Oatmeal is said to be healthy. But is it healthy for a diabetic?
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
What’s a good snack for a diabetic before bed or late-night?
First off—What’s a “snack”?
According to the American Diabetic Association, a snack for a diabetic is a small meal of 200-300 calories.
An 8 oz. glass, a cup, of milk or two could be a good bedtime snack.
– skim milk 90 cal, 12 g carb, 0.6 g fat, 8 g protein
– 1% milk 100 cal, 12 g carb, 2.5 g fat, 8 g protein
– 2% milk 140 cal, 12 g carb, 5 g fat, 8 g protein
– whole (3.25%) 150 cal, 12 g carb, 8 g fat, 8 g protein
But adding oatmeal to a cup of milk increases the fiber which further slows the absorption of the glucose through the night.
And oatmeal 1/2 cup has 150 cal, 55 g carb, 5 fat, 11 g protein, and 8 g fiber https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/oats#nutrients
So, a bowl of oatmeal fits nicely with this definition regardless of the type of milk that you use.
A standard serving of oatmeal is 1/2 cup of oats in 1 cup of milk.
So with each type of milk:
- Whole milk provides 300 cal
- 2%, 290 cal
- 1%, 250 cal
- skim, 240 cal
Is late-night eating good at all for a diabetic?
Diabetics have difficulty with carb metabolism. So, they need glucose, the breakdown product of carbs, in their bloodstream every 4-6 hours.
But we sleep 6-9 hours overnight without eating anything. So, a bedtime or “midnight” snack can be helpful.
You need to have enough glucose in your bloodstream throughout the night. Otherwise, your body will dip into your liver and muscle stores, or worse break down some protein from your muscles to make glucose.
This production of glucose from muscle tissue is imperfect and can overshoot the body’s needs causing a morning high blood sugar.
So, a snack can be helpful in this process.
But your snack needs to be a balance of carbs, protein, and fats, like oatmeal. A balanced snack can be beneficial in keeping stable blood sugar levels throughout the night.
The combo of protein, fat, and fiber help to slow carb absorption in the gut.
This slow absorption provides carbs for your brain through the night and prevents a big spike in carbs in the bloodstream in the morning.
And don’t worry about using milk.
Milk has about 400 different kinds of fats. Milk does have some trans fats, which are not healthy when they come from processed foods.
But the trans fats in milk, like CLA, are healthy.
The milk proteins are also very healthy and include a lot of BCAAs which are helpful with muscle growth. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/milk#nutrition
And don’t worry about using 2% or even whole milk. The extra fat helps to slow glucose absorption.
Using skim milk provides much less fat, but it’s not worth missing out on the healthy fats or the fat benefit of slowing glucose absorption.
If you want fewer calories for weight loss purposes, cut the serving in half (oats and milk) but still use the higher-fat milk.
Why does oatmeal spike my sugar?
First off, anytime you eat anything, you will have a glucose spike of some level.
You’re not trying to eliminate sugar spikes, but to decrease the spike and spread the energy-providing effect of glucose over a longer time.
You can decrease the sugar spike by:
- using the best type of oats
- eating a smaller amount
- and not adding sugar
The best types of oatmeal for diabetics are steel cut (least processed so higher fiber) and rolled. The worst are quick or instant.
Portion control is important even with healthy foods. Eating too large of a serving adds unwanted calories and especially carbs.
The standard serving noted above, or less is plenty of food for a snack for the night.
At first, oatmeal may not be very palatable without adding sugar. But you can get used to the taste by using berries, nuts, or flaxseed for flavor.
Remember that these additions for taste will increase the total calories so you may have to decrease your oatmeal serving size.
Add fewer “sweeteners” over time and increase the serving size as you get used to the natural sweetness of the oatmeal.
The oatmeal is the healthy part, not the added sweeteners!
Conclusion
Oatmeal is a high-fiber and low glycemic index food that can be a great snack or meal for a diabetic.
In a study oats lowered A1C and fasting blood sugar compared to a control meal. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4690088/.
Oatmeal— a great snack for blood sugar control!