6 Ways To Prevent Low Blood Sugar At Night
Nighttime dips in blood sugar levels are common among people with diabetes. Authors of a study published in June 2013 in Quality of Life Research noted that people with diabetes — type 1 or type 2 — experience low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) during sleep more frequently than many doctors realize. Nighttime hypoglycemia can be caused by a number of different factors, from exercising too close to bedtime to drinking alcohol in the evening. If untreated, low overnight blood sugar levels can lead to headaches and loss of sleep — and in extreme cases, seizures or even death. The good news is that preventing low blood sugar while you sleep can be achieved with a few simple steps: 1. Check Your Blood Sugar Before Bed “For everybody with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it’s absolutely critical that they check their blood sugar before going to bed to make sure they’re not going to have an episode of low blood sugar during the night,” says Helena W. Rodbard, MD, medical director of Endocrine and Metabolic Consultants, a private practice in Rockville, Maryland, and past president of the American College of Endocrinology. If your blood sugar levels are low at bedtime, eat a healthy snack before going to sleep. The size of the snack should be in proportion to the dip in blood sugar. For instance, a small drop in blood sugar requires only a small snack. If you use an insulin pump, consider temporarily reducing the active dose of insulin. 2. Know the Signs of Low Overnight Blood Sugar Symptoms of hypoglycemia usually develop when blood sugar levels drop below 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). They include shakiness, sweating, confusion, erratic behavior, headache, and lightheadedness. With nighttime hypoglycemia, you may wake up with these symptoms or with a higher blood su Continue reading >>
A1c Tip: What You Eat…before Bedtime!
Unfortunately, the time of day when many people (whether or not they have diabetes) want to veg-out and eat some kind of junk food is at the very end of the day. There’s no mystery: it’s comforting to sit down with something delicious and perhaps less-than-ideal for a person with diabetes after long day at work. As the days get shorter and winter approaches, that urge can only grow stronger. But how is it affecting your overnight blood sugars and your blood sugar the next morning? Personally, I’ve found that when I have a really indulgent treat, like a slice of gluten-free blueberry pie, for example–something really high in both carbs and fat–that even if I manage my blood sugar tightly before bed and am “in-range” throughout the night, I actually see my blood sugar rise between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. the next morning! Normally, my blood sugar is extremely steady during the morning hours, but what I ate before bed can impact my blood sugar nearly 12 hours later. What are you eating before bed? How is it affecting your blood sugars not only through the night but the next day, too? What You Eat Before Bed: Things to Consider Here are just a few of things to consider if you think this particular time of day may be impacting your blood sugar levels and thus impacting your A1C goals, too: One of the biggest reasons people tend to over-eat at night is because they didn’t get enough food in during the day. Take a closer look at what you’re eating throughout the day: hardly anything? Are you starving by the time you get home? If you are struggling with your blood sugar throughout the night, or you’re simply waking up at 5 a.m. to find that you’ve been well above 200 mg/dL all night long, think about what proportion of the day that means your blood sugar was hig Continue reading >>
Diabetes-friendly Snacking Options
Today’s Dietitian Vol. 12 No. 9 P. 12 Grabbing a quick bite between meals isn’t off-limits for people with diabetes. “Snacking can really contribute to a healthy diet. It ensures that our body gets the fuel that it needs regularly throughout the day—and that’s true for everybody, diabetes or not,” says Beverley Manganelli, RD, BS, CDE, manager of community nutrition services at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, N.J. “What’s different for someone with diabetes is, obviously, what kind of medications they’re on and their blood sugar control. Snacking can definitely impact that, so you need to pay a little more attention to the things that you choose. Although there are no ‘never’ foods, you do want to get a nutritious bang for your buck.” Because carbohydrate is the nutrient that impacts blood sugar the most, monitoring intake is crucial. “Generally, snacks can be between 15 and 30 g [of carbohydrate], but that’s based on individual needs and what that patient works out with their registered dietitian,” says Manganelli. Caloric intake needs to be addressed as well, especially since many people with type 2 diabetes need to lose weight. However, a patient already at a good weight who works at an active job may need more carbohydrates. Older patients with long-standing diabetes often struggle with the idea that they can work sugar into their food plan. “They’re used to the old way of thinking,” says Lindsay Fortman, RD, CDE, of Memorial Healthcare’s Diabetes & Outpatient Nutrition Counseling Center in Owosso, Mich. “But with being allowed to eat anything—it’s portion size that matters—we are seeing better compliance.” Time It Right Grazing throughout the day, however, may negatively impact blood sugar. Constantly taking i Continue reading >>
How To Snack Smart At Bedtime
Im hungry, I said to my husband. He sighed then asked what I needed to eat. We had just crawled into bed when my stomach grumbled. He was used to this because it happens to me often. I need to learn to be proactive about my bedtime snacking, though, and eat something before we go to bed. Late-night snacking has pros and cons for people with diabetes, depending on the type of diabetes and the type of snack. Well look at who should be having a snack and what kinds of snacks are good for different types of problems. How You Can Tell What Kind of Bedtime Snack Is Okay? So, how can you tell if its okay to snack at all and, if so, how many carbs that snack should have? One of your clues is your fasting morning blood glucose levels. See what happens to your numbers the morning after snacking and on mornings after you dont snack. How do they compare? Unfortunately, its not often that simple. Your fasting blood glucose reading is only the start. To get a better sense of your overall patterns, try testing before you go to bed at night, and again around 3 a.m., in addition to your morning test. Do this for several days in a row and you will begin to see your bodys typical nighttime blood sugar cycle. Armed with this information, you may want to consult with your doctor, nutritionist, and/or diabetes educator about how best to work with whatever pattern you discovered. However, we give some tips and ideas below to help you figure out what kinds of snacks you can indulge in, depending on the particular diabetes challenge youre dealing with. Bedtime Snacks Can Add Weight, Not Good for Diabetics Snacking at night can lead to weight gain because we dont always choose carefully when we have the post-dinner munchies. And we sit in front of the television or hang out with friends and don Continue reading >>
The Best Midnight Snacks For Diabetes Management
1 / 7 Midnight Snacking Isn't Off Limits If You Have Diabetes Midnight snacking doesn’t typically have the healthiest connotations. But being hungry late at night doesn’t mean you have to derail your diabetes diet by standing in front of the refrigerator spooning ice cream out of the tub, as delicious as that may sound. In fact, satisfying a late-night craving with a healthy snack may be good for diabetes. That’s because fasting for too long can, in some cases, make the liver overproduce glucose, which can raise blood sugar — an effect that can be harmful for people with type 2 diabetes, says Lori Chong, RDN, CDE, at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Next time you have a hankering for something salty, savory, or sweet, get your hands on one of these diabetes-friendly snacks to ward off hunger and help you get back to sleep. Continue reading >>
6 Smart Bedtime Snacks For Diabetics
Many people with diabetes deliberately nosh at night to keep glucose levels from plummeting while they sleep. A snack before bed isn’t a bad impulse, says Fran Cogen, M.D., director of the childhood and adolescent diabetes program at Children’s National Health System. But the wrong kind of snack can actually make things worse. Instead of high-carb fare like chips, “aim for a bedtime snack of protein plus carbohydrate,” she says. Also keep in mind that blood sugar levels are highly individual and will vary based on how active you are each day. So before you hit the kitchen, it’s best to test your glucose level. The Best Bedtime Snacks 10 Goldfish crackers + 1/2 cup skim milk String cheese + whole-grain crackers Apple slices + peanut butter 1 slice whole wheat bread + 2 oz turkey Hummus + raw veggies 1/4 cup cottage cheese + 1/2 cup berries Continue reading >>
Sleep Safe & Sound: Avoiding Overnight Low Blood Sugars
An Essential Blood Glucose Reading Sleep should be restful, yet for people with diabetes it can be stressful. Many factors can affect glucose levels when you sleep. For starters: your body's varied need for insulin, how much glucose the liver produces, what and when you eat before bed, and how much and what type of exercise you've done during the day and near bedtime. It's essential to check blood glucose an hour or so before bedtime. "This is the most important reading of the day," says Gary Scheiner, M.S., CDE, owner and director of Integrated Diabetes Services in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. "If you take insulin and you check at least three or four hours after dinner, you'll learn how well your dinnertime insulin covered the rise of your blood glucose from dinner." If you eat late, this bedtime reading may really reflect your after-meal level. If your bedtime glucose reading is low, treat the low. If you use insulin as part of your regular blood glucose control, and your blood sugar is high three or more hours after your dinner, you may need to take a few units of rapid-acting insulin. {C} How to Prevent Going Low In addition to monitoring glucose levels right before bedtime, other steps can prevent low blood glucose while you sleep. Snack Smart: If you typically eat a snack before bed to prevent hypoglycemia and keep your blood glucose on an even keel, experiment with different types of snacks. Get a feel for which ones help your blood glucose readings stay within target goals during sleep. Spencer Bond, an active teen PWD type 1, usually eats peanut butter with apple slices or crackers. Because peanut butter contains both protein and fat, it's absorbed and metabolized more slowly than carbohydrate, so it helps to keep his blood glucose stable overnight. "Sometimes I ha Continue reading >>
Healthy Snack Ideas For People With Type 2 Diabetes Small Snacks
Healthy snack ideas for people with type 2 diabetes Small Snacks If you have type 2 diabetes, a snack can help you manage your blood glucose levels. If your Registered Dietitian suggests that a small snack fits into your diabetes meal plan, youll find many healthy ideas below. Your snack choices should be based on the four food groups in Canadas Food Guide . The amount of carbohydrate in your snack is very important since carbohydrate-rich foods make the biggest difference to blood glucose levels. Smaller snacks should have about 15 grams of carbohydrate. This is the amount found in one slice of bread or one small apple. Carbohydrates are also found in sugary sweets like pastries, chocolate bars and candy. Because they are not very nutritious, they should be chosen less often, if at all. Heres a good rule to remember when choosing carbohydrate -rich foods: Choose more vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains like oats , barley, brown rice and whole wheat. Choose fewer products that are made from sugar, white flour and white rice. The smaller snacks listed below have about 15 grams of carbohydrate each. They each have 85-150 calories. Your eating plan may include a snack in the morning or the mid-afternoon. Here are some delicious options. 1 slice whole grain bread with 10 mL (2 tsp) peanut butter 1 small orange and 175 mL ( cup) edamame (green soybeans in the pod) 250 mL (1 cup) latte, cappuccino, unsweetened cocoa or chai tea made with skim milk 250 mL (1 cup) cantaloupe with 125 mL ( cup) low fat cottage cheese 15 baby carrots with 30 mL (2 tbsp) hummus These snacks can be left in your briefcase, knapsack, car or your desk drawer. They will come in handy when you have a very busy day and need to grab a quick snack. 1 single-serve (125 mL) unsweetened applesauce sp Continue reading >>
Nighttime Snack- A Blood Sugar Must
Over and over again, I have heard people say “Don’t eat after 8pm, its bad for your health” with no evidence to back up this supposed claim. Your body will not magically turn all calories into fat if you eat a piece of fruit, a cracker or even your dinner the second the clock strikes 8pm, but for those with type 2 diabetes, not eating a nighttime snack may actually be contributing to high blood sugars in the morning. Medications for diabetes-especially insulin – work by helping glucose enter the cells and lowering blood sugar values. This medication is adjusted specifically for each individual in order to make sure that blood sugars don’t stay too high or drop too low. However, insulin may act in your body for an extended period of time, depending on the type. During the day, we are constantly providing our body with sources of carbohydrates either by eating three distinct meals every several hours or grazing throughout the day. For those who choose not to eat anything between dinner and breakfast the next morning, this provides a window of potentially twelve hours with no carbohydrates entering the bloodstream. As mentioned before, insulin often works over an extended period of time, and may still be helping lower your blood sugar at night when you are sleeping and will cause a low blood sugar at night. You might be wondering how this will lead to high blood sugars in the morning right about now. Our bodies have a unique system of storing some extra glucose in our liver, and these stores are called glycogen. When we eat foods that are turned into glucose as they are digested, a limited amount of this glucose is stored in the liver for emergency purposes in case we need a boost of energy to run away from a bear that is about to eat us. For the average American Continue reading >>
Late-night Eating: Ok If You Have Diabetes?
Are late-night snacks a no-no for people who have diabetes? Answers from M. Regina Castro, M.D. If you have diabetes, late-night snacks aren't necessarily off-limits — but it's important to make wise choices. Late-night snacks add extra calories, which can lead to weight gain. And if you snack after your evening meal — especially if the foods contain carbohydrates — you may wake up the next morning with a high blood sugar level. If you're hungry after dinner, choose a "free" food, such as: One sugar-free frozen cream pop Five baby carrots One cup of light popcorn A small handful of goldfish-style crackers A can of diet soda Or swap the snack for a piece of gum or small hard candy. These "free" foods have few, if any, carbohydrates and calories, so they won't contribute to weight gain or increased blood sugar. If you take insulin or other diabetes medications and feel that you must snack before bedtime to prevent low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) during the night, talk to your doctor. He or she may recommend adjusting the dose of your medications to prevent the need for a late-night snack. Continue reading >>
Diabetic Bedtime Snack Ideas
Low blood sugar during the night can be a concern for people with diabetes, especially those on insulin. A 2003 study published in "Diabetes Care" investigated the impact of snack composition on nightly blood sugars in adults with Type 1 diabetes. The researchers concluded that bedtime snacks consisting of a carbohydrate and protein worked best in preventing low blood sugars when the bedtime blood sugar was less than 126 mg/dL. Video of the Day Most bedtime snacks contain about 15 to 30 g of carbohydrate, or two servings of a carbohydrate-containing food, and a serving of protein. It is not quite understood why protein helps to prevent nightly hypoglycemia, according to the authors of the "Diabetes Care" study, but it is believed to be related to the way protein is metabolized. Cereal and milk provides both carbohydrate and protein. A good bedtime snack consists of 3/4-cup serving of whole-grain cereal and 1-cup of low-fat milk. During cold months, you can try 1/2 cup of hot cereal with 2 tbsp. of raisins and 1 cup of skim milk as a cereal bedtime snack. Crackers and Peanut Butter Crackers provide the carbohydrate and peanut butter provides the protein. Spread 12 whole-grain crackers with 3 tsp. of peanut butter or you can also try six whole-grain crackers with 3 tsp. of peanut butter and 1-cup of skim milk. Each of these snacks contain 30 g of carbohydrate. Sandwiches also make a good bedtime snack for diabetics. Choose lean sources of meat to decrease your intake of saturated fat. Too much saturated fat in the diet increases blood cholesterol levels, another risk factor for heart disease. Bedtime sandwich ideas include two slices of whole wheat bread with 1 oz. of turkey, 1 oz. of lean ham, 1oz. of low-fat cheese or 1 oz. of canned tuna packed in water mixed with 1 ts Continue reading >>
What Is A Good Evening Snack?
My mom, who has diabetes, likes having her tea and a snack before bedtime. Is eating a slice of American or cheddar cheese good for her? Continue reading >>
Impact Of Bedtime Snacks On Glucose Control In Type 2 Diabetes
Approximately 3 million Canadians have type 2 diabetes, a condition where the blood sugar levels are too high, uncontrolled blood sugars lead to cardiovascular disease and other complications. Patients with type 2 diabetes are often advised to consume a snack before bed in order to help control morning blood sugar levels. However, scientific evidence for this dietary approach is limited and there is no data to help elucidate what the ideal bedtime snack is. We hypothesize that a high protein, high fat snack with very little carbohydrate, will be an effective bedtime snack for lowering morning glucose without spiking glucose levels in the night. In this study we will determine if a bedtime snack that is high in protein and fat but low in carbohydrate can help improve morning glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes. This information will provide scientific evidence for the potential health benefits of strategically-timed high protein, high fat snack consumption in people with type 2 diabetes. Fifteen patients with physician diagnosed type 2 diabetes (HbA1c 6.5-9%), between the ages of 30-80 years, and not on exogenous insulin therapy, will complete three, 3-day intervention periods (proof-of-concept randomized trial). Participants will consume a standardized diet for three days with either i) two hard-boiled eggs, ii) fruit yogurt; or iii) control no-bedtime snack, thirty minutes prior to bedtime. Fasting blood samples will be obtained on Day 4 in the morning after following each 3-day dietary intervention. Blood glucose will be monitored continuously across the intervention period using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). CGM allows for the moment-to-moment changes in blood glucose to be examined for several days, allowing the unique opportunity to examine the gl Continue reading >>
10 Best Type 2 Diabetes Snacks
Healthy Combinations Ready in Minutes When you have type 2 diabetes, a smart strategy for controlling your blood sugar levels is to think of snacks as miniature versions of meals and plan your carbs accordingly. Snacks with a good mix of protein, fat, and fiber will help keep hunger at bay and your blood sugar on an even keel throughout the day. "Since a meal should include 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates, a snack should have around 15 to 20 grams," says Katherine Basbaum, MS, RD, a clinical dietitian in the Cardiology and Cardiac Rehabilitation departments at University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville. By the same token, she says, fill your snack plate the same way you would for a regular meal. That means half should be non-starchy vegetables, one-quarter should be lean protein, and one-quarter a starchy carb. Here are 10 terrific options for healthy diabetes snacks. Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Snack Before Bed
If you have type-2 diabetes, eating right is very important to help manage the disease. But this doesnt mean that you also need to stop eating snacks. Even snacking between meals or before bed is often recommended when you take insulin treatment. Just make sure that your choice is healthy and has least effect on blood sugar. Its very important for diabetics to manage their blood sugar as well. As long as they can keep it normal, there is nothing to worry. On the other hand, poorly-controlled high blood sugar is to blame for the diabetic complications to occur! Diabetes can be dangerous when it has caused its complications which some are life-threatening. The complications include cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, neuropathy (nerve damage), eye problems (blindness in worst scenario), kidney disease, and diabetic ketoacidosis. If you have diabetes, your diet is the core of treatment plan to cope with the disease. What you eat can affect your blood sugar. Therefore, eating right is important step for managing the disease. How about snacks? When it comes to snacking, what most people think are usually foods high in fats, carbohydrates, calories, or even sugars. But there lots of other options which some are healthy and safe for your blood sugar. Eating snack is not off-limits if youre a diabetic. Even there a number of benefits from eating snack for diabetics. If it is healthy or part of your meal plan made by your dietitian, it does help manage your blood sugar as well as avoid binge at mealtime. For many people with diabetes, snacks do help manage the disease and curb their hunger. There are lots of healthy snacks to choose from. But for diabetes, just remember the following key points: First, you need to know which a good and safe snack for your diabetes! The kind Continue reading >>
