Having dessert used to be the impossible dream for people with diabetes. If you indulged in a sweet treat after a meal, you'd feel guilty -- and possibly face a scolding from your significant other. Now, with a better understanding of how all carbohydrates affect your blood sugar, it's easier to fit desserts into your diabetes diet. Just aim for balance, watch portion sizes and make some trade-offs as you plan your meals and snacks.
Diabetes Risks
Sugary foods and other carbohydrates can pose problems because, as a diabetic, you already have trouble processing the blood glucose your body uses for energy. Type 1 diabetics produce none of the insulin needed to use the blood glucose -- or blood sugar -- and type 2 diabetics either don't make enough insulin or can't use it effectively. If too much glucose builds up in your blood, it damages your blood vessels, hurts your circulation and damages your nerves. That puts you at risk for diabetes complications, including heart and kidney disease, stroke, blindness and amputations.
Your Sweet Tooth
Other carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta, also affect your blood glucose. The main drawback to indulging in a high-sugar treat is that it crams a lot of calories into a package with relatively little nutrition. Desserts that are high in fat as well as sugar -- think ice cream, cookies, cakes and pies -- also make it easy to pile on extra pounds. Being overweight is the main risk factor for type 2 diabetes and increases your risk for complications. So a key dessert rule is portion control: Keep sweet servings small.
Alternatives to Empty Calories
Try to develop a taste for naturally sweet foods that also are more nutritious. Ripe, juicy fruits in season can be good for dessert, or find a brand of nonfat yogurt you enjoy. Berries are a "diabetes superfood," according to the American Diabetes Association, and they can be layered with nonfat yogurt into a satisfying parfait. Or think way outside the cookie box and try a dessert of mashed sweet potatoes -- another nutritious "superfood" -- blended with bits of pineapple.
More Dessert Tips
Even relatively healthful desserts can wreck your diet if you eat too much of them -- or have them too often. So look at dessert as an occasional treat, not something you need after every meal. When you do plan on dessert, adjust the rest of your daily menu accordingly. For example, if you're going to have low-fat frozen yogurt after lunch, you might omit some carbs from the meal by having raw veggies with your sandwich rather than a higher-calorie side dish. When you shop for reduced-sugar treats, check the label for "total carbohydrates." As a rule, you should limit yourself to 45 to 60 g of total carbs in a meal.
