Carbohydrate snack ideas... Diabetes Australia

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06 July 2010

Diabetes Awareness Week 2010

Diabetes Australia-NSW will be spreading the message across the state about the link between diabetes and kidney disease this Diabetes Awareness Week from 11-17 July.

25 June 2010

Congratulations to Jimmy Little on success at APRA awards

Diabetes Australia-NSW would like to congratulate Jimmy Little after he was recognised on Monday for his achievements in music.

07 July 2010

New type 2 diabetes medication may help in type 1

A new medication for type 2 diabetes may also benefit those with type 1, reducing the rise in blood glucose levels following a meal and possibly lowering insulin needs.

29 June 2010

Insulin pump prevents night-time hypos

A special insulin pump which uses continuous glucose monitoring to predict hypoglycaemia and stop delivering insulin can help reduce the number of overnight hypos, according to a new study.

Carbohydrate snack ideas

Carbohydrate is important for all people with diabetes. Carbohydrate foods have a direct impact on blood glucose levels (BGLs) and are vital for our bodies to function properly. For people with type 1 diabetes there needs to be a balance between carbohydrate eaten and insulin injected. There is no standard amount of insulin that is injected per carbohydrate exchange, this is different from person to person and should be discussed with your health care team.

Many people with type 1 diabetes, particularly those on injections, have snacks between meals. Some healthy suggestions for snacks that contain carbohydrate.

To snack or not to snack
If you lead an active lifestyle you will need to include plenty of carbohydrate including snacks to get enough kilojoules for energy. If, however, you are overweight and don’t really need the extra kilojoules you might be better off without snacks. Also consider that there are rapid acting insulins available such as Apidra and Novorapid, meaning the need to have snacks to prevent pre meal hypos is now far less common. It’s best to speak to your diabetes team about how much food you need.

Healthy snacks on the go
When it's time for a snack, it can be so much better to have something in your bag or pocket rather than being “forced” to buy a cake or pie while you are away from home.

Cereal bars
Milo less fat more fibre
Bodywise
Crunchy Uncle Tobys bars
Trail bar

Dried fruit – break up a large pack or handy individual packs

Fruit tub – in juice pack with a spoon

Whole fruit – e.g. apple, banana or mandarin

Low carbohydrate snack ideas
Having a large snack and not having enough insulin to cover the carbohydrate will lead to high BGLs between injections or boluses. If you need extra carbohydrate, talk to your team about how best to manage your insulin.

If you are overweight and don’t really need the extra kilojoules, but you are still hungry, you could try some of the following ideas either on their own or to bulk up a carbohydrate snack.

Foods that are low in carbohydrate as well as low in kilojoules (from fat and protein) are considered free foods.

All of the following ideas have 6g or less of carbohydrate:

1 cup of air popped popcorn

¾ cup of diced watermelon

Celery sticks

1 cup of carrot sticks

1 ½ cups of strawberries

Up to 6 whole passionfruit – perhaps made into iceblocks

Vegetables (non – starchy) - steamed with pepper, stir fried or raw / sticks

Salad

A birds nest – shredded carrot with cherry tomatoes

Low joule jelly – plain or small amount of fruit (kiwi fruit will prevent jelly setting)