Yes, persons with diabetes can drink health food shakes. You can include them with meals or enjoy them as a between-meal snack. Just keep in mind that all of your foods and beverages should adhere to the guidelines established by the American Diabetes Association. Your meals should include a balance of fruits, vegetables, protein, starchy foods and dairy, and your snacks should contain healthy carbohydrates and little fat.
Balanced Diet
Food balance and portion size are essential in managing diabetes. Health food shakes should fit in the overall balance of foods. Your breakfast, for instance, should include a balance of 1/2 starchy foods, 1/4 fruit and 1/4 protein. If you wanted a health shake for breakfast, a banana-peanut butter smoothie made with non-fat milk could fulfill your fruit and protein requirements. But add a healthy starch -- a slice of whole wheat toast or a homemade bran muffin, for instance -- to complete the requirement for starch.
Ingredient and Portion Control
For the healthiest shakes, make your own. You can more easily control the ingredients and the portion size. Some powdered protein drinks that are advertised as health shakes contain added sugar. A 32 oz. shake loaded with fruit, fruit juice, protein powder and brewer's yeast provides a lot of healthy nutrition, but its large size makes it an uncomfortable fit on a diabetes diet. At lunch and dinner, a health food shake could fulfill your requirement for fruit and non-fat milk. Make your shake with a small piece of fruit and an 8 oz. glass of non-fat milk.
Fiber
Make health food shakes with high-fiber fruits. Fiber helps to control your blood sugar levels, manage your weight and lower your low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Good high-fiber fruits to include in a health food shake include strawberries, blueberries, bananas, blackberries, raspberries and kiwi. If you don't mind a somewhat chunky shake, add high-fiber fruits such as apples, pears, oranges and grapefruit. If you make a thick, spoon-able shake, add healthy fiber such as wheat germ, oatmeal, flax seed or ground walnuts.
Liquids
Make careful choices about the liquids used in your health food shakes. Non-fat milk and plain, non-fat yogurt provide calcium and protein with few carbohydrates. Avoid whole milk, sweetened yogurt or ice cream. Vegetable juices provide vitamins and few calories. Fruit juices -- orange and apple, for instance -- provide important nutrients, but tend to contain more concentrated sugar than whole fruit. This means that fruit juice will more likely cause elevations in your blood sugar levels. Use fruit juices in limited quantities and calculate them in your total fruit and carbohydrate limits for the day. Vegetable-based shake add-ins such as algae will produce minimal effect on your blood glucose levels.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Create Your Plate
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness: Snacks
- MayoClinic.com; Nutrition and Healthy Eating -- Dietary Fiber: Essential For A Healthy Diet; 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Nutrition and Healthy Eating -- High-Fiber Foods; 2009
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Fruits
- American Diabetes Association: Glycemic Index and Diabetes
