Diabetes is a metabolic disease where your body either produces little or no insulin or the cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. Insulin is an essential hormone regulator of glucose, or sugar, metabolism in your body. Without insulin, blood sugar levels rise above normal. High levels of blood sugar over years can seriously affect your organs, such as your heart, kidney, tissue, nerves and eyes. The complications of diabetes can almost always be prevented if you keep your blood sugar near the normal range. One way to treat diabetes is by avoiding foods with high glycemic-index values, because they may spike your blood sugar levels. Glycemic index is a numerical ranking of foods according to how fast their carbohydrates trigger a rise in circulating blood sugar. Foods that fall between 70 and 100 are high glycemic-index foods; medium glycemic-index foods range from 55 to 70 and low glycemic-index foods fall into the 55 or less range.
White Bread
Well-structured clinical studies have shown that people who regularly consume a diet rich in high-glycemic-index foods, such as white bread, are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as compared to people who eat foods low in glycemic-index values, according to University of Maryland Medical Center. White bread has a glycemic index value of 100, which can lead to a large and rapid increase in your blood glucose. Thus, nutrition experts recommend you choose whole wheat bread rather than white bread.
Potato
Potato is an edible starchy tuber. A high-glycemic form of carbohydrate, potato is hypothesized to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, according to Haverford College. This risk is particularly noticeable in obese and sedentary people. Potato can cause rapid spikes in your blood sugar because it is a rapidly digested carbohydrate and the main building block of carbohydrates is sugar.
White Rice
Eating five or more servings of white rice per week can contribute to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. Rice is a high glycemic form of carbohydrate, which your body easily turns into sugar or glucose and pumps this sugar into your bloodstream as rapidly as it processes pure sugar. Nutrition experts recommend replacing white rice with other whole grains, such as brown rice.
