Nutritional Facts
Diabetes-Friendly Snacks by Shaun Tan
1. What is Diabetes?
We all know that diabetes is about “blood sugar”. So what has “blood sugar” got to do with “carbohydrates”?
The mechanism itself isn’t complicated at all. Carbohydrates are broken down to sugar. Sugar than goes into our blood. To move from our blood to muscles for their use as fuel, we need a “key” to open the doors to our muscles.
This “key” is known as insulin, which may be insufficient or not be working properly. Sugar than cannot move on from our blood to muscles so easily. This is how high blood sugar comes about.
2. Identifying the Key Nutrients
CARBOHYDRATE
- Too much carbohydrate taken in one meal/snack and our blood sugar may get too high. If blood sugar is too high, this can lead to increased urination or increased risk of stroke and heart conditions.
- Too little carbohydrate taken in one meal/snack and our blood sugar may get too low, and we may feel weak from the lack of fuel for our body.
FIBRE
- Fibre is another key nutrient which adds bulk to your food, making it go down slower and breaking down carbohydrates to sugar slowly, so it does not rush into your blood too fast.
3. Identifying the Right Snack
The key here is to choose snacks that do not contain too much carbohydrate and if possible, contains fibre. Here are a few ideas you may wish to try.
1. Herbal Tea Leaf Eggs
- Hard boiled eggs do not contain carbohydrates and is a great source of protein, and thus is a favourite among those with diabetes. Herbal tea leafs add a bit of twist in flavour and additional antioxidants as well.
- Do be wary of egg yolks though. Remember to consume no more than 3-4 egg yolks per day, as the cholesterol can lead to a higher risk of heart conditions, on top of the existing condition of diabetes.
2. Soybean Milk and Tau Huay
- Not only is the protein quality of soybeans on par with eggs and is cholesterol-free, it is also another carbohydrate-free option.
- Go for no sugar/syrup where possible, as added sugar can increase blood sugar as well as risk of heart conditions.
3. Chin Chow
- Dark, crystal-like in appearance with a pleasant texture, and a local favourite in Singapore, Chin Chow (AKA Grass Jelly) contains little carbohydrate.
- Again, do go easy on the sugar/syrup, as was with the soybean milk and tau huay.

Shaun Tan
Nutritionist @Zenxin Singapore
Working with a variety of products helps him to keep up and continuously innovate new nutrition strategies, it’s give him an opportunity to increase his knowledge and ability to make it realistic and correct recommendations to customers.