A person who has diabetes should keep an eye on some things while planning out his diabetic diet. The most obvious of them all, is how much sugar you consume. Even 5 year-olds, these days, know that a diabetic will take the turn for the worse, if he consumes sugar. But something which people do not know is that consuming excess simple carbohydrates too, may be harmful for you. This is because many carbohydrates are broken down into sugars in the liver and dramatically spike up the blood sugar levels. Hence, it is essential that diabetics also keep an eye on their carbohydrate consumption. Alcoholic beverages and fried items are the foods to avoid. So with these things in mind, let me tell you some healthy snacks for diabetics.
Healthy Snacks for Diabetics
We can see that a healthy snack for diabetics would be one which reduces the consumption of simple carbohydrates and sugars. So where does a diabetic turn to, to fulfill the 4 O'clock craving? Unknown to most people, it is this craving where a lot of calories and sugars are ingested by unsuspecting snackers. Hence, it is essential to keep a list of healthy snacks for diabetics, which will guide them to healthier snack options which are rich in protein and complex carbohydrates.
Go Nuts!
Jokes apart, nuts are one of the best snack options for everyone, especially diabetics. Almonds are one of the best nuts to eat and a really healthy diabetic snack. But make sure you have only a handful of those as they add a lot of calories and should be consumed in moderation. Walnuts, pecans, peanuts, and cashews are also good options.
Whole Grain Crackers
Whole grain crackers buck you up with complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates take more time to be absorbed in the body and hence keep you feeling full for a longer amount of time. Whole grain crackers do just that. You can get them in various flavors too, so look out for those!
Fruits
Not being allowed to consume sugar concentrated foods, it severely restricts the choices of fruits for diabetics, but there are some fruits which are specifically recommended for diabetics like apple (with skin), grapefruit, blueberries and apricots. But stay away from others like dates, grapes and watermelons which have a high sugar content. Fruits ought to be eaten in moderation. Dry fruits are a complete no-no.
Meet the Meat
Good news for meat loving diabetics, is that white meat is not at all harmful to diabetics. So you can whip up a simple boiled turkey/chicken sandwich with brown bread. You could also have chicken salad. A brown-bread tuna sandwich is also a cool option.
Popcorn
Another good news is that you need not restrain yourself on popcorn the next time you go for a movie. But make sure that they are air-popped and do not have too much salt. Popcorn makes a low calorie, low sugar snack.
Soup
Any non-starchy vegetable like spinach, celery would do the trick. Just boil it in vegetable or chicken stock, add a little salt and pepper, and mash them later to make the soup.
Veggie Snack
Carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, cauliflower, etc., are some vegetables that can be consumed raw and are very filling. If you want, you can add them to a non-fat yogurt, put in a light dressing and munch away.
The Unclassified Others
Other unclassified foods which make a great healthy snack for diabetics are: low-fat yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, whole grain crackers, skim milk, low-sodium low-fat tortilla chips, etc. You could also boil the raw veggies and sprinkle some black pepper powder on them to make them a bit tastier.
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