Eating Healthy

Everybody loves smoothies, but if you have diabetes you may want to make sure that the smoothies you drink love you back.

Welcome back to Diabetes EveryDay, I’m Toby Smithson, here to share credible information about diabetes management. Be sure to subscribe to my channel by pressing the red button and please sign up for my monthly newsletter via my DiabetesEveryDay website.

Are Smoothies Okay For People With Diabetes?

There seems to be a continued beverage trend here in the US about drinking smoothies. For most smoothies, they are fruit-based so it appears to have an important food group that is packed with nutrients. Typically a smoothie will contain some liquid- fruit juice, milk, plant-based milk, water, or maybe iced coffee. And the smoothie may have yogurt or avocado or nut butter to add creaminess, there could be some 0 cal, 0 carb flavorings added, like spices, and then the main ingredient of fruits and/or vegetables along with some type of sweetener. So…are these smoothies a good choice for people with diabetes?

As a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified diabetes care and education specialist, AND a person with diabetes, this is what starts rolling around in my head when I hear about smoothies.

Smoothies and shakes can add more carbohydrate and total calories so they may not be effective for weight management.

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Smoothies and Diabetes – Key Points

Point 1: Is the smoothie I’m drinking too high in calories or carbs for me?

Point 2: I want to know what the ingredients are in the smoothie. Check the ingredients in your smoothie recipe or if you are buying a smoothie at a restaurant, check to see if they have the nutrition information already calculated in both these scenarios. Is the smoothie made with just fruit or are there other ingredients? And if there are other ingredients, will those ingredients have an effect on your blood sugar, whether to help slow down the blood sugar rise or give your blood sugar a spike.

I did a quick check at a restaurant that serves smoothies, and they range from 410 to 780 calories and 43-131 grams of carb per serving. I found a restaurant that will use a low-calorie sweetener option, which brought down the calories to 190 to 680 and 43 grams to 101 grams of carb per serving. So this can give us a quick glimpse at the calories and carbs we are getting from a smoothie. Were you surprised or is that level of calories and carbs what you anticipated? Please understand that yes, the fruit is great food, but adding several fruits to a beverage won’t make it a healthier beverage for your blood sugar results.

Ok now to Point 3: When are you drinking this smoothie? Is it for breakfast? As a snack? Before bed? Be aware that this could simply be a healthy halo. I’m glad you are eating more fruit, but the combination of ingredients could make a difference in your blood sugar results.

If your smoothie is just fruit, a low-calorie sweetener, and maybe some water, your blood sugar may see a rise compared to a smoothie that contains a source of protein.

There was a small study showing that whey protein could have a glucose-lowering effect, but it was a small study and the positive results were shown in those who were lower in body weight, had in target triglyceride levels, and lower GLP-1 (which is an amino acid peptide) concentrations in their blood. The whey protein stimulated insulin secretions in people with type 2 diabetes which would offer a lower blood glucose level.

The Take-Away

As you have heard me say before, portion size matters, and balancing out your carbs throughout the day is an important strategy for blood sugar management.

Remember you can do your own research on how your blood sugar is affected by what you eat. Check your blood sugar before the smoothie and 2 hours after drinking the smoothie. If you are having the smoothie as a bedtime snack, check before the smoothie and before breakfast the next morning. Does your blood sugar stay steady? Is your blood sugar remaining in the target range of under 180 one to two hours after the smoothie?

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Thanks for watching, until next time, cheers to your health.

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If you have diabetes it’s certain that someone has asked “can you eat bread?” Often the question comes as you’re preparing to actually eat bread (implying you may not know what you’re doing). Well, as with most things food not all bread is created equal. And as with most things food, of course, we can eat bread if we manage our portions and look to get valuable nutrients along with the carbohydrates.

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Can I eat bread?

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Can I Eat Bread if I Have Diabetes?

I get this question all the time…all the time.  Can I eat bread? Or I find people saying “don’t worry, I’ve cut out all the bread from my diet to manage my diabetes.”

Here’s the secret that I want to make sure you hear… Yes, you can eat bread! Total grams of carbohydrates are what we are managing when we have diabetes but that doesn’t mean you need to stay away from bread. Yes, I know bread has carbohydrates but it’s a matter of balancing your plate with your food choices and getting the most nutritional value along with the carbohydrates.

What Do I Look For When Choosing The Type Of Bread?

When I’m choosing bread, I want the nutrition benefits of whole grain and fiber. I look at the food label. Looking at portion size (some bread have 2 slices while others have 1 slice as the serving size); Look for total grams of carbohydrate and grams of fiber. The more fiber, the better. Remember that our daily requirement of fiber is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. We want more fiber in our diet for the health benefits AND to help slow down the absorption of the carbohydrate we are eating.

For Pumpernickel, rye, wheat, raisin bread: in general, 1 slice is a serving.

For hamburger or hot dog buns, English muffins, or a 6-inch pita: half a bun, muffin or pita is a serving generally equivalent to 15 grams of carbohydrate.

For bagels: it gets a little trickier. There are such a variety of sizes. In general, one-quarter of a large bagel (a 1 oz serving) is equivalent to a 15-gram carb choice (this bagel has a total of 53 grams of carb). If there is a food label on the bagels you are purchasing, then definitely use the label, if you are buying your bagels from a bakery that doesn’t have the nutrition information available to you, then make sure to do some trials with how it affects your reading.

Remember that you can do your own investigative work regarding your diabetes management. The rule of thumb is to check in pairs. Check your blood sugar before the meal and two hours after the start of the meal to see how the meal you ate affects your blood sugar readings.

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Until next time, Cheers to your health.

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Hi there, Toby Smithson here with DiabetesEveryDay. Thanks for joining me today. Remember to hit the subscribe button. I post a new video on diabetes management every week.

Just in time for the holidays, we can thank Marlene Koch for this healthy pumpkin treat. I’ll just say 9 grams of carbohydrate in this dessert and that should send you to the grocery store today.

Welcome to Diabetes Everyday. I’m Toby and I have a pumpkin season dessert recipe for you today. Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Squares comes from my friend Marlene Koch’s book Eat More of What You Love. Marlene has a series of books, and even though they aren’t specifically for diabetes most of her recipes fit right in. Remember, eating healthy for diabetes is mostly just regular healthy eating with an eye on carbohydrates.

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Here’s what you’ll need for today’s treat

Crust Ingredients:

•  1 Tablespoon melted butter or margarine. I recommend margarine.
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
•  3 Tablespoons low calories granulated sweetener, like Splenda

Filling Ingredients:

• 8 ounces light tub-style cream cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup and ½ cup granulated low-calorie sweetener
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• One 15 ounce can of 100% packed pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves

How To Make The Crust:

1 – Preheat the over to 325 degrees and spray an 8×8 inch baking dish with nonstick spray

2 – Mix together the crust ingredients

3 – Pat the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish

4 – Bake for 8 minutes and let the crust cool

How To Make The Filling:

1 – In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese, 1 egg, the 1/3 cup sweetener, and the vanilla.

2 – Now beat with an electric mixer.

3 – After the crust has cooled, gently spoon in the mixture and smooth.

4 – In the same medium bowl, add the pumpkin, the other egg, the ½ cup sweetener, the cinnamon, the ginger, and the cloves.

5 – Beat these ingredients until smooth. And gently spoon this over the cream cheese and smooth.

To Finish:

Bake for 30 minutes. Then allow to cool for a half-hour and, the hardest part, refrigerate for at least 4 hours, in a spot well hidden from your husband, before you cut into 16 square portions.

Each portion is only 90 calories, 9 grams carbohydrate, 4 ½ grams total fat, 3 grams protein, and 125 milligrams sodium.

I highly recommend Marlene’s books. Each recipe includes all the nutrition information we need to make wise decisions and every recipe I’ve tried has just been fantastic. This is a great option for your virtual Thanksgiving celebration this year. Thanks, Marlene.

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Until next time!

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