Drinks and Foods to Avoid to Keep Your Diabetes in Control

Last updated on September 22nd, 2023

People with diabetes can have all types of foods and drinks but to some extent only. They need to count their calorie intake. It helps them to prevent the change in their blood glucose levels. It can be daunting to know what foods to avoid for diabetes. However, following the diabetes diet or help from a dietician can serve you the purpose of choosing the right kind of food for diabetic patients. Read this blog to know about “What foods to avoid with diabetes?”

Your main goal should include staying away from unhealthy fats, processed foods, and food that contains refined carbs. Avoid foods that increase your blood sugar levels and drive insulin resistance. It will keep you healthy, reduce the risk of developing diabetes, and prevent the worsening of its related complications. Read this blog to know about food to avoid high blood sugar or diabetes.

The kind of food and drinks you consume determine your blood glucose levels. Consuming carbohydrate-rich foods and beverages leads to higher blood sugar levels and ultimately causes diabetes. Therefore, it is crucial for people with diabetes to choose their foods and drinks wisely. They need to look for foods to avoid with diabetes. It helps them to control the amount of carbohydrate intake and maintain their blood glucose levels. Balancing your diet helps in improving diabetes and related complications.

Read More: How to Reverse Diabetes Permanently?

Consult a Dietician Before Changing Your Diet

It is significant to eat cautiously to keep your blood sugar levels in control. Certain foods can increase your blood sugar levels drastically. They can lead to chronic inflammation, heart attack, or kidney damage. Therefore, you need to manage your diet and need to know more about food for diabetic patients. Some foods that are good for one diabetes patient may not be suitable for you. Instead of modifying your diet, you should take a consultation. They help you to prepare a list or chart of foods to avoid with high blood sugar.

Read More: Hyperglycemia: Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

Diabetic Diet Chart

Diabetes is a lifestyle disorder that causes an increase in the blood sugar levels of a person. Some symptoms of diabetes are Weight loss, fatigue, frequent urination, blurred vision, etc.  Follow a diabetic diet to keep your diabetes and its symptoms under control. Some foods help control diabetes and prevent its complications. Such a diet includes leafy vegetables, cinnamon, nuts, whole grains, high-fibre-rich foods, and some fruits.

Read More: Connections Between Diabetes and Hypertension.

List of Top 10 Foods to Avoid in Diabetes

Summary

Many food items are responsible for increasing blood sugar levels. Therefore, people with diabetes type-2 or type-1 should carefully choose their food. They should look for foods that have low carbohydrates and high fibre content. Such foods take more time to digest. Thus, they give time to your body to effectively use the blood sugar for energy. Find out the best diabetic meal plan to keep your blood sugar levels in control. You can consult a doctor or dietician to prepare the one for you.

Well, it is easier to choose what to eat rather than identify what not to eat. It is the reason why many people fail to control their diabetes. They eat well but sometimes they end up eating all those food items that lead to sugar spikes. It is also surprising to know that sugar is not the only thing to control diabetes. Consuming lots of carbs, calories, sodium, and fat also causes uncontrolled blood sugar levels.

Read More: Can Intermittent Fasting Benefit People with Diabetes?

Here Is A List Of 10 Foods Diabetics Should Avoid:

• Dried Fruits: No doubt, fruits are the best source of vitamins and minerals that keep you healthy. You should eat certain fruits with a low glycemic index to keep diabetes in control. However, the water is lost on drying the fruits, and the concentration of nutrients becomes higher. Along with this, the sugar content also gets higher, making them the fruits to avoid in diabetes. It increases the risk of an increase in blood sugar when you eat them.

• Trans-fat: Trans-fats are unsaturated fat that comes in both natural and unnatural forms. In natural form, animals and animal products contain trans-fats that do not impact your health. In an unnatural form, hydrogenated vegetable oil contains trans-fat. This type of fat increases cholesterol levels and increases the risk of heart disease. People with diabetes should strictly avoid trans-fat. It increases insulin resistance and impaired arterial function that causes the risk of heart diseases.

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• High Carb Foods: Another category of food in the list of diabetes food to avoid are high carb foods. It is the carbohydrates from your food that breaks down into blood glucose. Consuming high-carb foods increases your blood glucose levels. Bread, potato, muffins, cakes, cookies, pasta, burger, chips, rice, corn, sweetened yogurt, and French fries are some of the high-carb foods. Doctors and dieticians recommend high-carb foods to avoid high blood sugar.
• Processed Foods: Some foods are processed to make them edible and shelf-stable. Such foods contain unhealthy levels of fats, sugar, and sodium. They also lack nutritional value as most of the nutrients get removed during the processing, becoming another type of diabetes food to avoid. Most processed foods have zero fiber content; therefore, they are calorie-dense. It consequently increases blood sugar levels. Thus, people with diabetes should avoid processed foods.

• Refined or White Sugar: Sugary foods, sweets, and desserts constitute sugar and high carbs. Generally, they do not add nutritional value to your diet but increase your blood sugar levels. Foods containing high sugar content include donuts, candy bars, chocolate, maple syrup, desserts, fruit-flavored yogurts, etc. Adding refined sugar to your food items as a sweetener directly affects your blood sugar levels. Therefore, look for a healthy sugar substitute as a sweetener as refined or white sugar is one of the diabetes food to avoid.

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• Starchy Vegetables: Vegetables for diabetics to avoid are potato, sweet potato, beetroot, etc.  Though they are a good source of fiber, they are high in starch. The higher amount of starch makes such vegetables rich in carbohydrates and sugar. Consuming these vegetables increases the risk of high blood sugar. Frying these vegetables in oil adds more calories, making them foods to avoid with diabetes. It also makes them more dangerous for people with diabetes. If they are consuming starchy vegetables, they need to be strict with their portion.

• High-protein Foods: Just like vegetables for diabetics to avoid, there are certain protein foods that need to be avoided. Protein is an essential macronutrient that the human body needs. The body needs protein to build and repair muscles and maintain vital body functions. Lean protein and plant-based protein are healthy for people with diabetes. However, animal-derived proteins contain unsaturated fats that increase blood sugar levels. Animal-derived high-protein foods like chicken, beef and pork have low fiber, making them type of foods to avoid with diabetes.

• Dairy Products: All dairy products contain calcium, proteins, and vitamins that keep you healthy. However dairy products are not the best food for diabetes control as they contain a sugar called lactose. The lactose breaks down into lactic acid. Higher levels of lactic acid in your body increase the risk of lactic acidosis.People with diabetes should avoid dairy products with high-fat content. It increases the risk of heart diseases.

Read More: Difference between Ketosis and Diabetic Ketoacidosis

• Frozen Foods: Frozen foods are convenient but contain high sodium and fat content, and are certainly not the best food for diabetes control. The use of preservatives in frozen foods also makes them unsuitable for people with high blood sugar levels. When you buy frozen foods, make sure to pick the frozen foods with fewer calories. You can also match the carbohydrate content with your daily carb requirement. If you want, you can freeze the veggies and fruits that will contain more antioxidants and fiber as frozen foods are at the top of the list of type 2 diabetes foods to avoid.

• Bakery Products: Type 2 diabetes foods to avoid also include bakery products. Refined flour is the main ingredient of all bakery products. In addition to this, they contain white sugar or maple syrup as a sweetener. It adds more calories to bakery products and makes them unsuitable for people with diabetes. Bakery items like cakes, pastries, cookies, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, etc., cause insulin resistance and lead to diabetes.bakery products have side effects for diabetics.

Read More: 15 Foods To Lower Blood Sugar Levels

Other than certain foods, here is a diabetes fruits to avoid list, or consume in moderation due to their higher sugar content:

• Watermelon: Watermelon is the first one in the ‘diabetes fruits to avoid list’. Watermelon has a high GI and contains a relatively large amount of natural sugars, which can cause a quick increase in blood glucose levels.

• Pineapple: Pineapple is another fruit with a high GI, mainly because of its natural sugar content. It’s best to limit consumption.

• Mango: Mangoes are delicious but are also high in natural sugars, which can lead to blood sugar spikes if eaten in excess, thereby, another addition to the diabetes fruits to avoid list.

• Grapes: Grapes are sweet and contain natural sugars, making them a fruit to consume in moderation to manage blood sugar levels.

• Cherries: Cherries are relatively high in carbohydrates and sugars, so they should be eaten sparingly by individuals with diabetes.

• Bananas: Bananas, while rich in potassium and fiber, are also high in natural sugars. Opt for smaller portions if you choose to include them in your diet.

Read More: Can You Get Diabetes From Drinking Too Much Water?

Drinks to Avoid When You Have Diabetes

Summary

Consuming pure fruit juices in moderation is fine for people with diabetes. All the fruits contain carbohydrates with a rich amount of fibre. When fruits are juiced, their fibre gets separated. Hence, fruit juices only contain carbohydrates which can increase your blood sugar levels. People with diabetes should strictly avoid packed fruit juices. They contain artificial sweeteners and preservatives that spike diabetes.

When it comes to selecting drinks, people with diabetes should make a wise choice. It keeps them away from calorie intake and prevents sudden sugar spikes. Even, flavoured water can lead to an increase in your blood sugar levels. Therefore, you need to be cautious when choosing a drink for you. Here is a list of drinks that people with diabetes should avoid:

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1. Regular or Diet Soda: Regular soda and diet soda drinks contain sugar, artificial sweeteners, flavouring agents, and preservatives. They also have a high amount of carbohydrates and calories. Therefore, consuming such drinks increases your blood sugar levels. Within 10 minutes of drinking a glass of soda, around ten spoons of sugar hit your system. People with diabetes should avoid regular or diet soda to prevent diabetes and its related complications.
2. Energy Drinks: Energy drinks from various brands are available in the market that claims to give you instant energy. Well, the fact is energy drinks contain caffeine and carbohydrates in high amounts. They increase your blood glucose levels and cause insulin resistance in your body. It increases your blood sugar levels and causes diabetes type-2. Therefore, you need to avoid energy drinks if you have  diabetes.
3. Fruit Juices: Consuming pure fruit juices in moderation is fine for people with diabetes. All the fruits contain carbohydrates with a rich amount of fibre. The extraction of juice from fruits leads to the separation of fibre content from fruits. Hence, fruit juices only contain carbohydrates which can increase your blood sugar levels. People with diabetes should strictly avoid packed fruit juices. They contain artificial sweeteners and preservatives that kick up diabetes.

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1. Alcoholic Beverages: Alcohol or alcoholic beverages can worsen the complications due to diabetes, like nerve damage. Alcohol can drop your blood sugar levels within few hours of consuming alcohol or alcoholic beverages. People with diabetes type-2 taking insulin or diabetes medications should avoid alcoholic beverages. Otherwise, it can lead to hypoglycemia.
2. Sports Drinks: Sports drinks are typically high in sugars, which can lead to rapid spikes in blood glucose levels. Examples of sports drinks in India include Gatorade, Powerade, and Electrolyte drinks. The excess sugar in these drinks can disrupt blood sugar control and pose a risk to individuals with diabetes. Instead, it’s advisable to opt for sugar-free or low-carb electrolyte replacements and hydrate with water during physical activity to help maintain stable blood sugar levels and overall health.

Read More: Foods Good For Diabetes Patients

How Many Carbs Should One Have Per Day To Control Diabetes?

Dietary carbohydrate intake for individuals with diabetes should be carefully managed to help maintain stable blood sugar levels. However, the specific daily carbohydrate requirements can vary based on factors such as age, activity level, and individual health goals. Here are some general guidelines for men, women, and elderly individuals with diabetes:

Men:

Men with diabetes typically require more carbohydrates than women due to their higher calorie needs. A balanced diet for men with diabetes might consist of about 45-60 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15-30 grams per snack.

Total daily carbohydrate intake for men may range from 180 to 270 grams, but individual variations can be significant.

Women:

Women with diabetes often have lower calorie requirements compared to men. A typical carbohydrate intake may range from 30-45 grams per meal and 15-30 grams per snack.

Total daily carbohydrate intake for women may fall between 120 to 180 grams.

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Elderly People:

Elderly individuals with diabetes may have lower energy expenditure and lower carbohydrate tolerance due to age-related changes in metabolism. They might require similar amounts as women, with a range of 30-45 grams per meal and 15-30 grams per snack.

Total daily carbohydrate intake for elderly people with diabetes typically aligns with the guidelines for women, ranging from 120 to 180 grams.

It’s essential for individuals with diabetes to work with a registered dietitian or healthcare professional to determine their specific carbohydrate needs.

At Breathe Well-being, you get some best-in-class diabetologists and health coaches who determine your carbs, protein and other nutritional requirements and curate a customized diet plan for effective diabetes management.

Additionally, focusing on complex carbohydrates with a lower glycemic index, along with regular monitoring of blood glucose levels, can contribute to better diabetes management.

Read More: What Is Type 2 Diabetes Management?

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