What Foods or Drinks Should Be consumed in Diabetes?

Diabetes is an illness that can happen to anybody, regardless of the age or status of the individual. In fact, recently, more children across the world have been reported to be suffering from diabetes. Asides from this, it also comes in different types with different causes and different treatment procedures.

When diabetes is not properly managed or treated at the early stage, it tells on its victim and begins to cause severe consequences, some of which include; blindness, kidney disease, heart disease, and many other complications. Sometimes, prediabetes can also lead to these consequences.

Some of the causes of diabetes is a result of your feeding habit, what you eat and some lifestyle habits. Eating some kinds of food and engaging or not engaging in certain kinds of activities can lead to diabetes. These poor feeding and lifestyle habits can cause the blood sugar to rise beyond the normal levels, encourage inflammation and increase your insulin levels, thus heightening your risks of suffering from certain health conditions.

This article elaborates on the list of drinks and foods that people who are diabetic or are showing symptoms of diabetes should avoid as much as they can.

Should One Take Carbs?

People with diabetes are encouraged to watch their carb intake or even avoid it completely. This is because carbs have great negative impacts on blood sugar levels. Through their processing period, they can be broken down into glucose or sugar, which then gets absorbed into your bloodstream.

Although carbs are known to supply the body with energy and strength to carry you through your daily activities, in the case of people with this health condition, it is strongly advised that they look for other food sources that can provide them with energy and avoid carbs as many as they can, as they can tamper with their blood sugar levels.

Some of the foods that contain carbs include; sugar, starch, and fiber. The effect of fiber on blood sugar levels is insignificant and can be safe to be consumed by diabetic people. This is because fiber does not get digested in the body and thus does not get absorbed into the bloodstream. In other words, fiber, despite containing carbs, does not or would not have any effects on your blood sugar levels as a diabetes patient.

When people with diabetes or diabetic symptoms consume too many carbs, their blood sugar levels tend to rise dangerously above normal, and this comes with consequences like blood vessel and nerve damages that can lead to kidney or heart diseases, as well as other severe health conditions.

In essence, when you maintain a moderate carb diet or try to avoid it by consuming healthy alternatives, it will help regulate your blood sugar levels and keep it at a healthy level, thereby reducing diabetes complications. For this to happen, you need to avoid the following foods and drinks;

Sugary Beverages

One of the most awful choices of beverages for people with diabetes is a sugary beverage. Why? This is because they have a very high carb content, and most important of all, they are sweetened with sugar.

In addition to this, sugar-sweetened beverages are mostly packed with fructose, a compound that is closely associated with diabetes and insulin resistance. This fact has been backed by science over the years. According to science, the consumption of sugary beverages by diabetes patients can lead to diabetes-related illnesses like fatty liver disease. This means you would be suffering from both diabetes and fatty liver disease.

Also, fructose can cause some changes in the metabolic process of your body and contribute to belly fat and possibly increase your triglycerides and cholesterol levels. In addition, studies found that adults who consumed 25% of the calories in fructose-rich drinks and beverages would suffer from belly fat, insulin resistance, fatty liver, terrible heart disease markers, and low metabolic rate.

Instead of sugary beverages, consume unsweetened beverages, water, or club soda. These would help you prevent and manage the disease and also live healthily.

Trans Fat

Trans fat for both the diabetic and the non-diabetic is not healthy. Trans fat is created through a process of the mixture of unsaturated fatty acids with hydrogen in order to make them stable.

Some of the foods that are packed with trans-fat include; margarine, creamers, peanut butter, frozen dinners, and many more. People who manufacture processed foods also add trans-fat to muffins, crackers, and other baked foods, to help increase their shelf lives.

In the case of diabetes patients, it does not have a direct impact on your blood sugar levels. However, it rather increases inflammation, increases belly fat risks, as well as increases insulin resistance risks. Coupled with these, it is known to reduce the good cholesterol levels in the body and impair the function of some of the arteries in the body, thereby exposing you to risks of heart diseases.

Specialists recommend that it is best to avoid foods that contain trans-fat. Check labels of food to verify their ingredients. Also, look out for ingredients like “partially hydronated,” and avoid them.

Rice, White Bread, and Pasta

Rice, white bread, and pasta are all processed foods on the one hand, and on the other hand, they have high carbs content. Most refined flour foods have been discovered to directly increase blood sugar levels of people with mostly types 1 and 2 diabetes. Also, gluten-free pasta, just like white bread, directly increases blood sugar levels with bigger consequences.

Studies found that foods that are high in carbs do not only increase blood sugar levels but also tamper with brain health. That is, they can reduce brain function, especially in people with a mental deficit and type 2 diabetes.

Also, these sets of processed foods contain tiny fiber contents. Fiber which is known to be effective in the reduction of the rate of sugar absorption in the body would have helped reduce the adverse effects of rice, white bread, and pasta on the health of diabetes patients.

According to medical professionals, consuming more fiber would help improve insulin resistance as well as diabetes condition.

Fruity Yogurt

Plain yogurts and Greek yogurts are healthy as long as they are not sugary or sweetened. However, when they are fruit-flavored, avoid them. The latter kinds of yogurts are made from carbs, sugar, low fat or non-fat milk. In fact, according to research, 61% of the calories in fruit-flavored yogurts come from sugar. This is why it should be avoided if you have diabetes or diabetes symptoms.

Choose plain yogurts or whole milk yogurts rather than sweetened, sugary, or fruit-flavored ones. Asides from blood sugar regulation, they could also help with improved gut health and proper weight control.

Honey, Maple Syrup, and Agave Nectar

Raw sugar and sugar-sweetened foods and drinks are not the only sugary foods to avoid. Some other types of sugars, including natural sugars, can also cause spikes in blood sugar levels. Some of these natural sugars are honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar. Despite being natural and not processed, they still contain as many carbs or even more carbs than the normal white sugar. For instance;

• White sugar; 12.6 grams of carbs
• Agave nectar; 16 grams of carbs
• Honey; 17.3 grams of carbs
• Maple syrup; 13.4 grams of carbs

The most salutary thing to do if you have diabetes is to avoid all forms of sugar, both processed and natural sugar.

Dried Fruits

Fruits are healthy for everybody regardless of what condition they are suffering from. However, they can only be healthy when they are eaten in moderate quantities. Fruits are packed with vitamin C, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals. However, when the fruit is dried, it results in a loss of water in the fruit that in turn makes the nutrients in the fruits become concentrated and might impact negatively and directly on the health of diabetes patients. When these nutrients become concentrated, the sugar contents become concentrated as well.

If you are diabetic, do not give up on fruit. However, it is best to avoid dried fruits as they can raise your blood sugar levels dangerously high due to the concentrated nutrients and sugar.

In conclusion, having diabetes comes with a lot of stress, especially when it comes to picking the kinds of foods and drinks to consume, as well as the ones to avoid. However, it is best to be cautious about what you eat in order to prevent complications.