The Best Diabetic Smoothies to Keep Your Blood Sugar in Check

Smoothies are a regular meal choice in the average household. Fortunately, people with diabetes can also enjoy these drinks despite their condition as long as they do it right.

Specially formulated diabetic smoothies aren’t harmful to blood sugar levels and won’t trigger spikes when consumed in the correct quantity. These drinks aren’t exactly different from the usual ones. However, there are moderations to specific recipes to make diabetic-friendly smoothies healthier, and this article highlights them.

What to Expect?

• How Smoothies Benefit Diabetes?
• How Can People with Diabetes Enjoy the Health Benefits of Smoothies?
• Top 5 Diabetes-Friendly Smoothies

How do Smoothies Benefit Diabetes?

We can’t underestimate the benefits of smoothies for diabetes. Some diabetic smoothies’ recipes control blood sugar and even reduce it to normal. Most diabetic management plans will always include this special drink due to its remarkable effect in preventing blood sugar.

So where are diabetic smoothies so effective against diabetes? The answer is simple — fruit and vegetables.

Smoothies are majorly made from vegetables, fruits, and natural sweeteners. Moreover, natural sweeteners aren’t always present, as most smoothies barely have any need for sweeteners.

The fruits and vegetables that make up the majority of most smoothies are usually very low in calories and glycemic load. This means they’re not easily converted into glucose — the primary cause of blood sugar spikes.

The ingredients of most smoothies make smoothies extremely rich in vitamins and protein. There could be healthy fat in a smoothie if it contains avocado or smoothie. However, it’s just enough to benefit the body rather than cause any genuine concern.

The fact that smoothies are incredibly high in vitamins, healthy fats, and proteins while offering extremely low amounts of carbohydrates simply makes them the perfect diabetic diet. Nutrient experts and health professionals generally recommend smoothies for their patients as a good diet choice.

Diabetic smoothies usually have varying appearances thanks to their different ingredients. Chocolate or strawberries will give a rich and creamy smoothie, while leafy and green ingredients will yield a fine, thick color.

You could have a healthy breakfast smoothie or even have it as dinner. Notably, it’s quite beneficial and helps regulate blood sugar spikes in the morning and night.

How Can People with Diabetes Enjoy the Health Benefits of Smoothies?

While smoothies help people with diabetes control blood sugar and prevent complications, altering the natural ingredients that make each smoothie can dilute the health benefits. This section highlights specific guidelines to ensure a healthy smoothie drink.

Don’t Add Artificial Sweeteners

As a diabetic, one thing you shouldn’t add to your smoothie is an artificial sweetener. Similarly, you should omit table sugar and other added sugars in diabetic smoothies. Even honey and related carbs aren’t exempt from the list of smoothie ingredients to avoid as they alter the drink’s health benefits.

Too many sweeteners may become counterproductive and increase blood sugar. Furthermore, to prevent consuming any harmful nutrients, you should make it a rule of thumb to always use natural ingredients, sparkling water, and frozen fruits instead of ice cubes.

Choose the Right Smoothie

All diabetic smoothies are deemed healthy. However, they’re all different in calories as each smoothie recipe differs. This means that you should choose a smoothie that’s in line with the stage of your diabetes.

A pre-diabetic could easily go for any type of diabetic smoothie and enjoy consistent blood sugar regulation. However, someone already experiencing severe complications from diabetes may want to stick to keto green smoothies — they have zero sweeteners and are great in healthy fats.

There are so many smoothies that have been experimented on and are great for varying stages of diabetes. All you have to do is meet your doctor for a diagnosis and get expert advice on the exact smoothie that can work very well with your diet.

Don’t Overdo It

One thing that you shouldn’t do with smoothies is to take excessively high amounts. Smoothies are incredibly rich in vitamins and fats, but that doesn’t mean they lack calories — even the ones with some of the biggest greens have up to 50 calories. As a result, taking too many smoothies can lead to a counterproductive effect.

Top 5 Diabetes-Friendly Smoothies

There are different diabetic smoothie recipes that you can add to your diet and they do not necessarily have blood sugar spikes. These smoothies can serve as breakfast or a complete meal. You can also add a light snack if you want something solid.

The fruity mix outlined in this list can serve as pre-diabetic smoothies for people who experience blood sugar spikes and are vulnerable to diabetes. They can also serve as healthy diabetic smoothies as they are confirmed to be rich in vitamins while having an extremely low glycemic index.

That said, here are the top 5 diabetic-friendly smoothies you can go for.

Superfood Smoothie

The superfood smoothie is indeed super in every way.

As far as this smoothie is concerned, there’s no one-size-fits-all recipe as you can mix it with different fruits, and it’s subjective to ethnicity. This means that someone from Europe may have a different idea of what a superfood smoothie is to an American. However, the bottom line is that the smoothie has to be extremely healthy and very nourishing.

A smoothie can only be a superfood smoothie if it’s extremely rich in vitamins and calcium and very low in carbs. This inherent feature makes it an excellent choice for people with diabetes.

Superfood smoothies are low in carbs and pass as excellent breakfast and dinner options. Their glycemic indexes are usually low as they contain just vegetables and fruits.

A common feature in pretty much all superfood smoothies is almond milk which serves as the base for the other additions. Almond milk is extremely rich in vitamins and is perfect for people with diabetes.

Other essential ingredients that you can add to make your smoothie food include the following:

• Carrots
• Dates
• Blackberry
• Chia seeds
• Bananas
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric

You may choose to consume the superfood smoothie as a complete meal or decide to take it with a very light snack to avoid stacking up carbs.

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder Avocado Smoothies

For many, calories are the first line of thought at the sight of cocoa. While excessive calories don’t benefit diabetics, the unsweetened cocoa powder avocado smoothie is one enjoyable drink that doesn’t increase blood sugar levels and trigger glucose spikes. Thanks to its rich amount of avocado and its unsweetened cocoa powder, this smoothie has low carb and calorie content, with a serving offering nothing more than 80 calories.

This particular smoothie may be ideal for those that miss the sweet feeling of cocoa. There are no artificial sweeteners, though, so you don’t have to worry about high sugar intake.

The primary ingredients are avocado and coconut milk. Other complementary additions are a pinch of salt, water, and mint (optional). Hence, in total, there are five main ingredients in addition to the greens and cocoa.

Preparing the unsweetened cocoa powder avocado smoothie isn’t difficult. You can take the following as a guide when preparing one:

• Get all the ingredients: Cocoa powder, avocado, coconut milk, salt, water, and mint (optional).
• Put all the ingredients inside a blender except the fresh mint, which you may include later after the whole process. The water added should be just sufficient for successful blending.
• Blend on high speed until you notice a fine thick creamy texture.
• Introduce fresh mint to the mix if you wish.

This chocolate avocado smoothie with coconut milk can help you lose weight and make every exercise worth it.

Avocado Smoothie With Leafy Greens

Avocado is one crucial food choice that plays a vital role in helping people with diabetes handle their condition without complications. The fruit has a very low glycemic index and, as such, doesn’t trigger a rise in blood sugar.

The avocado smoothie with leafy greens is one of the best choices that a diabetic can make for a healthy breakfast. The smoothie is remarkably tasty, which is a good thing, as diabetics will find it refreshing and yummy.

To avoid a rise in blood sugar spikes at night, nutrition experts usually advise that diabetics go for smoothies such as the avocado smoothie. The good thing about the drink is that it’s not difficult to make. The main ingredients are avocado, mint, lemon, and healthy greens.

You won’t get a sweet taste with this smoothie; it’s simply creamy and tangy. However, its associated health benefits make it one of the most preferred options to go for.

Here are the steps to follow when making this healthy drink:

• Get all the ingredients: Kale, spinach, avocado, water, mint, lemon juice, and ice cubes.
• Blend all the ingredients until they all form a fine mixture.

You can add drops of stevia or tiny amounts of honey for sweetness but don’t overdo it, so you don’t alter the drink’s health benefits.

Low-Carb Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

Here’s yet another smoothie that you can go for to avoid and control sudden blood sugar spikes. This low-carb smoothie bowl is one mix that you can probably never get tired of. It’s a fresh, tasty, rich, and creamy smoothie with many nutritional benefits.

Nutritionally, a serving of this smoothie diet includes:

• 370 calories
• 10 g of carbs
• 24 g of fat
• 18 g of protein

The ingredients of the mix include Greek yogurt and soymilk, which eliminate the need for artificial sweeteners and effectively control high blood sugar. Adding chia seeds only makes the drink much better as it improves the fiber content, which also helps regulate blood sugar increase.

Additionally, you can make this drink without adding cheese. However, if you want a bit of whey protein, adding a small cheese quantity won’t cause significant harm.

Here are the steps to follow in preparing this drink:

• Gather the following ingredients:
  • 5 strawberries of medium sizes
  • A cup of unsweetened soy milk
  • Half a cup of Greek yogurt
  • Six ice cubes
• Blend the ingredient until a smooth mix is formed and serve as desired. It’s important to note that a serving contains up to 100 calories.

Green Keto Smoothie With Avocado and Peanut Butter

This leafy green smoothie brings a lot to the table for people with diabetes. It’s extremely low in calories, controls blood sugar, and ensures a full stomach.

Of course, with the keto tag, there’s no doubt that it contains healthy fats (due to the avocado and peanut butter present in it). The drink isn’t exactly sweet, but there’s an undertone of sweetness due to the peanut butter and almond milk additions.

If you desire a smoothie that complements your diabetes diet, then this drink is the exact go-to option. The complete ingredients for this drink are quite easy to find, and they include:

• Cucumber
• Kale
• Peanut butter
• Almond milk

There’s no need to add any artificial sweetener as the drink is best taken naturally. Moreover, the only fats present in this drink are healthful fats.

Nutritionally, a serving of this drink offers:

• 141 calories
• 4 g of protein
• 9 g of carbs
• 11 g of fat

Like the other smoothies, all you need to do is simply blend with little water until it forms a fine mixture.

Conclusion

There are many smoothies you can enjoy, even as a person with diabetes. Apart from those discussed in this article, others include the peach smoothie fortified with spinach and others that provide vitamins and healthy fats.

In other words, the types of smoothies that you can add to your diet as a diabetic are almost endless, and it’s just about you choosing the ones you love most. If you love more than one healthy smoothie, then getting our digital meal planner to help you properly plan them out is extremely important. More specifically, a digital app will help you prevent too much intake of unhealthy smoothie recipes that could eventually lead to extremely low blood sugar or hypoglycemia.