If you have diabetes, finding the right balance of foods to keep blood sugar levels in check can be difficult. Maintaining a proper diet is essential to ensuring your health and avoiding the many diabetes-related complications that can occur if your disease is not managed appropriately.
Even though nutrition experts tell us that all foods can be enjoyed in moderation, here are three foods that diabetics should avoid due to the adverse consequences on blood sugar levels.
Refined Sugar
Foods high in refined sugar are high-glycemic, that is, they can cause blood sugar levels to rise rapidly. That's why it's important for diabetics to avoid eating refined sugar, particularly when the sugar is consumed by itself. Some of the most common foods that contain refined sugars are candy, soda, juice, breakfast cereal, cookies, cakes and ice cream. Foods that contain refined sugars can even be found in products such as spaghetti sauce so it is important to read nutrition labels to determine how much sugar and what kind of sugar a product contains.
Refined Flour
Like refined sugar, refined flours such as white flour, rank high on the glycemic index scale. They cause a quick rise in blood sugar levels, which can put you at risk for experiencing diabetic complications.
Foods that contain refined flour are white pasta, baked goods such as cookies, cakes and pastries, white bread, low-fiber cereals, bagels and pancakes. Instead, opt for whole-grain foods such as whole-grain bread, whole-grain pastas, high-fiber cereals and whole grains like oats, barley, brown rice and quinoa.
Fried Food
The typical American diet dishes up a significant portion of fried food, usually in the form of fast-food items such as cheeseburgers, french fries, onion rings and fried chicken sandwiches, all of which should be avoided by people with diabetes. These foods tend to be high in calories and trans fat, and void of nutrients. A 2009 report from the Harvard Medical School suggests that there is a 30 percent increased risk of diabetes among women who eat large amounts of trans fats.
