Food selection plays a major role in controlling diabetes, along with drug treatment and physical activity.
If you have diabetes, your body can’t make or use insulin properly. This leads to high blood sugar levels.
Healthy eating helps balance your blood sugar within the target range. It is an important part of diabetes management, because controlling blood sugar can prevent complications from diabetes.
Accordingly, nutrition affects high or low blood sugar levels, so what foods should be avoided or reduced to control the level of diabetes?
What fruits should a diabetic patient avoid?
You should avoid eating fruits such as mangoes, bananas and cherries, and use fruits that contain less sugar and are rich in fiber that slows the absorption of sugar in the blood, such as pears, apples, peaches, lemons, red fruits such as strawberries and raspberries …
How can lower blood sugar?
* To lower the glycemic index in the blood:
– It is recommended to eat foods rich in fiber such as chia seeds, quinoa, flaxseeds, oats…
Eat foods rich in protein such as eggs, chicken, fish and lean red meat (5 percent fat).
Eat leafy vegetables on a daily basis due to their high nutritional value and low calories, such as lettuce and spinach.
What foods are prohibited for a diabetic patient?
Fruit juices:
Fruit juices contain up to 100% of the fiber percentage, in exchange for a rapid increase in the glycemic index, especially grape juice, which is rich in sugar.
Accordingly, it is recommended to eat fresh fruits, as home-made juices can be eaten sometimes and mixed with vegetables to reduce sugar and increase the amount of fiber.
Alcohol:
Wine (with the exception of sweet wines) and dry spirits contain no (or very little) carbohydrates, but beer and alcoholic cocktails do raise the glycemic index. Therefore, it is advised to avoid alcohol as much as possible or to drink one glass of wine per day.
mashed potatoes
The ideal option is for diabetics to avoid eating mashed potatoes because they contain a high glycemic index. If you must eat it, it is recommended to mash it with a fork, as the more potatoes are mixed, the higher the glycemic index.
Cherry
You should avoid fruits rich in sugar such as mangoes, bananas and cherries and replace them with others that contain a low percentage of sugar and are rich in fiber such as pears, apples, peaches, lemons and red fruits such as strawberries and raspberries…
manufactured dishes
Diabetics should avoid eating processed dishes because they contain a lot of sugar and salt. We find 74 percent of the sugar in dishes manufactured under various labels such as fructose, glucose and corn syrup. Therefore, we recommend that diabetics cook their own dishes.
jam
Like honey, sweets contain sugar and have no nutritional benefit. Low-sugar jam can be a good option, but it should be eaten in moderation and during a meal, or mashed fruits or compotes without adding sugar.
white pasta
White pasta, white bread and white rice all have a high glycemic index and should therefore be avoided. It’s best to eat whole, starchy foods that are high in fiber and complex carbohydrates… These high-carb, processed foods contain little fiber, which helps slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream.
