Most diabetics know to avoid sugar. It only makes sense: if your blood sugar is too high, you shouldn’t complicate the situation by eating more of it.
But sugar in your diet isn’t the only food that will raise your blood glucose level. Carbohydrates and alcohol raise your blood sugar (blood glucose level) almost as fast as eating sugar straight from the bowl. Protein and fat are also converted into energy for the body, but they don’t raise blood sugar as high or as fast.
Of course, blood sugar is not exactly the same as sugar in food. The human body uses glucose as a source of energy. Table sugar is sucrose, fruit sugar is fructose, and milk sugar is lactose. There are other sugars as well, but basically these sugars are converted to glucose in the human body.
Not everyone has a sweet tooth, but I certainly do. It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that diabetics should avoid eating anything made with sugar or high fructose corn syrup, including: candy, cakes, cookies, ice cream, donuts, marshmallow custard, peanuts Soda, Kool-aid, Sports Drinks, Sweet Tea or Fruit Drinks, Hot Chocolate, Candy Corn, Candy Corn, Jell-O, Pudding, Popsicles, Sherbet, Syrup, Whipped Cream, Cake, Cracker Barrel Chocolate Cake, flan, jello, Nutella, shakes, Captain Crunch, etc. If I missed your favourite, please add it to the list.
The following 10 foods should also be avoided.
1. White bread. Processed flour turns into glucose almost as fast as sugar itself. In fact, white bread ranks the same as glucose on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a ranking based on how quickly a particular food raises blood glucose levels. High is bad, low is good. Both glucose and white bread have a rating of 100. Stone ground whole wheat bread and whole wheat bread have a much lower glycemic index.
2. White rolls. They look a lot like white bread, don’t they? The delicious bagels are also much higher in calories than regular bread. Two slices of bread equals about 150 calories, while a good-sized bagel is double that. It’s not that you can’t eat bagels, but get a whole wheat variety and remember that eating a large bagel is like eating 4 slices of toast.
3. Salty crackers. If you were the baker, you would realize that white bread, white bagels, and crackers start with white flour. The same goes for standard pretzels. Whole grain crackers and pretzels are better for both diabetics and non-diabetics.
4. White potatoes. Strangely, sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index and raise blood sugar less than white potatoes.
5. White rice. Are you noticing a pattern here? Some diabetic patients choose to avoid anything white.
6. Most breakfast cereals. Unless it’s made with whole grains, breakfast cereal will also be processed like sugar. Even quick oats raise your blood sugar. Stone cut oats are so much better for you and are now available in standard grocery stores, right next to “regular” oats. However, the stone-cut variety takes much longer to cook, easily half an hour or more to soften the grain to the consistency of regular oats.
7. Instant Pot Pasta or Macaroni Mixes. Almost anything “instant” or processed breaks down into sugar more quickly than natural forms.
8. Popcorn. Yes, another white element; however, quantity is the key. A cup of popcorn (without butter) won’t raise your blood sugar much, while eating a large amount of popcorn at the theater is like eating a few bars of chocolate.
9. Sweet fruit. Especially sweet fruits like watermelon and pineapple contain more fruit sugar than less sweet fruits, but again, quantity is the key. A few bites won’t hurt.
10. Alcohol. Not only does it raise your blood sugar, but it can also affect your judgment regarding your diabetes. It is best to avoid this entirely.
Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, MD
