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What you eat has a major impact on your blood sugar — including your snacks. That means you can actively choose foods that help balance your blood sugar, experts say. "Food choices probably affect our blood sugar more than anything else because our primary source of carbohydrate and sugar is diet," Dr.
Rekha Kumar, an endocrinologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, tells TODAY.com. Carbohydrates are easy for the body to digest quickly, Grace Derocha, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells TODAY.
com. "If you eat something that's only carbs and no protein, fat or fiber, your blood sugar will go high fast and then drop low, fast," Derocha says. Pairing carbohydrate-rich foods with other nutrients will encourage your body to digest the whole meal more slowly, resulting in a less dramatic blood sugar response.
So, while — sleep, hormones, physical activity, diabetes — can affect our blood sugar levels, Kumar explains, what we eat is “the biggest factor that is modifiable in our life." While it's most important for people with diabetes or prediabetes to keep blood sugar in mind, Derocha recommends balancing meals "for good general health for anybody," she says. Whether you have a diabetes diagnosis or not, "being able to balance our blood sugars just allows us to have sustained energy in a better way," Derocha adds.
That's why pretty much everyone can benefit from learning how to create delicious, satisfying that don't cause blood sugar dips or spikes. Unless you're on an extreme , maintaining balanced blood sugar levels doesn't mean avoiding carbohydrates completely, Kumar says. But it does mean incorporating other nutrients to help curb a blood sugar spike.
Derocha's rule is “trying to balance that snack out by combining a variety of nutrients,” she explains. “This is good practice for someone who has diabetes or or just wants to live healthier.” Specifically, incorporating fiber, protein and heart-healthy fat "can really help manage and balance out blood sugars so that there's no spikes and no drops," Derocha explains.
Here are the dietitians' recommendations for snacks to balance blood sugar. This classic, simple snack is Derocha's top pick. And it's a common recommendation for good reason: It's well balanced, easily accessible and surprisingly versatile.
Kumar also frequently recommends this snack. The apple provides sugar, but "it also has fiber in the skin," she says. "And you're balancing it with fat and from the peanut butter, which slows the spike in (blood) sugar," Kumar continues.
"So although you're getting sugar, you're stabilizing it with other nutrients." Folks with diabetes or prediabetes may want to eat the nut butter before the fruit, which further slows digestion and curbs any potential blood sugar spike, Kumar adds. Feel free to swap in and, with available now, it’s easy to keep it interesting, she adds.
If you’re not a fan of apples, a banana can take the its place of the apple, Kumar says. And for those with nut allergies, Derocha notes, a piece of cheese can take the place of the nut butter. With a creamy texture and hefty amount of protein, plain Greek yogurt is a healthy, satisfying snack — and .
Add some to the bowl for "a healthy amount of sugar that doesn't cause a quick spike," Kumar says, "and there's a lot of healthy protein and fat in yogurt. So that's a good option." An additional sprinkling of or will add a little more crunch, healthy fats, fiber and other micronutrients.
When TODAY.com asked endocrinologists to keep blood sugar balanced, Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts was one of their top answers. For a more savory flavor profile, Derocha recommends using rather Greek yogurt, adding that one of her favorite snacks right now is cottage cheese topped with pomegranate seeds.
(However, note that cottage cheese than Greek yogurt, as TODAY.com explained previously.) " and chicken salad are really easy ones because you can put a lot of different things in there," Kumar says, including lots of flavors and vegetables, like celery and carrots.
The tuna or chicken salad will also provide some filling, lean protein. And, if eaten on , you'll get some healthy fiber and carbohydrates as well. "Veggies and hummus is one of my favorites," Derocha says, adding that you can eat whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand.
No matter which vegetables you choose, they will and a little bit of carbohydrates, she says. "And then the hummus will give you of it: fiber, protein, some heart-healthy fat and some carbs." Another of Derocha's go-to snacks is a hard-boiled egg alongside fruit, typically grapes.
An egg is a great source of both protein and healthy fats, and the fruit provides some energizing carbohydrates. Try topping your egg with your favorite flavors to keep the snack interesting, like everything-bagel seasoning or a . For a low-carbohydrate snack, try packing protein into a .
Kumar heard about this creative idea from one of her patients and recommends filling it with vegetables and lean protein, like turkey and peppers. Cucumber boats also make a good vehicle for tuna or chicken salad. And, instead of cucumbers, you can use seasonal produce in the .
Keep in mind that many snack combinations can meet the requirements for a healthy, balanced snack Kumar says. And different snacks will work best for different people depending on their individual preferences and health goals. So there isn’t really a singular best snack for everyone who’s trying to balance their blood sugar, Kumar says.
And, ultimately, "you want people to have variety in their diet," she says, so that you don’t get bored. What often happens is that people get really dedicated to eating balanced snacks for a long stretch and then get to a point where "they can't look at another apple and peanut butter again," Kumar says. So don’t feel like you have to only eat one specific snack.
Mixing it up will help you stick to your goals in the long run..
