4 Foods You Should Avoid If You Have Diabetes

If you are diabetic, bad food habits can lead to these health complications.

Diabetes not only impacts your body’s ability to produce insulin, but can also damage your heart, brain and limbs, and affect your kidneys, eyes and nervous system. Hence, it is extremely important to manage diabetes effectively.

Following are some foods you should stay away from if you’re diabetic:

Fruit Juices

While a small amount of fruits is allowed, fruit juices can actually be harmful for diabetics as they contain extremely high levels of fructose. They are also less nutritious since a lot of the fibre content in fruits that helps manage your sugar and cholesterol levels gets eliminated in the juicing process. A healthy alternative to fruit juice is lime water which can be easily prepared.

Flavored Coffee Drinks

While coffee has its fair share of health benefits, most coffee drinks usually have as much sugar and carbohydrates as a loaded dessert. Also,

since they are in liquid form, your brain doesn’t process it as food which leads to intake of empty calories.

Refined flour

Diabetics should stay away from foods such as bread, rice, pasta, bakery items and snacks that have been made from refined flour. Consuming them can cause high blood sugar and reduced brain function that can lead to mental health issues in diabetics. Moreover, fibre is needed to slow down the absorption of sugar in the bloodstream but refined flour contains very little fibre. It is better to opt for high-fibre low-carb whole-grain foods.

Dried Fruits

While dried fruits are a great source of nutrition, they also contain highly concentrated amounts of sugar and carbs. This makes them harmful for diabetics as they can lead to high blood sugar levels. An added problem is that since dried fruits have little or no water content, they do not fill you up quickly and hence, there is a tendency to overeat. Avoid dried fruits and opt for fresh fruits that are low in sugar such as apples.

In addition to being careful about your diet, it is also important to monitor your blood sugar levels regularly if you have diabetes. Free home collection service by Apollo Diagnostics will provide you the accurate and timely results in the comfort of your own home. Manage diabetes effectively with the help of expert pathologists and world-class diagnostic technology at Apollo Diagnostics.