This 3-ingredient snack can help manage your blood sugar

Paying attention to your blood sugar is something everyone should do. It’s a crucial way to proactively prevent diseases later in life, such as heart disease and diabetes.

Your diet plays a crucial role in blood sugar management. Although it may sound counterintuitive, eating snacks can actually help stabilize your blood sugar and prevent erratic blood sugar swings, says Dr. Florence Comite, an endocrinologist, author and founder of the Comite Center for Precision Medicine and Healthy Longevity. “But they must be the right snacks, spread throughout the day to keep sugars on an even keel.”

The snacks you choose don’t have to be complicated. They just need to incorporate a few specific nutrients, and many can be made with a few simple ingredients.

Understanding blood sugar

First, it’s a good idea to understand blood sugar, or blood glucose. It’s the main sugar in your blood and serves as your body’s primary source of energy, according to the National Library of Medicine. Your body breaks down most of the food you eat into glucose and releases it into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar increases, it tells your body to release insulin, a hormone that helps glucose enter your cells for energy. Diabetes occurs when your blood glucose gets too high.

If you have diabetes, it’s often recommended to eat regular, small meals incorporating healthy carbs (along with protein), says Dr. Scott Braunstein, chief medical officer at Sollis Health.

“Eating larger meals can cause spikes in blood sugar due to their relative lack of insulin, and skipping meals can lead to low blood sugar caused by their body’s response to the medications they are taking,” he says. “This is especially true for those taking insulin.”

Which ingredients should your snacks incorporate?

Incorporating a few key nutrients into your snacks can help maintain balanced blood sugar levels:

Protein: Protein is an essential nutrient to include in snacks, as it helps you feel full longer and stabilizes your blood sugar, says Dr. Penina Gutierrez, a family physician at PlushCare, who has lived with Type 1 diabetes for 40 years.

“While things like deli meats will have a lot of protein, they are high in sodium or salt, and, therefore, should be avoided for people who have or are at risk for both diabetes and high blood pressure, also known as hypertension,” she says. A hard-boiled egg or salt-free nuts are good examples of protein sources to help manage blood sugar.

Fiber: Fiber is another important nutrient for snacks to regulate blood sugar, Gutierrez says. She suggests incorporating raw vegetables, which are low in carbs and calories and high in fiber.

“Your snacks should always include protein, a little healthy fat, and fiber,” Comite says. “All three nutrients will slow digestion, satisfy your hunger longer, and prevent sugar spikes, reversing insulin resistance over time.”

Avoid highly processed carbohydrates, such as doughnuts, cookies, chips, and sugary drinks, which Comite says are engineered to keep you eating and craving more.

Best 3-ingredient snack for managing blood sugar

Gutierrez says her go-to is a three-ingredient smoothie that’s “nutrient-dense, high in protein and low in calories.” The smoothie includes:

■ Any veggie, such as fresh cucumber, spinach or arugula

■ Water (or a nut milk like almond or coconut)

■ Whey or pea protein powder

Research suggests that high-quality whey offers benefits for preventing and improving Type 2 diabetes and early onset cardiovascular disease.

To make it, add a cup of spinach (or other veggies), a scoop of protein powder and 1 to 1½ cups of water or plant-based milk (depending on how thick you like it) to a blender. Mix until it’s your desired consistency.

Other snacks to help manage blood sugar

The experts we spoke to recommended a few other three-ingredient snacks for lowering your blood sugar:

■ Chicken or turkey with mozzarella in a street-taco-sized whole wheat tortilla

■ A handful of raw walnuts on high-fiber bread with avocado.

■ Sliced apples and bananas with almond butter.

■ Greek yogurt with blueberries topped with pumpkin seeds.