Once a family or loved one is diagnosed with diabetes, certain changes in their lifestyle definitely have to be made. Exercise now becomes a part of their daily routine, medicine for diabetes needs to be taken, and a stricter diet must be observed. All these must be done in order to keep your blood sugar levels down, or else you could suffer from hyperglycemia.
Today, we’ll focus primarily on the diet aspect of an anti-diabetes lifestyle. What you can eat becomes severely limited in order to keep the body’s glucose levels in check. On that note, here are 6 foods diabetics should avoid at all costs.
1. Candy
All kinds of sweets or sugary treats are a no-no. This food group is filled with low-quality carbohydrates that quickly spike your blood sugar levels and contribute to weight gain, making diabetes an even trickier sickness to deal with.
Instead, go for natural sugars such as apples and grapes and mix them with protein sources such as nonfat yogurt or nuts.
2. Nachos
You may think this traditional Mexican snack passes the mark but…it really doesn’t. A plate of this packs more calories than an entire serving, let’s say, of lunch or dinner. According to research, one regular order of Chili’s Classic Nachos is 830 calories.
3. Raisins
No, even dried grapes aren’t a better alternative to ice cream and cake. When a fruit is dried, the natural sugars in a fruit become highly concentrated, leading to increased blood sugar when you eat them. Stick to fresh fruits instead.
4. Coffee Drinks
Yes, sadly, even your favorite cup ‘o Joe is now strictly banned from your diet. A drink from Starbucks could have as many as 470 calories a pop! Opt for a nice glass of warm tea instead. You can make it in your own plus it ends up cheaper, too, because you drink it at home.
5. Pancakes
Seriously, this is one of the worst breakfast choices you could make on a perfectly good day. These flat dough comestibles have everything you need to induce a diabetic coma: flour, butter, and sugar!
To put it into better perspective, three large pancakes is equivalent to eating 7 slices of bread; butter has saturated fat that will clog your arteries; and that gooey syrup is like dunking 16 teaspoons of sugar on your breakfast plate. Oh, and you run the risk of obesity, too. Suddenly, pancakes don’t look so appetizing anymore, don’t they?
6. Bacon
You can also scratch these thin strips of glorious bacon fat off your breakfast list well. Pound-for-pound, this is the absolute worst viand for keeping your diabetes in check. The oil that oozes from bacon is enough to clog your arteries, increasing your risk to heart disease; the high amount of saturated fat won’t bode well with the body’s cholesterol levels. This bad boy’ll put you in the hospital faster than you can say, “Mmm…bacon!”
If you know any more food groups diabetics should avoid, let us know in the comments section below.