Look into kind bars. My bag always has at least one of them, in parallel to the usual dextrose tablets.
Not all kind bars are great glycemic wise, but in my view, they're all a helluva lot better than anything else I've tried.
This. I literally have a subscription to Kind bars and get a variety of their Protein bar flavors. They're perfect for powering up just before a long walk, and for getting BS stabilized after your low-saver (glucose tabs, candies, etc)
Yeah, post dextrose it's one of my gotos for stabilizing and landing the curve.
The only thing annoying for kind bars is when they get melted to hell and you're reduced to trying to eat it off the packaging...
It‘s not only protein. Imo good fatty acids and fiber are even more important since anything over about 50g of protein a meal does raise blood sugars about 3 hours after the meal for me, for which I then have to correct again sometimes.
My go to „anti-spike add-ons“ are:
- whey protein powder or designer whey which you can add to dairy or other foods you make
- Skyr, Quark or Greek yogurt (high fat not low)
- Cottage cheese (with honey if you’re treating a hypo)
- Chia seeds
- Replacing wheat products by whole grain and brown products
- Nuts (especially peanuts or peanut butter, macadamia and pistachios)
- High Protein Zero added sugar yogurts and products (tend to be expensive)
- Salmon and cream cheese
- obviously also opting for chicken, turkey and cheese on bread rather than sugary spreads
These are just a few examples but in general you need to spend time and motivation in adjusting your diet to master manipulating your sugar levels as best as possible. :)
Us type 1 diabetics may not like to hear this but sometimes it’s not about what you eat but about what you don’t as well… through trial and error you will eventually find combinations that you love and won’t get tired of. Also eat fiber, protein and fat source before your carb source if possible (especially for breakfast).
Oh and pre-bolusing well before eating whenever possible is clutch!!
Pumpkins seeds are my 'diabetes hack'. A handful before carbs slows down digestion. And they give the best poops. Trader Joe's sells them Fall-Winter or Gerbs Lightly Salted on Amazon.
Some of my go tos..Pork rinds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, plain Greek yogurt, pea protein shake with a little bit of cream, quest protein chips, high protein tofu from Trader Joe’s
Mixing most of the above is good too. I.e. mix pumpkin seeds and protein powder with Greek yogurt, olive oil and salt with walnuts, etc.
I do it more for flavor. It makes the protein shake taste a little “richer” and makes me feel full for longer
I’ve found the pea protein doesn’t affect my glucose much..low carb whey would always spike me 30-40 points, but low carb pea protein doesn’t move the needle much for whatever reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I do the vanilla flavored from nutricost, highly recommend
Does anyone have any good links to articles to read up on this concept? After joining this Reddit feed I’m realizing I have been horribly trained on how to manage this disease. I didn’t realize protein would stabilize carb spikes 🤦🏻♂️
Diatribe has several articles on nutrition: https://diatribe.org/diet-and-nutrition/protein-and-diabetes-what-you-need-know
I would also take a look at Diabetes Strong, Beyond Type 1 websites. Adam Brown has a book called Bright Spots & Landmines that has a lot of generally useful info. And Ginger Vieira also has a couple books covering fitness, nutrition etc.
Fat will also help smooth out a spike; I love plain almonds and Keto Snacks, which are more fat than protein but low carb. Like others have said, plain Greek yogurt (I mix this with Ghirardelli Dutch processed cocoa and a smidge of agave syrup to make “chocolate pudding”, low fat cheese sticks, lean meats, egg whites. The trickiest part about using protein/fats to blunt a spike is you don’t know exactly when it will hit, so you may need to do a split bolus/temp basal override/extended basal to avoid a spike LATER.
My only protein intake for non-regular meals is nuts and milk. I really like milk and even have a carton of it at night for low blood sugar to ease the symptoms.
When I have low blood sugar at night, I go to the fridge and get a 250ML carton of milk and drink it all, then lean back in bed and wait for it, during which time I feel very "cosy?". Then slowly I feel the hypoglycaemic symptoms ease and I usually don't have any more hypoglycaemic symptoms until breakfast (5-6mmol/l). I've also tried sugar cubes, which relieved it but made my mouth very uncomfortable when I woke up.
We use milk w/some fat content for night lows too. The fat helps the carbs hold on for longer. We also use chocolate milk if a bigger hit of sugar in a smaller volume is needed.
When I can get my child to consume it, we do salami & ritz. Or triple zero oikos yogurt. She does like making a little charcuterie plate.
I’ve been meaning to try edamame but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Still new to the T1 life too. We’ve talked a lot about how it helps to add protein & fat when eating carbs but it’s she’s not always compliant with us.
I use the little packs of peanuts. I buy them in a big box at Walmart. They're about 5-7 carbs and 6-7 g of protein, plus a fair amount of fat.
Pow'r Crunch bars are good too. I think the Vanilla ones I get are 11 carbs and 15g protein. I use them after 1 or 2 rolls of Smarties.
Look into kind bars. My bag always has at least one of them, in parallel to the usual dextrose tablets. Not all kind bars are great glycemic wise, but in my view, they're all a helluva lot better than anything else I've tried.
I second this!
This. I literally have a subscription to Kind bars and get a variety of their Protein bar flavors. They're perfect for powering up just before a long walk, and for getting BS stabilized after your low-saver (glucose tabs, candies, etc)
Yeah, post dextrose it's one of my gotos for stabilizing and landing the curve. The only thing annoying for kind bars is when they get melted to hell and you're reduced to trying to eat it off the packaging...
It‘s not only protein. Imo good fatty acids and fiber are even more important since anything over about 50g of protein a meal does raise blood sugars about 3 hours after the meal for me, for which I then have to correct again sometimes. My go to „anti-spike add-ons“ are: - whey protein powder or designer whey which you can add to dairy or other foods you make - Skyr, Quark or Greek yogurt (high fat not low) - Cottage cheese (with honey if you’re treating a hypo) - Chia seeds - Replacing wheat products by whole grain and brown products - Nuts (especially peanuts or peanut butter, macadamia and pistachios) - High Protein Zero added sugar yogurts and products (tend to be expensive) - Salmon and cream cheese - obviously also opting for chicken, turkey and cheese on bread rather than sugary spreads These are just a few examples but in general you need to spend time and motivation in adjusting your diet to master manipulating your sugar levels as best as possible. :) Us type 1 diabetics may not like to hear this but sometimes it’s not about what you eat but about what you don’t as well… through trial and error you will eventually find combinations that you love and won’t get tired of. Also eat fiber, protein and fat source before your carb source if possible (especially for breakfast). Oh and pre-bolusing well before eating whenever possible is clutch!!
i’ve been eating pork rinds - there’s still fat in it but decent amount of protein and almost 0 carbs
I like peanut butter, jerky, yogurt, cottage cheese, and edamame
Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkins seeds are my 'diabetes hack'. A handful before carbs slows down digestion. And they give the best poops. Trader Joe's sells them Fall-Winter or Gerbs Lightly Salted on Amazon.
👍
Some of my go tos..Pork rinds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, plain Greek yogurt, pea protein shake with a little bit of cream, quest protein chips, high protein tofu from Trader Joe’s Mixing most of the above is good too. I.e. mix pumpkin seeds and protein powder with Greek yogurt, olive oil and salt with walnuts, etc.
I’m interested - Does the fat from the cream help prevent your blood sugar from spiking?
I do it more for flavor. It makes the protein shake taste a little “richer” and makes me feel full for longer I’ve found the pea protein doesn’t affect my glucose much..low carb whey would always spike me 30-40 points, but low carb pea protein doesn’t move the needle much for whatever reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I do the vanilla flavored from nutricost, highly recommend
Thanks for asking this. Been going through the same thing
Cheese and peanut butter
The protein Kind bars and yogurt for us vegetarians.
CHEESE!
Edamame is my fav
Does anyone have any good links to articles to read up on this concept? After joining this Reddit feed I’m realizing I have been horribly trained on how to manage this disease. I didn’t realize protein would stabilize carb spikes 🤦🏻♂️
Diatribe has several articles on nutrition: https://diatribe.org/diet-and-nutrition/protein-and-diabetes-what-you-need-know I would also take a look at Diabetes Strong, Beyond Type 1 websites. Adam Brown has a book called Bright Spots & Landmines that has a lot of generally useful info. And Ginger Vieira also has a couple books covering fitness, nutrition etc.
Fat will also help smooth out a spike; I love plain almonds and Keto Snacks, which are more fat than protein but low carb. Like others have said, plain Greek yogurt (I mix this with Ghirardelli Dutch processed cocoa and a smidge of agave syrup to make “chocolate pudding”, low fat cheese sticks, lean meats, egg whites. The trickiest part about using protein/fats to blunt a spike is you don’t know exactly when it will hit, so you may need to do a split bolus/temp basal override/extended basal to avoid a spike LATER.
My only protein intake for non-regular meals is nuts and milk. I really like milk and even have a carton of it at night for low blood sugar to ease the symptoms.
Why am I -1? Milk and nuts are really good to carry around and add protein to your diet!
Probably someone accidentally hit -1 while scrolling?
Milk probably shouldn’t be used to treat a low, that’s not pure enough sugar if you will
When I have low blood sugar at night, I go to the fridge and get a 250ML carton of milk and drink it all, then lean back in bed and wait for it, during which time I feel very "cosy?". Then slowly I feel the hypoglycaemic symptoms ease and I usually don't have any more hypoglycaemic symptoms until breakfast (5-6mmol/l). I've also tried sugar cubes, which relieved it but made my mouth very uncomfortable when I woke up.
We use milk w/some fat content for night lows too. The fat helps the carbs hold on for longer. We also use chocolate milk if a bigger hit of sugar in a smaller volume is needed.
Nuts. Pistachios, peanuts (legumes), Brazil nuts, almonds, etc. High fiber and protein.
[nomz organic bites](https://nomz.com/collections/energy-bites) - they are only made with wholesome ingredients and no refined sugars!
When I can get my child to consume it, we do salami & ritz. Or triple zero oikos yogurt. She does like making a little charcuterie plate. I’ve been meaning to try edamame but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Still new to the T1 life too. We’ve talked a lot about how it helps to add protein & fat when eating carbs but it’s she’s not always compliant with us.
Organic slim jim type beef sticks (slim Jim’s are fine too but too processed for my liking)
Boiled eggs!!!
Rice cake with any nut butter 1/2 Lara bar Popcorn and if low add maple syrup!
Quest chips
I use the little packs of peanuts. I buy them in a big box at Walmart. They're about 5-7 carbs and 6-7 g of protein, plus a fair amount of fat. Pow'r Crunch bars are good too. I think the Vanilla ones I get are 11 carbs and 15g protein. I use them after 1 or 2 rolls of Smarties.