People with diabetes must carefully monitor their diets to maintain steady blood sugar levels. Snacks, desserts and baked goods often contain high sugar levels, which can be dangerous for someone with diabetes. Substituting honey for white sugar could elevate your blood sugar, while eating cinnamon may have a helpful effect. Before changing your diet to include honey or sugar, discuss your diet with your doctor to make sure it is healthy for you.
Diabetes Diet
People with diabetes have chronically high blood sugar because their bodies cannot produce insulin, a hormone that controls sugar levels, or they become resistant to its effects. As a result, diabetic people must avoid foods that cause significant spikes in their blood glucose levels. Starchy vegetables, white flour, white bread and other carbohydrates elevate blood sugar. Eating high-fiber foods and whole-grain products keep your blood sugar more stable throughout the day.
Honey
Some diabetics try to substitute honey and other sweeteners for table sugar. Although honey differs from table sugar, it contains glucose and fructose, which raise your blood sugar levels. Because honey has a distinctive sweet taste, some people use less of it than regular sugar. According to Maria Collazo-Clavell, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, people with diabetes can use small amounts of honey, but they must keep track of the carbohydrates honey adds to their diet. Honey should not be used in large amounts as a substitute for sugar.
Cinnamon
Incorporating cinnamon into your diet may improve symptoms of diabetes. In a 2010 clinical trial published in "Diabetic Medicine," a researcher at Thames Valley University in London found that eating 2 g cinnamon every day for 12 weeks improved diabetics' health. After the 12-week intervention, participants had lower levels of hemoglobin A1C, a blood protein that indicates your control of your blood sugar levels. Diabetics who ate cinnamon every day also had lower blood pressure than control participants who took a placebo.
Considerations
Although taking a cinnamon supplement every day may help control your blood sugar, it cannot replace other treatments. Modifying your diet to include plenty of whole-grain products and high-fiber vegetables keeps your blood sugar constant. Even if you take cinnamon and minimize your consumption of honey and other sweeteners, you may need medication to control your blood sugar. Discuss your diet and diabetes symptoms with a physician to make sure you eat appropriately for your condition.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Diabetes Food: Is Honey a Good Substitute for Sugar?; Maria Collazo-Clavell; November 2010
- "Diabetic Medication"; Glycated Haemoglobin and Blood Pressure-Lowering Effect of Cinnamon in Multi-Ethnic Type 2 Diabetic Patients in the U.K.... ; Rajadurai Akilen; October 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Diabetes Treatment: Can Cinnamon Lower Blood Sugar?; Maria Collazo-Clavell; September 2010
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Diabetes Diet: General Dietary Guidelines
- MayoClinic.com; A1C Test; January 2011
