5 Foods To Avoid With Diabetes

Hesham Fathi

Hesham Fathi

The choice of food you eat matters a lot when you have diabetes. Although nothing is completely off-limits, even some sweet items you think can be the worst for you to consume can be consumed once in a while. However, they would not help your body nutrition-wise.

That is why you need to stick to healthy meals to manage your diabetes. Carbohydrates have the most significant effect on your blood sugar by far. This is because they are broken down into sugar, or glucose, and absorbed into your bloodstream. Carbs include starches, sugar, and fiber.

However, fiber isn’t digested and absorbed by your body in the same way other carbs are, so it doesn’t raise your blood sugar. When people with diabetes consume too many carbs at a time, their blood sugar levels can rise to dangerously high levels. Maintaining a low carb intake can help prevent blood sugar spikes and significantly reduce the risk of diabetes complications.

Here are five foods you should avoid if you have diabetes.

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages 

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages is the worst type of drink; some with diabetes should consume. They are high in carbs and are exclusively from sugar. Also, they’re loaded with fructose, which is strongly linked to insulin resistance and diabetes. Research shows that consuming sugar-sweetened drinks have effects like fatty liver. Also, the high fructose levels in sugary beverages may result in metabolic changes that increase belly fat and harmful cholesterol levels. 

It is advisable to consume water, unsweetened beverages, and less sugary drinks to control blood sugar levels. 

Pasta, White Bread & Rice 

Pasta, white bread, and rice have shown to increase the risk of high blood sugar in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. White rice, pasta, white bread, and white potatoes are all low in fiber, which can lower the risk of diabetes because it helps slow down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. As much as possible, its good to balance your diet with vegetables, beans, brown rice, etc.

Fruit Flavoured Yogurt 

For people with diabetes, it is advisable to avoid fruit-flavored yogurt and stick yo plain yogurt. Flavored yogurts are typically made from non-fat or low-fat milk and loaded with carbs and sugar. A lot of people consider frozen yogurt to be a healthy alternative to ice cream. However, It can contain just even more sugar than ice cream. It’s better to consumer whole-milk yogurt that contains no sugar and may be beneficial for your appetite and weight control. 

Sweetened Breakfast Cereals

Unlike what we think, there is a massive danger in diabetic people consuming cereals. Despite the health claims on their boxes, most cereals are highly processed and contain far more carbs than many realize.

They also provide very little protein, a nutrient that can help you feel full and satisfied while keeping your blood sugar levels stable during the day. Even the so-called “healthy” breakfast cereals aren’t good choices for those with diabetes.

It’s advisable to choose a protein-based low-carb breakfast to keep your blood sugar level under control.

Avoid Honey and Maple Syrup

Honey is a bad alternative that most people use instead of white sugar. People with diabetes often try to minimize their intake of white table sugar and treats like candy, cookies, and pie. However, other forms of sugar, such as brown sugar, natural sugars like honey, maple syrup, etc. are not better alternatives either These sweeteners are not highly processed. Still, they contain at least as many carbs as white sugar. Most contain even more.

Here are the carb counts of a one-tablespoon serving of popular sweeteners:

People with diabetes should take their diet seriously and avoid food that will increase their blood sugar level. Also, I will advise you to continuously monitor your health; you can do this with glucose meter kits. You can get one from @reliancefc

If, at any point, you need to speak with a doctor urgently, click here.

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Hesham Fathi

Hesham Fathi

Dr. Kemi says:

No, it does not have any negative effect(s) on BP. The food options you can consume include; Low salt, low sugar, low fat, and high fiber. I hope this helps Adeniyi. Thank you

Dr. Kemi says:

It’s advisable for diabetes patients to use low-calorie sweeteners.

Dr. Kemi says:

You’re welcome Uchenna

Your comment

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