Introduction
When struggling with diabetes, you should eat some foods in moderation and avoid certain foods totally. Along with regular exercise, you also closely check their calorie intake to prevent a drastic increase in blood sugar levels. Many people keep deep-fried foods and desserts at bay to avoid any severe repercussions of a high amount of glucose in the body. However, there are many other types of foods that may increase blood sugar levels and worsen your diabetes.
What foods to avoid with diabetes?
It’s a question that more than 70 million individuals in India struggle with every day. Sticking to the prescribed Indian diet chart for diabetic patients is imperative while controlling diabetes. However, even if you cannot follow this diet plan religiously, you must bid goodbye to several foods that often worsen the condition and result in more health-related complications.
Here is a list of what foods to avoid with diabetes to prevent any sudden rise in their blood sugar:
1. Trans Fats
Trans fats are not always bad for dietary consumption, but some of their forms can cause serious health problems for diabetic patients. You can add lean meat to your diet, but you must try to avoid hydrogenated vegetable oil. Salted butter is also one such example that can spike your diabetes to critical heart diseases. Regular consumption of trans-fat can impair the functioning of arteries. Hence, not many trans fat foods are included in the Indian diet chart for diabetic patients.
2. Processed Foods
The canned foods and ready-to-cook options may suit your hectic lifestyle by saving time, but it may not be an ideal decision for your blood sugar. These foods have a long shelf-life, and some taste better than their conventional counterparts, but diabetics must avoid processed foods. No matter what information they give on the packaging, most contain sugar, salt, and fat in unhealthy amounts.
3. Starchy Vegetables
What foods to avoid with diabetes and what should be consumed is a never-ending dilemma for diabetics, especially when choosing vegetables. Everything with substantial amounts of starch may not be the right food for diabetes. Potatoes, beetroots, sweet potatoes, and other starchy vegetables contain a significant amount of sugar. Even if you eat these veggies after boiling, the amount of starch will affect your blood sugar and worsen your diabetes. Besides, foods made with potatoes should always be eaten in moderation.
4. Dry Fruits
Although all dry fruits are an impeccable source of minerals and vitamins, only some can be added to an Indian diet chart for diabetic patients. Experts suggest that dry fruits regain more sugar content after losing moisture, making them an unsuitable choice for daily consumption. However, dry fruits like almonds and cashews can be consumed at the time of breakfast in oatmeal or smoothie.
5. High Carb Foods
Foods that contain a high amount of carbohydrates should be avoided at all costs as such foods can instantly increase the glucose levels in the blood and lead to severe health problems. Consuming cookies, cakes, muffins, sweetened yoghurt or curd, or any other high-carb food on a cheat day or a party is fine as long as you consume it in moderation. These foods must be entirely avoided when you are at a high risk of type 2 diabetes.
6. Dairy Products
While dairy products make regular appearances in breakfast due to high amounts of protein and calcium, these foods also contain lactose, a type of sugar. If you are a diabetic patient consuming Metformin or similar medicine to control blood sugar, you must not consume dairy products. This medicine has side effects that worsen after reacting with lactose and often cause heart diseases.
7. Bakery and Soft Drinks
If you are still wondering what foods to avoid with diabetes, as a diabetic trying to meet their health goals, you must make sure you abstain from bakery products, soft drinks, and energy drinks. Sugar is the most common ingredient in all these edibles. In fact, soda and energy drinks also contain artificial sweeteners along with extra calories.
Conclusion
When it comes to diabetes, dietary restrictions on an Indian diet chart for diabetic patients become more prominent than mere food moderation. Besides, avoiding these foods is not that difficult. You can successfully replace them with healthier and tastier alternatives. An extra walk across the organic aisle of the grocery store will guide you to some better food options that can become a permanent part of your healthy eating routine.
