Eight Foods to Avoid if you are Diabetic

If you have diabetes, paying attention to your diet and ensuring you’re eating healthy food is essential. To help you manage your blood sugar levels, you must avoid certain types of food, although this can be difficult to maintain and requires a lot of determination. Read this article – it should help you out.

Here are eight foods that you may want to avoid or limit if you have diabetes:

1. Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

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Sugar-sweetened beverages can cause blood sugar levels to spike quickly, which can be harmful to you. By paying attention to your diet and ensuring you’re eating healthy foods, and avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages if possible, you can manage your blood sugar level and keep it in check. Instead of sugary beverages, you could settle for herbal drinks.

2. Refined Sugar

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Foods made with refined grains, such as white bread and pasta, are quickly converted into sugar by the body and can cause blood sugar levels to rise. Such food should be avoided and instead, you should look for healthy substitutes to replace refined grains.

3. Fried Foods

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Fried foods are high in calories and contain unhealthy fats, which can increase the risk of heart disease and other complications of diabetes. It is important that you avoid or substantially reduce your intake of fried food, although you can still eat it if prepare it yourself using unsaturated fat. The American Diabetes Association(ADA) recommends including more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and using fewer saturated or trans fats in your diet.

4. Trans Fats

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These are unhealthy fats that are often found in processed and fried foods and can lead to heart disease and other diabetes-related issues. It is not only important but vital, that you avoid saturated fat and substitute it with unsaturated fat.

5. High-Sugar Food

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Foods that are high in sugar, such as cakes, cookies, and candy, can cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly. Snacks in general contain a lot of sugar and processed fat. If you are diabetic, you should cut out snacks to keep your sugar level in check.

6. High-Salt Food

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Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease and all the other health problems associated with diabetes. You should not avoid the intake of salt though, because too little salt can also be dangerous. Just reduce the amount of salt you consume to avoid the risk of high blood pressure.

7. Processed Meat

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Processed meats, such as bacon and deli meat, are high in both salt and unhealthy saturated fat. Again, there are all the problems related to diabetes, as well as heart disease.

8. Alcohol

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Drinking alcohol in excess can lead to high blood sugar levels and can interfere with diabetes medications. It’s important to drink alcohol in moderation, or not at all if you have diabetes.

Conclusion

You should note that it’s not necessary to eliminate the eight food types listed above from your diet. You can still enjoy them occasionally and in moderation, as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Also, finding suitable substitutes for these foods can help. It’s important that you always work-you must always work with a healthcare professional, such as a registered dietitian, to develop a meal plan that works for you.