If you're following a diabetic diet, snacks may be required in your plan. Most will dictate that you have two or three healthy diabetic snacks during the day. You may also be advised to carry snacks in case of unexpected dips in blood sugar. A diabetic snack can keep you feeling your best by stabilizing blood sugar levels. Learn more about choosing diabetic diet snacks.

Healthy Diabetic Snack Choices

You probably don't need any special low-carb snacks to follow your diabetic diet plan. The trick is to choose complex carbohydrates over simple ones when choosing diabetic diet snacks.

Complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, fresh vegetables and whole grains are digested slowly, and therefore less likely to cause spikes and dips in blood sugar. Simple carbohydrates, on the other hand, are digested very quickly, and can dramatically impact blood sugar levels. Your doctor or nutritionist will let you know how many grams of carbohydrate you're allowed for each diabetic snack.

Some good choices for healthy diabetic snacks are:

• Crackers: Choose whole grain varieties for lasting energy and stable blood sugar.
• Fruits: Fruits like apples with skin, apricots, blueberries and grapefruit make a good diabetic snack. Be careful, however, about eating fruits high in sugar. Ask your doctor or dietician which fruits are the best healthy diabetic snacks for you.
• Meats: Meat offers protein and almost no carbohydrates. Chicken, low-fat cheese and tuna are healthy options.
• Nuts: Since they have healthy proteins and fats, nuts can be a healthy diabetic snack. Eat these in moderation, however, because they are high in calories.
• Popcorn: Popcorn is generally fine, as long as it is air-popped and low in salt.
• Vegetables: By themselves or with a light dip, raw vegetables are great low-carb snacks.

Choosing Diabetic Diet Snacks

Here are some tips for healthy diabetic snacking:

• Always follow your doctor or dietitian's recommendation for the calorie content. Snacks of 150 calories or less are usually suggested for diabetics.
• If you add some peanut butter to whole grain crackers, you'll feel more satisfied and your blood sugar won't rise as much as if you eat only plain crackers.
• Put your recommended snack portion on a plate, rather than just eating out of the bag or box. This will help you eat the right amount at snack time. (If you like eating out of the bag, try single-serve snack bags and pouches.)

Resources

Buzzle. (2010). Healthy snacks for diabetes. Retrieved June 9, 2010, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/healthy-snacks-for-diabetics.html.

Reader's Digest Association. (2010). 15 diabetes-friendly snack tips. Retrieved June 9, 2010, from http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/15-diabeticfriendly-snacks-tips/article98255.html.