory evening sandwich snack should be behind us now.
Now snacks aren’t always a bad thing. Lots of successful meal plans consisting of 5-6 mini meals per day can help manage your appetite and blood glucose control. For growing kids, the elderly, and more physically active individuals, snacks are sometimes needed to meet their nutritional needs. But for most of us, unless we are calorie-counting-savvy, two or three extra snacks on top of our regular meals may mean the difference between maintaining a healthy body weight and packing on a few unwanted pounds each year.
Here are a few snacking rules to follow:
- Whether you have diabetes or not, try to limit your snacks to 100-200 calories each. If you have diabetes, limit your “snack carbs” to 15-30 grams. If you can squeeze in a few grams of fibre, all the better!
- Choose real foods from “Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide” instead of 100-200 “empty calories’” worth of refined flour, sugar, and oil in “snack packs”. Some 150-200 calorie-balanced snack examples include:
- 1 cheese string & medium sized apple
- Small yogurt & ½ cup berries
- 1 serving of whole grain crackers with 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
- 1/2 can tuna with light mayo on a slice of bread
- 1 hardboiled egg & carrot sticks
- If you are on a mealtime insulin, you may need an extra dose of insulin if you snack big (i.e. more than 10 grams of carbs) - talk to your diabetes team or family physician about this.
- Remember, if you are on insulin or medications that may cause low blood glucose, it’s a good idea to carry some form of fast acting glucose (candies, glucose tablets or juice or regular pop) and a follow-up snack with you especially if you are driving or being more physically active than usual.
If you have questions about diabetes medications, insulin, snacking or living with diabetes contact your local diabetes program.
Learn More:
The Renfrew County Diabetes Education Team consists of Certified Diabetes Educators (Registered Dietitians and Registered Nurses) who work in cooperation with physicians, pharmacists, and family members to deliver clientcentred care.
Team members are based out of hospitals in Arnprior (613-623-7720), Deep River (613-584-3333, ext. 313), Pembroke (613-732-3675, ext. 6151), Renfrew (613-432-4851, ext. 162) and Barry’s Bay (613-756-3045, ext. 240) and provide both individual and group appointments. For advanced care they provide referrals and telehealth sessions with specialists.
To make an appointment, call any of the sites. No referral is needed to meet with the team.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Karen Roosen, Diabetes Education Coordinator
Pembroke Regional Hospital
(613) 732-3675 ext. 6530 / karen.roosen@pemreghos.org
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