American Diabetes Awareness Month
When it comes to managing diabetes, meal planning is important—and that includes snacks. Eating diabetes-friendly snacks can help control blood glucose and energy levels while managing hunger. American Diabetes Awareness Month is a great time to take control of your snacking.
Diabetes is a metabolic condition that affects how the body either produces or uses insulin. This makes it challenging for diabetics to maintain blood sugar, so what is eaten and when makes a big difference.
For diabetics, it’s especially important to choose snacks wisely. When a quick trip to the vending machine is the only option, look for these diabetes-friendly healthy vending snacks as recommended* by the American Diabetes Association*, Diabetic Living, and other resources:
- Almonds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Almond butter / peanut butter
- Light popcorn
- Goldfish crackers
- Rice Cakes
- Protein pretzels
- Whole-grain granola bars
- Veggie puffs
- Tuna snack pouch
- Jerky
- Low-carb nutritional bars
*Be sure to read labels carefully, and check carb count based on the serving size.
Tips for carb counters:
Protein-rich snacks such as jerky usually do not raise blood glucose levels. Look for healthy vending machine snacks like turkey jerky, Primal jerky, and Tofurky jerky.
Dried fruit can pack a carb wallop so it’s important to keep portion size in mind. Combining dried fruit with nuts (such as almonds and dried cranberry trail mix) helps minimize blood sugar spikes.
For quick meals on the go, check the HealthyYOU Vending machine for low-carb soups to go, such as chicken noodle, tomato, and vegetable soup.
Diabetes friendly beverages:
Managing diabetes also means balancing what you eat with what you drink. Beverages can also have a significant effect on blood glucose levels. The American Diabetes Association recommends drinks with zero or few calories, such as these healthy vending machine options:
- Bottled water
- Zero-calorie drinks
- 100% juice with no added sugar
For more information about diabetes-friendly snacks and beverages, visit www.diabetes.org.
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