If you’ve been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it’s important to eat healthy snacks between meals to keep your blood sugar under control. Luckily, there are delicious snacks to choose from, including the new Unique Pretzels Sprouted “Splits” and Sprouted Shells!

Unique Pretzel Bakery is located in Reading, PA, where it was founded about six generations ago (in the 1890s). We’re most well-known for our brand called Unique Pretzels “Splits”, a split-open pretzel that was accidentally invented when the dough was left to set too long and the pretzels split during baking.

Of course, we also bake a variety of other pretzel snacks, including chocolate-covered pretzels and “flavor-shocked” varieties. But the most interesting snack for diabetics and people who simply want to improve their diets are our new Sprouted “Splits” and Sprouted Shells.

Snacks For Gestational Diabetes

They’re made with a revolutionary new whole wheat sprouted flour from Essential Eating® Sprouted Foods. While this flour has great baking characteristics and delicious flavor, one of its biggest benefits is that our bodies digest it like a vegetable rather than as a starch. These pretzels are a great way to add fiber and an extra serving of vegetables into your prenatal diet!

Simple and Complex Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are present in many foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and are the main source of energy for the body, brain and nervous system. Even if you have diabetes, you should not avoid them.

Complex carbohydrates, including un-sprouted whole grain flours, are starches. They can be difficult to digest but are high in vitamins and minerals. They require enzymes to digest them and break them down into simple sugars so that the body can absorb the nutrients. A fluid produced by the pancreas, called pancreatin, does most of the work. But the pancreas may become overworked, causing a variety of digestive disorders.

Simple carbohydrates, also called simple sugars, are easily digested because they don’t need those pancreatic enzymes for digestion. Instead, they’re broken down by vegetable enzymes and used for energy instead of being stored as fat.

Benefits of Sprouted Grains

Whole grains are seeds that have not yet sprouted (germinated).  They’re covered by a protective outer layer called the bran and lay dormant until the time is right to sprout. When subjected to the right temperatures and moisture conditions, the bran cracks open and a new plant starts to form.  At this stage, they are called “sprouted grains.”

The enzymatic action that occurs during the sprouting of whole grains converts them into simple sugars, which the USDA considers to be vegetables. This gives the grains a Low Glycemic Index, making them diabetic-friendly. When made into flour, they’re easier to digest than un-sprouted grains. The process also removes the bitterness, so there’s no need to add sweeteners and other additives.

Unlike un-sprouted grains that have been processed, bleached and refined, eliminating virtually all of the health benefits, sprouted grains also retain all of their natural nutrients, including antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin C and important B vitamins.

All of these factors make our 100% sprouted whole wheat pretzels an excellent choice for diabetics and anyone else who wants to enjoy the healthy benefits of the fiber and essential vitamins and minerals they contain.

Unique Pretzel Bakery’s sprouted grain pretzels are some of the healthiest snacks you can eat if you have gestational diabetes. They are low in fat, cholesterol-free, lactose-free, sugar-free, trans fat-free, and contain only non-GMO ingredients. Look for them today at your local Wegmans, Fresh Market, Whole Foods and Giant stores, or order them online!