Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high blood sugar. If left untreated, diabetes can increase your risk of life-threatening complications that include cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, loss of vision, nerve damage, numbness in your feet, skin disorders, mental health disorders and hearing loss. Diet affects your blood sugar, and you should avoid certain foods to reduce your risk of complications. Consult your doctor about your health and dietary options.
High Glycemic Foods
High glycemic foods to avoid include processed foods such as white bread, white rice, corn chips, baked potatoes and sweetened beverages. Your body quickly absorbs sugars from high glycemic foods into your bloodstream. If you are diabetic, your body is unable to release sufficient amounts of insulin into your blood to transport sugar into skeletal muscle cells. Your cells are also resistant to insulin.
As a result of fast absorption of sugar from food into your blood, insufficient supply of insulin and insulin resistance, your blood sugar levels swell. High blood sugar damages the endothelial layer of cells that line the interior of your arteries and causes cardiovascular disease.
Excess blood sugar can also damage the function of your kidneys, which can lead to chronic kidney disease. More than 25 percent of patients with diabetes have chronic kidney disease, according to research by scientists at Leiden University Medical Centre and Academic Primary Health Care Center in Leiden, The Netherlands, and published in "The British Journal of General Practice" in December 2010.
Saturated Fat
Dietary saturated fat increases your levels of blood cholesterol, a risk factor of heart disease. Limiting or avoiding dietary saturated fat may reduce your risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke that can result from diabetes. Foods with saturated fat include red meat, poultry, pork and dairy.
Trans Fat
Trans fat is hydrogenated vegetable oils that food manufacturers produce and use in processed foods such as margarine, breads, cakes and microwave popcorn. Restaurants use these oils to fry foods such as onion rings and french fries. Trans fats are even more harmful than saturated fats, particularly because they are solid at room temperature and can quickly clog your arteries and block the flow of oxygenated blood to your heart. Read food product labels and the ingredients listed on restaurant menus to determine if items contain trans fats.
Sodium
Excess dietary sodium from processed foods can increase your risk of high blood pressure, stroke and kidney failure. Research by scientists at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and published in "Diabetes Care" in February 2011 discovered that in patients with type 1 diabetes, sodium is independently associated with death from all causes and end-stage kidney disease. The adequate intake level of sodium is 1,500 mg per day for people ages 9 to 50 years, and 1,000 mg to 1,300 mg for children and older adults.
References
- "Diabetes Care"; The Association Between Dietary Sodium Intake, ESRD, and All-cause Mortality in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes; M.C. Thomas, et al.; Feb. 9, 2011
- University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Center for Integrative Medicine: Glycemic Index
- "The British Journal of General Practice"; Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 or Hypertension in General Practice; Victor van der Meer, et al.; December 2010
- American Diabetes Association: Fat and Diabetes
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Trans Fats 101
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
