Dr. Tariq Jagnarine
Family Medicine, Endocrinology/Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic disease that has reached epidemic proportions among adults and children worldwide. Uncontrolled diabetes has many serious consequences, including heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, and other complications. Prediabetes has also been linked to these conditions.
Importantly, eating certain foods can raise blood sugar and insulin levels and promote inflammation, which may increase the risk of disease.
CARBS AND DIABETES
Carbs, protein, and fat are the macronutrients that provide the body with energy. Among them, carbs have the greatest effect on blood sugar by far. This is because they’re broken down into sugar, or glucose, and absorbed into the bloodstream.
Carbs include starches, sugar, and fibre. However, fibre isn’t digested, and is instead absorbed by the body in the same way other carbs are, so it doesn’t raise blood sugar.
When people with diabetes consume too many carbs at a time, their blood sugar levels can be raised to dangerously high levels. Over time, high levels can damage the body’s nerves and blood vessels, which may set the stage for heart disease, kidney disease, and other serious health conditions.
Maintaining a low-carb intake can help prevent blood sugar spikes and greatly reduce the risk of diabetes complications. Therefore, it’s important to avoid the foods and drinks listed below.
1. SUGAR-SWEETENED BEVERAGES
Sugary beverages are the worst drink choice for someone with diabetes. First, they’re very high in carbs, with a 12-ounce (354-ml) can of cola providing 38.5 grams. The same amount of sweetened iced tea and lemonade each contain almost 45 grams of carbs exclusively from sugar.
In addition, these drinks are loaded with fructose, which is strongly linked to insulin resistance and diabetes. Indeed, studies suggest that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages may increase the risk of diabetes-related conditions like fatty liver disease.
What’s more, the high fructose levels in sugary drinks may lead to metabolic changes that promote belly fat and potentially harmful cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
2. TRANS FATS
Artificial trans fats are extremely unhealthy. They’re created by adding hydrogen to unsaturated fatty acids to make them more stable.
Trans fats are found in margarine peanut butter, spreads, creamers, and frozen dinners. Furthermore, food manufacturers often add them to crackers, muffins, and other baked goods to help extend a product’s shelf life.
Although trans fats don’t directly raise blood sugar levels, they’ve been linked to increased inflammation, insulin resistance, and belly fat, as well as lower levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and impaired arterial function.
3. WHITE BREAD, RICE, AND PASTA
White bread, rice, and pasta are high-carb, processed foods. Eating bread, roti, and other refined-flour foods have been shown to significantly increase blood sugar levels in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
This response isn’t exclusive to products made with refined white flour. In one study, gluten-free kinds of pasta were also shown to raise blood sugar, with rice-based types having the greatest effect.
Another study found that high-carb foods not only raised blood sugar, but also decreased brain function in people with type 2 diabetes and mental deficits.
These processed foods contain little fibre. Fibre helps slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. In other research, replacing these low-fibre foods with high-fibre foods was shown to significantly reduce blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Moreover, people with diabetes experienced reductions in cholesterol.
Increased fibre consumption also improved gut microbiota, which may have led to improved insulin resistance.
4. FRUIT-FLAVOURED YOGURT
Plain yogurt can be a good option for people with diabetes. However, fruit-flavoured varieties are a very different story. Flavoured yogurts are typically made from nonfat or low-fat milk, and are loaded with carbs and sugar. Many people consider frozen yogurt to be a healthy alternative to ice cream. However, it can contain just as much, or even more, sugar than ice cream.
5. SWEETENED BREAKFAST CEREALS
Eating cereal can be one of the worst ways to start the day for diabetics. Despite the health claims on their boxes, most cereals are highly processed and contain far more carbs than many people realize. In addition, they provide very little protein, a nutrient that can help the eater to feel full and satisfied while keeping the blood sugar levels stable during the day.
6. FLAVOURED COFFEE DRINKS
Coffee has been linked to several health benefits, including a reduced risk of diabetes. However, flavoured coffee drinks should be viewed as a liquid dessert rather than a healthy beverage.
Studies have shown the brain doesn’t process liquid and solid foods similarly. When drinking calories, avoid compensating by eating less late, this can potentially lead to weight gain.
Flavoured coffee drinks are also loaded with carbs.
7. HONEY, AGAVE NECTAR, AND MAPLE SYRUP
People with diabetes often try to minimize their intake of white table sugar, as well as treats like candy, cookies and pie. However, other forms of sugar can also cause blood sugar spikes. These include brown sugar and “natural” sugars such as honey, agave nectar, and maple syrup. Although these sweeteners aren’t highly processed, they contain at least as many carbs as white sugar. In fact, most contain even more.
8. DRIED FRUIT
Fruit is a great source of several important vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C and potassium. When fruit is dried, the process results in a loss of water that leads to even higher concentrations of these nutrients. Unfortunately, its sugar content becomes more concentrated as well. Therefore, raisins contain more than four times as many carbs as grapes do. Other types of dried fruit are similarly higher in carbs than their fresh counterparts.
9. PACKAGED SNACK FOODS
Pretzels, crackers, and other packaged foods aren’t good snack choices. They’re typically made with refined flour, and provide few nutrients although they have plenty of fast-digesting carbs that can rapidly raise blood sugar.
10. FRUIT JUICE
Although fruit juice is often considered a healthy beverage, its effects on blood sugar are similar to those of sodas and other sugary drinks. This goes for unsweetened 100% fruit juice, as well as types that contain added sugar. In some cases, fruit juice is even higher in sugar and carbs than soda.
11. FRENCH FRIES
Diabetics need to steer clear of French fries; potatoes themselves are relatively high in carbs. One medium potato contains 34.8 grams of carbs, 2.4 of which come from fibre.
However, once they’ve been peeled and fried in vegetable oil, potatoes may do more than spike the blood sugar. Deep-frying foods have been shown to produce high amounts of toxic compounds, such as advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and aldehydes. These compounds may promote inflammation and increase the risk of disease.
Indeed, several studies have linked frequently consuming French fries and other fried foods to heart disease and cancer.
The main goals should include staying away from unhealthy fats, liquid sugars, processed grains, and other foods that contain refined carbs. Avoiding foods that increase blood sugar levels and drive insulin resistance can help keep people healthy, and reduce the risk of future diabetes complications.
