Bedtime snacks for gestational diabetes are important to promote overall health and bring blood sugar levels under control. When you become pregnant, many people would advise you to eat for two people. But these words of wisdom are not precisely actual.
In the prenatal period, the body will go through some changes, especially in hormones and weight gain. Do not worry as it is natural. You can control gestational diabetes with a change in diet. A proper gestational diabetes meal plan can help people stabilize their blood sugar levels overnight.
How Does a Bedtime Snack Help to Control High Blood Sugar?
Intake of healthy snacks before sleep can lessen the overnight sugar-regulating process and control high blood sugar the next morning. Fasting overnight can make the liver generate an increasing amount of glucose levels.
It is advisable to consume snacks containing high protein and low carbohydrates to provide sugar for the overnight digestion and assimilation. Furthermore, it will help to minimize the potential of enzyme activity.
So, the person with gestational diabetes should eat snacks at bedtime to keep high blood sugar in check.
Snacks to Munch on at Bedtime
Choosing healthy snacks can seem to be difficult when you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. So we are here to help you find some excellent snack items you can eat at bedtime if you have gestational diabetes.
- Olives
Olives are a powerful salty bedtime snack option packed with nutritional values like Vitamin E, iron, copper, fibre. Keep a cup of olives to reduce diabetes risk as it is low in carbs and full of antioxidants properties.
- Sugar-free Pudding
If you crave for sweets late at night, then you can satisfy your craving with a half cup of sugar-free pudding.
You can follow a simple recipe of 2 tablespoons of chia seeds, 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk and plain yogurt each, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Mix everything well and refrigerate it for a couple of hours. Chia seeds contain many health benefits and reduce weight.
- Raw Vegetables and Spread
Consider munching on raw vegetables and spreads like a tablespoon of peanut butter. You can be flexible with the number of vegetables but keep in check on the spreads.
A tablespoon of peanut butter has approximately 80 to 100 calories. The pairing of raw vegetables with spreads will help to satisfy hunger late at night.
- Handful of Nuts
Nuts are rich in carbs and healthy fat. So you can munch on a handful of your preferable nuts like almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, raisins, etc. You can have both roasted or raw nuts but do not go overboard. Add on a teaspoon of dark chocolate chips to satisfy your sweet cravings.
If you are allergic to nuts, then you can include sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds in your gestational diabetes diet.
- Sliced Cheese
Cheese contains a combination of many minerals, proteins, good fat, and natural sugar. Having 1 or 2 slices of cheese can be an excellent option as bedtime snacks for gestational diabetes.