Before bed snacks

[weecee]

Hello all. I read somewhere here that having a bedtime snack is good and helps next morning readings but can't remember more than that. I thought I saw a banana was good. Could someone please remind me. Am not on insulin or meds at present but like to keep my morning readings in check. Thanks

 

[DeusXM]

Very few people really need a snack before bed - it's primarily recommended to those at risk of having hypos in the night, who really should be looking at reducing their basal insulin rather than increasing their food intake. As someone who isn't on meds, there is literally no reason for you to need a snack.

Bananas would also be a very bad choice of snack - for most people with diabetes, bananas raise blood sugar quite a lot. Overnight snacks, if required, really should be protein-based.

 

[Robin]

If your results are higher in the morning than when you went to bed, it may be because your liver starts pumping out glucose from 3am onwards. This may be for one of two reasons.
1. It's gearing up for the day ahead. A carby snack before bed isn't going to help. A protein snack may, if your body digests it very slowly and manages to convince the liver not to churn out so much glucose.
2. You are dropping low in the night, so your liver is pumping out extra glucose to compensate, and overreacts, so you end up higher. The only way to check this is by setting an alarm for 3am and testing then, to check you're not hypo. If you are dropping low, then a slow release carby snack before bed may help.
If you are on Metformin only, 2 shouldnt occur, so it's probably 1.
Banana tends to be quite quickly absorbed, so may give you a glucose spike in the first part of the night. Again, testing is the only way to find out,( about an hour after you've eaten it, I should think, is when you're likely to see a spike from it, but people vary)
Most people who have to live with the Dawn Rise tend to find they can stop it in its tracks by getting up and having breakfast, ( preferably low carb, or slow release) when the liver thinks, OK, job done, and eases off.

 

[Vicsetter]

i'm not sure why you are concerned Weecee, I would be very happy with a 5.9 morning level, doesn't sound like dawn phenomena, what was it when you went to bed?
Robin obviously hasn't read that you aren't on medication for diabetes.
Banana, as has been said, is not good, neither are any form of carbohydrate. I don't see what protein would do, it isn't easily converted to glucose. A small glass of alcohol may help keep the liver busy, vinegar is supposed to do a similar job.

 

[Robin]

Robin obviously hasn't read that you aren't on medication for diabetes.

Oops, sorry, saw the ref to Merformin in weecee's signature, but missed the bit about discontinuing. My comments about the second point still apply, though.

 

[Robin]

I don't see what protein would do, it isn't easily converted to glucose.

There's a chart that's been posted on here somewhere, with the various conversion rates of carb, glucose and fat to energy. I remember it said about half the amount of protein eaten, in the absence of carbs, is converted to glucose, (over a slower period than carbs ). I assume that's where the advice to try a protein snack comes from, if you need a trickle of glucose into the system in the middle of the night.

 

[Vicsetter]

protein is converted into amino acids. the body does have the ability to convert amino acids directly into glucose. I don't know how long this takes but I would doubt if it happened between bedtime and 3am. We know that carb conversion to blood glucose takes place between 0 and 2 hours (hence testing at 2hrs) so that is why carbs at bedtime is not right. You could try crackers and cheese, using the cheese to slow down conversion to glucose, but as I said I don't think this is happening here, it could be worth trying to reduce the bedtime BG and see what happens.

 

[Annette&Bert]

If I'm having something at night when I get the munchies, it is always nuts plain ordinary high protein but low carb unsalted nuts.

 

[2Bornot2B]

I go out at night 3 times a week, when I get home at about 10.30 I'm ready for a bedtime snack. I love Horlicks but noted the sugar content is high, so I have a cup of decaf tea and 2weetabix in semi skimmed milk. I'm type 2 diabetic. Am I doing the wrong or right thing? Anyone got any suggestions on bedtime snacks please.

 

[grovesy]

I go out at night 3 times a week, when I get home at about 10.30 I'm ready for a bedtime snack. I love Horlicks but noted the sugar content is high, so I have a cup of decaf tea and 2weetabix in semi skimmed milk. I'm type 2 diabetic. Am I doing the wrong or right thing? Anyone got any suggestions on bedtime snacks please.

It depends how you react to the weetabix, many find cereals spike blood sugars.

 

[Mark Parrott]

I have found having a small handful of peanuts before bed improves my waking BG. Haven't done this for a few days & my waking BG has gone higher.