Good Foods for Diabetics

If you have diabetes, you know that there are bad and good foods for diabetics. They are bad or good because they have a direct impact on your blood sugar levels. That’s why it’s important to choose foods that will help keep your blood sugar in check.

When it comes to blood sugar, what you eat is just as important as how much you eat. By making smart choices from all the food groups, you can help keep your blood sugar levels in check. Meals and snacks high in carbohydrates can cause your blood sugar to spike. That is why it’s important to choose foods that are lower in carbohydrates. That said, you don’t have to avoid carbohydrates altogether. Just be sure to pair them with protein-rich foods or healthy fats. They will help slow down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream.

Avoid refined sugar

We all know that feeling. You’ve just polished off a packet of cookies or a tub of ice cream, and suddenly your energy levels are soaring. But then, just as suddenly, you come crashing down. You feel sluggish, irritable, and maybe even a little nauseous.

Blood Sugar Levels

This roller coaster ride is thanks to your blood sugar levels. When you eat refined sugar, your blood sugar levels spike sharply. This gives you a burst of energy, but it doesn’t last. Soon, your blood sugar levels drop just as quickly, leaving you feeling tired and rundown. The best way to avoid these peaks and troughs is to balance your blood sugar levels by avoiding refined sugars.

Sugar’s Many Forms

It is important to know what foods contain refined sugar. Be aware that sugar comes in many forms, so you need to check labels. If you see any of these, they are best avoided: Sucrose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, syrup, sorbitol, or maltodextrin. Generally, carbohydrates described as “brown” are better for us. However, this does not apply to sugar. Brown sugar is slightly less refined but will still spike blood sugar just as fast as white sugar.

Other sugary foods to be avoided are obviously candy, cookies, cakes and ice cream. However, some products that are often billed as healthy have lots of hidden refined sugar. I use that word ‘products’ on purpose as they are processed. These include fruit flavored yoghurts, granola, breakfast bars, and fruit leathers. Fruit leathers are strips of dried fruit. They are chewy, as you would imagine leather is! However, just because they contain fruit does not mean that they are healthy.

The nutrition label may show them as being healthy. However, when you look at the amount of sugar, they are often 37% sugar content or higher. And that is along with artificial ingredients such as binders, preservatives and emulsifiers. Everyone should avoid these high sugar products, but especially those with diabetes or trying to reverse prediabetes.

Insulin Resistance

Consuming large amounts of refined sugar can lead to insulin resistance, which is a sign of type 2 diabetes. Refined sugar can also cause inflammation and contribute to weight gain. Plus, refined sugars provide very little in the way of nutrition.

Eating whole fruit is much better for you and won’t spike your blood sugar in the same way. For example, instead of popping candy into your mouth, try berries. They taste delicious and are rich in fibre and antioxidants. Berries, including blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and cranberries don’t just taste great. They are also proven to be great for blood sugar control and improving insulin sensitivity.

Avoid processed breakfast cereals

Not all breakfast foods are created equal. Processed breakfast cereals, for example, can have a major impact on blood sugar levels. And not in a good way! When we eat cereal, especially puffed or flaked cereals, the carbohydrates are broken down into sugar very quickly. That causes blood sugar levels to spike.

If you really want to eat this type of cereal at breakfast time, it is a good idea to add berries and maybe a few nuts. This will slow down the speed at which blood sugar is raised. Do not be tempted by the cereals with dried fruit, thinking that they are healthier. The sugar in dried fruit is more concentrated. Fresh is always best.

Choose Whole Grain

When choosing processed breakfast cereals, the best options for diabetics are those with whole grains. Wheat-based options are the lowest in sugar. Do not be fooled by cereals such as muesli and Allbran. These can have as much as 18% sugar already, with many people sprinkling even more sugar on top. Granolas are even worse, with approximately 28% sugar.

It will come as no surprise that porridge is the best cereal option for breakfast, with the most fibre and the least amount of sugar. So, if possible, opt for this versatile breakfast. You can have it hot in winter and soaked overnight in yoghurt in the warmer months.

Avoid processed foods

Fruit yogurts

Another food often served with breakfast is yoghurt. However, as with cereals, some can spike your blood sugar quicker than others. ‘Fruit’ yoghurts are flavored with sweetened fruit syrups, and if there is any fruit in it, it is dried, which means the sugar is more concentrated. For this reason, diabetics should steer clear of them. Also avoid those with ‘toppings’ as these tend to be high in sugar, which will cancel out any benefits of the yoghurt.

White carbohydrates

There’s no denying that white rice, pasta, and bread are staples in many people’s diets. But when it comes to blood sugar balance, whole grain options are generally better choices. Brown rice still has the outer bran layer and the germ intact, which means it still contains all of the fibre, vitamins, and minerals that are stripped away in the manufacturing process of white rice. This means it has a lower glycaemic index than white rice, which means it won’t cause blood sugar levels to spike as dramatically.

Go Whole Wheat

Whole wheat pasta and bread also tend to be higher in fibre than their white counterparts, and fibre can help slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. So if you’re looking to keep your blood sugar in check, reach for whole grain options like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and seeded bread.

As well as swapping white bread for brown, it is advisable for diabetics to avoid other bread products such as croissants, brioche, and pastries. These are not only high on the glycemic index, but are also high in sugar and ‘bad’ fats such as saturated fat and trans fats which are not good for health. Trans fats have been processed to increase their shelf life. They have been found to increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cholesterol. A study following nearly eighty five thousand women over sixteen years found that eating transfats increases the risk of developing diabetes by 40%.

Crisps and snacks

Snacks are part of many people’s diets. In fact, worldwide, we spend over thirty-one billion dollars per year on them. However, it is important to choose wisely when it comes to blood sugar levels. Fried potato chips, savory snacks and popcorn, that we just can’t seem to resist, are not only high in salt and fat, but can also cause spikes in blood sugar.

When it comes to blood sugar, the best snacks are those that are high in protein and fibre, such as nuts or seeds. These kinds of snacks help to regulate blood sugar levels and provide lasting energy.

If you really cannot resist a processed snack, opt instead for baked rather than fried potato chips, air popped snacks or rice snacks, as these have less fat and salt. They will still spike your blood sugar, though. Ideally, when you are trying to keep your blood sugar levels in check, reach for a handful of nuts instead. Or better still, wait for your next meal and fill up on fibre and protein to avoid the need for snacking in between meals.

Limit your intake of saturated fats:

Saturated fats are in red meat, processed meats such as bacon, burgers and sausages; butter, coconut oil and cream, to name a few. These fats can lead to high cholesterol and also heart disease. In addition, saturated fat can cause insulin resistance in muscle cells, which leads to diabetes. This is because fat hardens the outer skin of the cells, meaning it is difficult for glucose to get through to be used for energy.

Next Steps

While this article has focused mostly on foods that should be avoided, you may be wondering what you can actually eat if you have been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes. The answer is that there is a plethora of lean meat, white and oily fish, fruit, vegetables, pulses and legumes to choose from.

And remember that there is no reason why you cannot indulge in these high carbohydrate, processed foods in small portions, now and again. Just remember to think of them as an occasional treat rather than something you can eat on a daily basis.

Here is a link where you can find the different names for those sneaky, hiding sugars.

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