Eleven Foods to Avoid With Diabetes

Franziska Spritzler RD CDE recently published an article on the Authority Nutrition site that you may be interested in reading.
Some, or all, of the article may be known to you ... but I think it's still a good read!

She writes:
"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 the wrong foods can raise your blood sugar and insulin levels and promote inflammation, which may increase your risk of disease.

This article lists 11 foods that people with diabetes or prediabetes should avoid.

Why Does Carb Intake Matter for People With Diabetes?
Carbs, protein and fat are the macronutrients that provide your body with energy.

Of these three, carbs have the greatest effect on your blood sugar by far. This is because they are broken down into sugar, or glucose, and absorbed into your bloodstream.

Carbs include starches, sugar and fiber. However, fiber isn’t digested and absorbed by your body in the same way other carbs are, so it doesn’t raise your blood sugar.

Subtracting fiber from the total carbs in a food will give you its digestible or “net” carb content. For instance, if a cup of mixed vegetables contains 10 grams of carbs and 4 grams of fiber, its net carb count is 6 grams.

When people with diabetes consume too many carbs at a time, their blood sugar levels can rise to dangerously high levels.
Over time, high levels can damage your 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 listed below.

1. Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
Summary: Sodas and sweet drinks are high in carbs, which increase blood sugar. Also, their high fructose content has been linked to insulin resistance and an increased risk of obesity, fatty liver and other diseases.

2. Trans Fats
Summary: Trans fats are unsaturated fats that have been chemically altered to increase their stability. They have been linked to inflammation, insulin resistance, increased belly fat and heart disease.

3. White Bread, Pasta and Rice
Summary: White bread, pasta and rice are high in carbs yet low in fiber. This combination can result in high blood sugar levels. Alternatively, choosing high-fiber, whole foods may help reduce blood sugar response.

4. Fruit-Flavored Yogurt
Summary: Fruit-flavored yogurts are usually low in fat but high in sugar, which can lead to higher blood sugar and insulin levels. Plain, whole-milk yogurt is a better choice for diabetes control and overall health.

5. Sweetened Breakfast Cereals
Summary: Breakfast cereals are high in carbs but low in protein. A high-protein, low-carb breakfast is the best option for diabetes and appetite control.

6. Flavored Coffee Drinks
Summary: Flavored coffee drinks are very high in liquid carbs, which can raise blood sugar levels and fail to satisfy your hunger.

7. Honey, Agave Nectar and Maple Syrup
Summary: Honey, agave nectar and maple syrup are not as processed as white table sugar, but they may have similar effects on blood sugar, insulin and inflammatory markers.

8. Dried Fruit
Summary: Dried fruits become more concentrated in sugar and may contain more than three times as many carbs as fresh fruits do. Avoid dried fruit and choose fruits low in sugar for optimal blood sugar control.

9. Packaged Snack Foods
Summary: Packaged snacks are typically highly processed foods made from refined flour that can quickly raise your blood sugar levels.

10. Fruit Juice
Summary: Unsweetened fruit juice contains at least as much sugar as sodas do. Its high fructose content can worsen insulin resistance, promote weight gain and increase the risk of heart disease.

11. French Fries
Summary: In addition to being high in carbs that raise blood sugar levels, french fries are fried in unhealthy oils that may promote inflammation and increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.

The Bottom Line
Knowing which foods to avoid when you have diabetes can sometimes seem tough. However, following a few guidelines can make it easier.
Your main goals should include staying away from unhealthy fats, liquid sugars, processed grains and other foods that contain refined carbs.
Avoiding foods that increase your blood sugar levels and drive insulin resistance can help keep you healthy now and reduce your risk of future diabetes complications."

Full article with all relevant links is here
https://authoritynutrition.com/foods-to-avoid-with-diabetes/

All the best Jan

Meanwhile the Pod People are in full flow, blaming meat and saturated fat.

Can't remember if I posted this

https://therussells.crossfit.com/2017/01/12/the-four-hallmarks-of-big-soda-bs-nutritional-propaganda/

now you know who programs them

Thanks for the link Chris ...

I read the first few paragraphs, which I've copied here, and more!

"CrossFit’s approach to nutrition is simple and often life-changing: “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.”  Our experience with this approach now extends over more than 10 years and to millions of individuals. During this time we have learned what many in the field of medicine are also discovering- that predicting and preventing chronic disease is not just a matter of balancing calories ingested with calories expended. Rather, chronic disease is often directly linked to toxic quantities of refined sugar in our diets. This means that what we have long seen as the cause of chronic disease–i.e., obesity–is better understood as a symptom of a more fundamental problem.

Why does this matter? Because it fundamentally changes the way we seek to prevent life-threatening illness. The mantra of “eat less and move more” is meaningless if your chronic disease is the result of a relatively small quantity of a sugar-sweetened beverage you continue to ingest daily.

The beverage industry, led by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, has fought this revelation for years. The suggestion that liquid fructose might be fundamentally toxic in certain quantities would put its products in the same category as cigarettes and could potentially destroy the industry. Soda companies have been proactive in making sure this does not happen, investing millions of dollars into the health sciences to ensure you, your doctor, your dietitian, your teachers, and your parents all understand nutrition and disease the way Big Soda wants you to.

This post is designed to highlight four hallmarks of Big Soda’s nutritional propaganda, and to expose those health organizations purporting to serve the public for being manipulated by industry funding."

https://therussells.crossfit.com/2017/01/12/the-four-hallmarks-of-big-soda-bs-nutritional-propaganda/

All the best Jan

Yes it's interesting how the very same sources that are pushing the unhealthy diet and trying to stop dissemination of stuff that actually works are doing the exact same thing in the field of exercise. You'd almost think they WANT us to be ill. Oh wait, they do! $$$$$