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Written by Jordan R. Wagner BSN, RN, CDCES
Food is a major part of life. Aside from the fact that it brings our bodies nourishment and energy, it can bring us joy, memories, and excitement. However, it can just as easily cause feelings of anxiety or worry, which is especially true with diabetes.
Think about it, what is one of the first things that comes to mind about diabetes? For many people it’s that *carbohydrates raise blood sugars and should be avoided.
Here’s an example from a client, “I was scared to eat food. I figured I can control my blood sugars better by not eating carbohydrates and to an extent this worked. My blood sugars tended to be a bit lower, but I lacked energy and often had intense cravings for sweets. When I tried to start eating carbs again my blood sugars were so hard to control. I felt like a failure and this just led to me going back to low carb eating and reinforced to me that carbs are bad. Nobody ever taught me how to eat carbs and maintain blood sugars.”
It is true that carbohydrates can raise blood sugars, but what is false is the idea that avoiding them will make a person’s health better. Like the example above, this person couldn’t go long term without carbs and when eating them again, experienced an extreme intolerance to them. We need carbohydrates in our diets to thrive the way our bodies are designed to. Carbs, especially from fruit, root veggies, and squash varieties are filled with key vitamins and minerals that low or no carb eaters often miss out on. The key to success for eating carbs with diabetes is learning about how to eat them in a supportive way. I will outline my favorite strategies for success in eating carbohydrates with diabetes below. (If you're looking for additional help with carb counting or specific meals, check out my carbohydrate guide).
Tip 1: Eat a filling & nutritious breakfast.
If you are the type of person who is skipping breakfast or eats a sugary breakfast such as cereals or pastries, this is setting you up for difficulty in controlling blood glucose levels the rest of the day. A savory breakfast containing proteins, fats, and carbs is essential. Examples:
Eggs, bacon, toast.
Greek yogurt and berries.
Home made smoothie with bananas, collagen powder, peanut butter, and casein powder.
Cottage cheese, glass of raw milk, apple, hard boiled egg.
The biggest point to see here is that a solid breakfast is a major component of good glucose control throughout the day. The old saying speaks wisdom, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
Tip 2: Order is important.
Eating order is important for controlling glucose spikes. As an example, eating fibers, proteins, and fats prior to eating carbs leads to a “barrier effect.” As food is absorbed in the intestines, think of the intestines of having a barrier due to the fiber, protein, and fat. This helps to slow down the absorption of glucose. This slowed absorption gives your pancreas a better chance to manage the glucose levels or gives your insulin more time to take effect. Another way to think of this is like a sandwich. Fiber, protein, fat, carbs, fiber, protein, fat... or a variation of this.
If you wear a CGM consider experimenting with food eating order so that you can see first hand how it impacts you.
Tip 3: Avoid eating carbs alone.
Carbs eaten alone for people with diabetes will almost always result in a blood glucose increase or spike. Of course we could talk about simple verses complex carbs, the glycemic index, etc… but the general principle is that carbs breakdown into glucose. Glucose molecules in the body, without the proper insulin, will increase the concentration of blood glucose. One thing you can do to help this is eating carbs together with fiber, protein, and fats. As listed above, this helps to create a “barrier” and slow glucose absorption. Of note, sugar alcohols and allulose are sweeteners that have little impact on glucose levels. Many people have opted to use these in place of artificial sweeteners.
Tip 4: Movement after meals.
After eating a meal, consider moving your body for 10-20 minutes. This helps to circulate your blood and use some of the glucose that was consumed in the form of carbs. Exercise has been proven to be one of the most powerful tools in managing/controlling blood glucose levels, taking a light walk, gardening, or a nice neighborhood bike ride after eating could greatly impact your blood glucose levels.
A particularly interesting exercise is the soleus push-up (SPU). The soleus muscle is located in the calf muscle group. It is a deeper, powerful muscle that is used in standing, walking, and running. Current research shows that it just so happens to be a “glucose sponge.” It is able to sustain an elevated oxidative metabolism which in simple terms means that it can burn circulating blood glucose and fats for hours. The SPU is a specific method of activating the muscle to maximize energy use. It is completed by sitting in a chair with flat feet and completing “calf raises.” This exercise has been shown to greatly reduce glucose levels and it’s simple enough that nearly everyone can do it.
Additional Tip: Resistant starch and vinegar.
Resistant starch is starch that is resistant to digestion, almost like fiber. There are various types of resistant starch, but type 3 is created by cooling certain starches such as potatoes, rice, or pasta after cooking them. Now just because this helps blood glucose levels, doesn’t mean someone can eat these in unlimited amounts. This process simply helps the impact on blood glucose. If you take insulin, you will definitely still need to dose, you might just need a touch less.
Vinegar, specially acetic acid, helps in slowing down the breakdown of carbs. This in turn means absorption is slower and less of a glucose spike may be seen. Of course with any of these tips talk with your trusted health care provider before implementing them.
So there you have it, some of my favorite tips for consuming carbohydrates with diabetes. What more tips? Check out some of my other blog posts or head over to my social media platforms.
*carbs and carbohydrates used synonymously in this article.
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