Dietitians Reveal the Best Snacks for Diabetes

From health.yahoo.com

Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, choosing the right snacks can be beneficial for preventing blood sugar spikes, as well as keeping your mood and energy levels consistent and stable throughout the day. While many of the best snacks for diabetes are healthy picks for either type of diabetes, there are some keys you should keep in mind depending on which you have.

"Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body stops producing insulin entirely," explains Jamie Mullally, M.D., an endocrinologist and associate professor of medicine at New York Medical College. "Type 2 diabetes involves insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency, meaning the body still makes insulin but doesn't use it effectively." For these reasons, dietary advice does differ slightly for each type (though choosing foods that help keep blood sugar stable is always smart). "Both benefit from high-quality, minimally processed foods and attention to carbohydrate quality," Dr. Mullally says. "However, in type 1 diabetes, the focus is often on matching insulin to carbohydrate intake (carbohydrate counting), whereas in type 2 diabetes, there is often more emphasis on reducing overall carbohydrate load, weight management, and improving insulin sensitivity."

Meet the experts: Jamie Mullally, M.D., an endocrinologist and associate professor of medicine at New York Medical College; Caroline Thomason, R.D., a registered dietitian and diabetes educator based in Warrenton, Va.; Shahzadi Devje, R.D., C.D.E., a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator based in Toronto.

                                                       These Snacks for Diabetes Won't Spike Blood Sugar        SimpleImages - Getty Images

So, how do you choose the right snack to keep blood sugar stable? "For type 1 diabetes, a good snack is one where the carbohydrate content is predictable and consistent, allowing accurate insulin dosing. Pairing carbs with protein or fat can also help reduce glucose variability," says Dr. Mullally. "For type 2 diabetes, a good snack is typically lower in total carbohydrates, especially refined carbs, and emphasizes fibre, protein, and healthy fats to reduce post-meal glucose spikes and support weight and metabolic goals."

Ultimately, the best snacks for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes contain protein, healthy fats, and some smart, fibre-rich carbohydrates. Read on for the best snacks to help manage blood sugar for diabetes that dietitians and doctors recommend.

The best snacks for diabetes

Yogurt

This great choice is high in protein (Greek yogurt has more protein than the regular kind). Pick the plain variety to avoid extra sugar, and top it with naturally sweet berries. "Berries are one of the highest-fibre fruits, with raspberries taking the lead at 8 grams per cup—about 30% of your daily needs," said Caroline Thomason, R.D., a registered dietitian and diabetes educator based in Warrenton, Va.

Chickpeas

Roasting these tasty beans in the oven with flavourful spices such as cumin and paprika can transform them into a crunchy, satisfying snack. Garbanzos are packed with fibre and protein and can be added to salads or eaten as a side, said Shahzadi Devje, R.D., C.D.E., a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator based in Toronto.

Nuts

A handful of almonds, walnuts, or pistachios offers healthy fats and antioxidants that may help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart issues often associated with type 2 diabetes, said Devje. She pointed to some older research that found that people with type 2 diabetes who regularly consumed nuts had a lower incidence of heart disease.

Popcorn

This snack is a good source of blood-sugar-stabilizing fibre. Skip the movie theatre version dripping with butter and opt for air-popped or lightly oil-popped varieties. Pre-portioned packs are a good idea, or buy a big bag and portion it out yourself. While it does contain some fibre, it is still primarily carbohydrate, so quantity does matter, says Dr. Mullally.

Fruit and nut butter

Fruit slices with peanut or almond butter deliver a balance of fibre and protein and are fail-safe kid pleasers too. "This is a strong option because it combines natural carbohydrates and fiber from fruit with fat and protein from nut butter, which helps blunt glucose spikes," Dr. Mullally explains.

Cottage cheese

Spread on whole-grain crackers or toast and topped with sliced cucumber or tomato, this creamy high-protein food will prevent blood sugar levels from spiking too high. Dr. Mullally notes that this pick provides protein plus a complex carbohydrate source, which is a smart combo—as long as you aren't eating too many crackers or pieces of toast.

Guacamole

Yes, really! But skip the chips and instead pair it with veggies like cucumbers or bell peppers and/or whole-grain crackers or whole-wheat pita triangles. "Guacamole provides healthy fats and fibre; pairing with vegetables is especially low glycaemic, while whole grain crackers are acceptable in controlled portions," Dr. Mullally says.

https://health.yahoo.com/conditions/endocrine/diabetes/articles/dietitians-reveal-best-snacks-diabetes-123308979.html 

Avocados may help manage obesity, prevent diabetes

From eurekalert.org

Your guacamole may hold the key to managing obesity and helping delay or prevent diabetes, according to a new study by a University of Guelph research team.

For the first time, researchers led by Prof. Paul Spagnuolo have shown how a compound found only in avocados can inhibit cellular processes that normally lead to diabetes. In safety testing in humans, the team also found that the substance was absorbed into the blood with no adverse effects in the kidney, liver or muscle.

The study was recently published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.

                             IMAGE: Prof. Paul Spagnuolo      Credit: University of Guelph

About one in four Canadians is obese, a chronic condition that is a leading cause of Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance in diabetic patients means their bodies are unable to properly remove glucose from the blood.
Those complications can arise when mitochondria, or the energy powerhouses in the body's cells, are unable to burn fatty acids completely.
Normally, fatty acid oxidation allows the body to burn fats. Obesity or diabetes hinders that process, leading to incomplete oxidation.
The U of G researchers discovered that avocatin B (AvoB), a fat molecule found only in avocados, counters incomplete oxidation in skeletal muscle and the pancreas to reduce insulin resistance.

In their study, the team fed mice high-fat diets for eight weeks to induce obesity and insulin resistance. For the next five weeks, they added AvoB to the high-fat diets of half of the mice.
The treated mice weighed significantly less than those in the control group, showing slower weight gain. More important, said Spagnuolo, the treated mice showed greater insulin sensitivity, meaning that their bodies were able to absorb and burn blood glucose and improve their response to insulin.

In a human clinical study, AvoB given as a dietary supplement to participants eating a typical western diet was absorbed safely into their blood without affecting the kidney, liver or skeletal muscle. The team also saw reductions in weight in human subjects, although Spagnuolo said the result was not statistically significant.

Having demonstrated its safety in humans, they plan to conduct clinical trials to test AvoB's efficacy in treating metabolic ailments in people.
Spagnuolo said the safety trial helped the team to determine just how much AvoB to include in the supplement formulation.

Having received Health Canada approval for the compound as a human supplement, he will begin selling it in powder and pill forms as soon as 2020 through SP Nutraceuticals Inc., a Burlington, Ont.-based natural health products company.

He said eating avocados alone would likely be ineffective, as the amount of natural avocatin B varies widely in the fruit and we still do not fully understand exactly how it is digested and absorbed when we consume a whole avocado.

Although avocados have been touted as a weight-loss food, Spagnuolo said more study is needed. He said a healthy diet and exercise are recommended to prevent metabolic disorders leading to obesity or diabetes.

PhD student Nawaz Ahmed, lead author of the paper, said, "We advocate healthy eating and exercise as solutions to the problem, but that's difficult for some people. We've known this for decades, and obesity and diabetes are still a significant health problem."

In earlier work funded by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Spagnuolo has studied the potential use of avocatin B for treating acute myeloid leukemia.

https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-10/uog-amh103019.php