As a diabetic, you must measure your blood sugar levels every day. Kidney and heart disease can develop when blood sugar levels are consistently elevated. There are certain foods diabetics should avoid most of the time to stay healthy. You can eat a nutritious diet that's recommended for diabetics and follows the food pyramid guidelines, reports the American Diabetes Association. Your doctor may also provide you will an exchange food list. This will list healthy foods and also allow you to trade off different foods.
Sweet Treats
Cookies, cake, candy and pastries are the most obvious dietary restrictions for diabetics. Because they are made with a lot of sugar, it's difficult for your pancreas to produce enough insulin to counteract their sugar levels, even with the addition of medications. Along with high sugar levels, these food products contain high levels of cholesterol, fat and salt. Sweets raise blood sugars and do not provide substantially nutritious vitamins and minerals. You can replace candies and pastries with sugar-free varieties. Eat fresh fruits to help curb your need for sweets, suggests the American Diabetes Association.
Sugary Soft Drinks
Soft drinks contain high levels of sugar and calories. These drinks can raise blood sugar significantly, causing problems for diabetics already struggling to maintain a normal blood sugar level through diet, exercise and medication. If you like soda, it's best for diabetics to drink soft drinks that contain artificial sweeteners, MayoClinic.com reports.
Ice Cream
Ice cream is high in sugar. It will elevate the blood sugar quickly. Attempting to lower the blood sugar after eating ice cream is difficult and challenging. Alternatives are low fat frozen yogurt, and sugar-free or reduced-sugar ice creams. Diabetics can substitute frozen yogurt for ice cream on a diabetic diet, the American Diabetes Association reports.
Table Sugar
Avoid large amounts of table sugar, and do not add it to drinks or food. Your pancreas does not produce enough insulin to handle sugar, so eating sugar on or in any food can cause health problems. Diabetics cannot break down refined sugar easily, the American Diabetes Association reports. Replace table sugar with aspartame, an artificial sweetener. You should also consume this sweetener in moderation.
