Diabetic Foods to Avoid

Diabetes is one of the grievous medical conditions, which can be only controlled by enforcing a drastic change in your lifestyle as well as dietary habits. The following article will answer all your queries about the diabetic foods to avoid.
Diabetic Foods to Avoid
Insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas, helps the cell in absorbing glucose, which is eventually converted to energy. At times our body either fails to produce the required amount of insulin, or doesn't respond to the available amount of insulin in the body. The grievous medical condition triggered due to the lack of insulin in the body is called diabetes. A person suffering from any type of diabetes has to follow certain norms, when it comes to eating. Consumption of sugar or fat rich food is strictly prohibited, owing to which a person suffering from diabetes has a substantial list of diabetic foods to avoid.

Diabetes: Foods to Avoid with Diabetes
It's very important for a diabetic to beware about the diabetic foods to eat and avoid. Food rich in sugar, cholesterol etc. are very harmful for people suffering from diabetes, and hence are best avoided. Contrary to the myth that the diabetic foods to avoid only include fast foods and foods with high sugar and fat content, recent studies have revealed that even some fruits and vegetables are harmful for people with diabetes. Here is a list of foods to avoid with diabetes:

Sugar Rich Foods: Sugar rich foods can be extremely harmful for people suffering from diabetes. The list of sugar rich foods to avoid as a diabetic includes white sugar, ice creams, donuts, pastries, chocolates, cookies, artificial sweeteners, etc. The basic rule of is anything that is sweet should be ideally avoided by a diabetic. The list of high carbohydrate foods to be avoided by a diabetic is mainly dominated by foods rich in fructose and glucose, such as table sugar and fruit juice concentrates.

High Cholesterol Foods: Studies reveal that diabetes, lowers the amount of good cholesterol and raises the amount of bad cholesterol in the body. This makes the person, who is already suffering from diabetes, vulnerable to various heart diseases. Therefore, high cholesterol foods, such as egg yolks, high-fat dairy products, poultry, etc. should be necessarily avoided. Read more on list of foods high in cholesterol

Fruit Juices: A research at the Tulane School of Public Health revealed that drinking a single glass of fruit juice daily, considerably increases the risk of diabetes in an individual. Eating whole fruit is considered to be better than drinking fruit juice, as it provides the body with fiber, necessary for the healthy body. More so ever, fruit juices are high in carbohydrates and therefore are better avoided.

Fruits and Vegetables: Not all fruits are healthy for a person with diabetes. Eating fruits such as mango, strawberries and dates can raise the blood sugar levels, which can be harmful for the individual. Vegetables rich in starch content such as potatoes and squash are better avoided. They can be supplemented by beet root, carrots, beans, etc.

Alcoholic Beverages: Alcohol in high quantity can pose some serious problems to an individual suffering from diabetes. Consuming alcohol on an empty stomach can lead to hypoglycemia. More importantly, as liver stores the glucose released within the body, any damage to the liver due to excessive alcohol intake, may make it difficult for the diabetic to control glucose levels in the body.

Fried Foods: Fried foods, mostly fried with hydrogenated oils, tend to raise bad cholesterol in the body. Instead baked, boiled or steamed food is the ideal for a person with diabetes. If at all you plan to have some fried food, once in a while, you should use canola or olive oil for frying the food. These oils are comparatively less harmful for the body.

Other Foods: Other diabetic diet foods to avoid include, sodium rich foods like soy sauce, refined flour products such as pastas and pizzas, peanuts, dry fruits, cheese as well as salad dressings like mustard and mayonnaise. Fast food is totally unacceptable for a person suffering from any type of diabetes.

How to Avoid Diabetic Foods?
At times, food can be very tempting, and hence difficult to avoid. In such situations knowing the ill-effects of the food can help you to stay away from the unsafe diabetic foods to avoid. You should keep a check on the amount of sugar content in the food or drinks you consume. Some foods are labeled sugar free, but these foods may be high in calorie content and hence should be avoided. Even foods with significant amount of carbohydrates and starch should be kept in check.You don't have to get disheartened by looking at this long list of diabetic foods to avoid. Even diabetics can enjoy delicious food. More on list of foods for diabetics to eat.

Last, but most important, a thing you need to keep in your mind, is to follow the doctors advice. Being into the field of medicine, the doctor is ought to be knowing more than you. So never exceed the amount of food that is recommended by your doctor. As the age old adage says - it's better to be safe than sorry.

By Abhijit Naik
Published: 9/12/2009
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