Living with the chronic, howbeit manageable condition that is diabetes requires a certain degree of meticulousness. A person with diabetes is expected to select their diet carefully whilst trying as much as possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Unhealthy foods can have several effects on the body’s blood sugar levels, so it is best for people with diabetes to avoid them.
These are 10 foods people with diabetes must avoid at all costs if they are to stay healthy and sound
1. Pizzas
As someone with diabetes, pizza is just not good for you. I mean, think of all the ingredients the snack is made from. Fat. Refined flour. Sugar. These ingredients all spell trouble, as they cause your blood sugar levels to spike, defeating the purpose of your trying to manage your diabetes.
If you must have pizza, you’d better stick to eating vegetable pizza with less fat and sugar additions—just flour, a little though, and some vegetables.
Read: Best Low-Carb Foods That Still Taste Great
2. Rice
Rice is considered a high-carb food, which is to say it is loaded with quite a lot of carbohydrates.
As you must already know, carbohydrates increase blood sugar levels to a large degree. So, it is best you stay off them, and for as long as you can.
Be especially careful of processed rice (white rice), as this has had most of its fiber removed during processing. It also contains fewer vitamins than brown rice.
3. French Fries
As a person with diabetes, French fries may taste good in your mouth. But the fact is: they don’t taste good to your body.
French fries load your body with fats and carbs, causing your blood sugar level to rise.
Consuming even a little of these can prove harmful. Instead of French Fries, how about you have some baked potato chips? The taste is similar!
Read: Keto Diet Foods: What to Eat and Avoid
4. Cereals
Everyone loves cereals, especially for breakfast. I mean, who wouldn’t? Cereals taste good, and even better, they are quite easy to prepare. Less than ten minutes in, and you’re done and set to eat.
Some bad news: you’re not allowed to eat cereals as a person with diabetes. Corn flakes. Rice flakes. Puffed wheat. You should be having none of those.
The reason is simple, and you most likely have already guessed it: these cereals contain a lot of sugar and can increase your blood glucose levels.
Yes, even when eaten in little quantities.
Instead of having your regular and favorite cereals, trying oats is a great idea. Oats, having a comparatively lower G.I, will not spike your sugar levels that much.
5. Alcohol
Speaking of foods, people with diabetes should avoid them at all costs; we just can’t miss this. Alcohol.
Alcohol’s effect on your blood sugar level is something of a puzzle. It can cause your sugar level to rise sometimes and cause it to fall at other times.
Typically, you’ll see a rise in your blood sugar levels after consuming alcohol in moderate quantities. But you will see a drop if you have it in excess. Either way, none of this is great for you. Avoid alcohol and alcoholic beverages.
In addition to containing alcohol, alcoholic beverages contain a lot of carbohydrates too.
They also have an effect on increasing your appetite; hence see to it that you crave a lot of food.
Read: High Blood Pressure Diet: Food Recommendations
6. Fruit Juice
At first, fruit juices may seem like a perfect drink for you. But, ironically, they are not, and you should avoid them if you are trying to manage your blood sugar levels.
Fruit juices, especially processed ones you buy in grocery stores, contain a lot of sugar and carbohydrates. The sugar is what makes them taste so well most of the time.
Even ones indicated as low-sugar just might contain some sugar
They also don’t contain much fiber and so pose a threat to your sugar level.
Instead of fruit juices, have whole fruits.
7. High Fat Meat
Beef, pork, etc., are examples of meat that is high in fat. You should avoid them if you have diabetes.
Fat isn’t something a person with diabetes should be consuming.
Plus, high fat consumption has been linked with the risk of heart disease. Instead of high-fat meat, stick to eating only lean meat.
Lean meat is meat that has been stripped of fat.
Have leaner cuts of beef and pork. Or, even better, just stick to eating poultry products like chicken and turkey breasts.
Read: 15 Delicious Super Foods You’re Going to Love
8. Honey
Many people believe that natural sources of sugar do not have an impact on their sugar levels. But the truth is, this is false.
Natural sources of sugar, like honey, do have an effect on increasing the blood sugar levels of people with diabetes
It is best you avoid all forms of sugar, even natural sources.
Don’t assume that honey does not affect your sugar level. Just avoid it, especially if you have been struggling to maintain a stable blood sugar level for a while.
9. Dried Fruit
Why is it important for people with diabetes to avoid dried fruit? Well, because dried fruits contain a high level of sugar.
You see, drying fruits strips the fruits of water, leading to an increased concentration of the nutrients and sugars contained in these fruits—sort of like compressing a large can into something much smaller.
The increase in carbohydrate concentration can amount to up to 4 times increase. Instead of dried fruits, try eating whole fruits.
A few fruits that contain not so much sugar include apples and berries.
Apples contain antioxidants, too, and help your body with dealing with inflammatory responses. The same can be said about berries.
Read: Top 10 Metabolism Boosting Foods
10. Packaged Snacks
Snacks, typically, are also one of the foods you want to avoid if you want to manage your sugar level just fine—biscuits, pretzels, etc.
They are made of processed white flour and sure do contain a lot of calories and carbs.
The carbs contained in them increase the blood sugar level quite fast. Instead of packaged snacks, have some nuts between your meals if you must have something.
Summary
Managing diabetes depends on you. You have to be careful with choosing what you eat. Be sure you aren’t causing spikes in your sugar level with your food choices. Observe. What foods make your sugar level increase? Avoid those. Stick to ones that have little to no effect on your blood sugar level.
Photo by Chad Montano on Unsplash
