Icing -- and the cake beneath it -- contain simple carbohydrates that act swiftly to elevate your blood sugar levels. Sugar-free and sugar-reduced icings provide a healthier -- but not completely healthy -- alternative to traditional cake toppings. If you include icing in your diet, keep portions small and make it an occasional treat. Fresh fruit, a complex carbohydrate that provides fiber and vitamins, makes a healthier everyday dessert.
Healthy Diet
A healthy diabetes diet should focus on nutrient-rich foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, lean protein and calcium-rich dairy foods. Desserts like cake and cake icings contain mostly empty calories. This means that they offer very little nutritional value and tend to provide little dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats or protein. However, with careful planning, you can occasionally include small servings of desserts in your diet. A diabetes meal plan does not generally include sugary desserts. If you eat cake, don't have it in addition to your regular meal -- substitute it for another carbohydrate-containing food in your menu.
Sugar
Traditional cake icings include sugar, generally either powdered or granulated. All foods that contain carbohydrates affect your blood glucose levels. Sugar causes more rapid elevations in blood sugar levels than complex carbohydrates. But, according to the American Diabetes Association, "the total amount of carbohydrate you eat affects blood glucose levels more than the type." You can safely -- if not healthfully -- substitute very small amounts of sugar for larger portions of complex carbohydrates. This should be done with care, as sugar is a faster-acting form of carbohydrate and prompts a more extreme response in your body. A slice of whole grain bread contains about the same amount of carbohydrates as 1 1/2 tbsp. of commercially-prepared chocolate frosting.
Artificial Sweetener
You can use artificial sweeteners instead of sugar in some dessert items. Artificial sweeteners, as opposed to sugar, do not contain carbohydrates and, therefore, do not affect your blood glucose levels. Foods prepared with artificial sweeteners will differ in taste and texture than those prepared with sugar. Even if you use artificial sweetener to prepare your icing, you should still omit another carbohydrate-containing food from your meal. Some icings labeled diabetic because they include artificial sweeteners still contain carbohydrates from other sources, such as milk, cream cheese and corn syrup.
Recipes
The American Diabetes Association offers cake icing recipes sweetened only with sugar, as well as recipes that include both sugar and artificial sweeteners. Try preparing a chocolate icing with unsweetened baking chocolate, light buttery spread, egg whites and powdered sugar. For a flavorful twist, try adding peppermint extract to create a mint chocolate icing. Or you can make a creamy white icing using a granulated type of artificial sweetener, non-fat sour cream, light corn syrup, powdered sugar and a light buttery spread. Another recipe calls for non-fat cream cheese, non-fat milk, powdered sugar, coconut extract and a light buttery spread.
References
- American Dietetic Association, Eat Right: Diabetes and Diet
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Sugar and Desserts
- American Diabetes Association: Diabetes Forecast -- The Healthy Living Magazine: How Sweet It Is, Tracey Neithercott, July 2009
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Create Your Plate
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Carbohydrates
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Artificial Sweeteners
