Live Life Team
When you have diabetes you need to avoid consuming too many sugars at once, as doing so can make your blood glucose level shoot up, harming your body. this doesn’t just mean that you have to avoid sweet foods. It also means that you have to avoid foods that are high in carbohydrates but low in fibre, because those carbohydrates can then be broken down quickly to flood your body with glucose. A diabetes nurse or dietician can help you to design a safe diabetes diet that suits your needs and tastes.
It’s fairly obvious that you should avoid sweets, chocolates, biscuits and so forth, but a lot of people overlook other sources of sugar. You won’t be able to have sweet fizzy drinks, you’ll need to limit your alcohol intake and you should avoid putting sugar in coffee or tea. Fruit juice and foods and drinks sweetened with honey or maple syrup are also a problem.
Many processed foods are high in sugar even though they don’t taste sweet. They include ready meals, breakfast cereals and snacks like crisps and pretzels. Check the ingredients list before you buy.
Dried fruit is also a problematic snack because the drying process concentrates its sugar content. You can still eat small amounts of fresh fruit.
Although trans fats won’t raise your blood glucose levels, they should be avoided in a diabetes diet because they can contribute to insulin resistance, make inflammation worse and cause you to put on belly fat, which could make your diabetes worse and increase your risk of heart disease (which is already high for diabetics0.
White bread, pasta, white rice and potatoes should be avoided in a diabetes diet because they contain lots of carbohydrates but little fibre. High fibre whole foods are usually okay, but not all brown bread is safe because it has sometimes just been dyed brown instead of containing healthier ingredients. Sweet potatoes are safer than traditional potatoes but should still only be eaten in small amounts.
Starting a diabetes diet for the first time can feel overwhelming but you’ll be surprised by how quickly you get the hang of what to avoid.
