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Best Foods To Avoid For Patients With Diabetes
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One of the single biggest ways to treat, and even prevent, diabetes is your diet. This is especially true if your doctor has told you that you are “pre-diabetic”, based on previous blood tests. While most people associate diabetes as a “too much sugar” disease, it is in reality much more complex than that. Just avoiding sugar is not near enough in treating diabetes. This is because your body turns many foods that you eat into blood sugar and thus if you eat the wrong foods, even apart from sugar, you will worsen your diabetic condition.
In addition to dietary considerations which are discussed below, it is important to also do other self help measures – especially regular moderate exercise, which will also be discussed below.
One of the single biggest ways to treat, and even prevent, diabetes is your diet. This is especially true if your doctor has told you that you are “pre-diabetic”, based on previous blood tests. While most people associate diabetes as a “too much sugar” disease, it is in reality much more complex than that. Just avoiding sugar is not near enough in treating diabetes. This is because your body turns many foods that you eat into blood sugar and thus if you eat the wrong foods, even apart from sugar, you will worsen your diabetic condition.
In addition to dietary considerations which are discussed below, it is important to also do other self help measures – especially regular moderate exercise, which will also be discussed below.
Avoid Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates, including sugar, is the single biggest enemy for diabetics. Things like bread, cereal, crackers, pasta, beans, rice and potatoes are all examples of high carb foods. The typical western diet is jammed with carbs between pizza, pasta, sandwiches of all kinds, french fries and similar foods. Some experts have cited this over indulgence of carb consumption to be one of the biggest causes of diabetes in the United States and other western countries. Plus, this type of eating also leads to obesity – which is also at epidemic levels. Not surprisingly, obesity and diabetes go pretty much hand in hand.
By significantly lowering your carb intake, you not only can control your diabetes (many on low carb diets have controlled their diabetes without the need to take insulin), but you will also lose weight and feel better overall. There are many low carb diets and recipes online for you to use not only controlling your diabetes, but to improve your overall health as well.
Avoid Fructose
Fructose is the type of sugar found in fruits. While it is not the same as regular sugar (glucose), it has been shown to also be bad for people with diabetes. Consuming fructose will cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to rise. Therefore, you should minimize your consumption of fruit – contrary to the popular opinion that fruit is healthy for you – but it is not for diabetics. The absolute worst kind of fruit for diabetics is any kind of dried fruit, such as raisins and prunes. This is because dried fruit increase your blood sugar level even higher than regular fruit. Fruits that you can eat in modest amounts are strawberries and apples.
Avoid Sugary or Sweet Drinks
Beverages with high sugar or fructose content are very bad for diabetics. These kinds of drinks cause a very quick and significant spike in your blood sugar level – which can be down right dangerous for a diabetic. These drinks include not only your favorite cola and other similar sodas, but also all fruit juices – including, sorry to say, orange juice. Some good substitutes for these drinks are plain unflavored seltzer (soda water), and iced herbal teas. Plus, drinking a sufficient amount of just good old water is also a good idea.
Avoid Junk Food
Virtually all chips, pretzels and the like are a big no-no. Also, most highly processed foods like the many popular microwave meals being sold, usually have all sorts of ingredients which can be bad for your diabetes (and probably for your overall health). A good and healthy substitute for snacks is to eat nuts and seeds – which can also be roasted to make them crunchy and extra tasty. Good nut choices are almonds and walnuts – avoid cashews and peanuts. Try mixing nuts and some seeds – like sesame and sunflower – and roast them for a nice snack idea.
Avoid Eating Too Much or Too Late
Even with following a good diet, it is counter productive to overeat. A good way to start a diet helpful for diabetes is to cut your portions by at least one-third, better yet in half. In a short time, by minimizing your carb intake, you will find your appetite will also decrease. Carbs are insidious, because they also make you want to eat more food.
Another simple but powerful step to take is to stop eating at least four, better yet six, hours before bedtime. This means when dinner is over, the kitchen is closed! This is especially helpful in reducing your weight, which is very important for controlling diabetes
Other Self Help Tips
– Buy and use a glucometer to monitor your blood sugar level at home.
– Start and maintain a regular regimen of exercise, which just can be a good daily walk.
– Stay away from chemical sugar substitutes – they may actually worsen your diabetes. Try a natural substitute such as Stevia.
– Don’t skip meals or over do the dietary restrictions – low carb does not mean no carb.
