Dietary modification plays a vital role in the management of diabetes, and framing a diabetes diet is an essential step that should be taken.

Why Do You Need A Diabetes Diet?

A good diabetes diet can add on to the advantages of the medical treatment, as it will help in keeping the blood sugar levels under check. The main aims of dietary modifications are:

• To maintain normal blood sugar levels
• To maintain adequate nutrition
• To maintain the desirable body mass index (BMI)
• To avoid diabetic complications

Foods To Avoid In Your Diabetes Diet

Sugar

Foods or beverages with high sugar content are to be avoided in your diabetes diet.

Fruit punch, fruit drinks, sweetened soda, desserts, sweets, confectionery, jams, and jellies are the commonly consumed food items with high sugar content, so these have to be consumed in small quantities.

Consuming these in large quantities can raise blood sugar levels, and this can lead to long term complications.

Canned Foods

Canned foods are readily available in the market. Canned vegetables, fruits, snacks, fish, and meat are oft consumed food items.

People who live in an urban setting, including diabetics, resort to canned foods as they are ready to eat and take less time to prepare. But it should be noted that these canned items are rich in sodium and preservatives.

Excessive sodium leads to an increase in the blood pressure, and high blood pressure along with diabetes often leads to blood vessel damage and heart disease. This is one main reason for you to skip canned foods while framing your diabetes diet.

Fried Foods

Fried foods are high in calories and low in nutrition, and consuming a high calorie diet can naturally lead to weight gain.

Fried food contains a lot of dietary fat, which makes the management of diabetes a tad difficult.

An excess of calories can lead to obesity, which can cause further serious complications for diabetics. The American Diabetes Association recommends cutting back on high-calorie snacks and desserts, as these should only be consumed in moderation.

Dairy Products

Whole milk, regular yogurt, regular cottage cheese, butter, and ice-creams are to be avoided while framing a diabetes diet, as these are very rich in calories.

Instead, diabetics can choose skimmed milk, low-fat yogurt, and low-fat cottage cheese. Such food items don’t increase the blood sugar levels beyond acceptable normal levels and long term complications of diabetes can in turn be prevented.

Beverages

Beverages such as sodas, beer, sweetened tea, coffee with sugar and cream, chocolate drinks, and energy drinks should not be included in a diabetes diet.

Alcohol can be consumed in moderate quantities, but only if blood sugar levels are well-controlled. Alcohol is processed in the body just like how fat is processed, and alcohol generates almost as many calories as fatty food items.

For this reason, excessive drinking can lead to an increase in weight, affecting the bodily balance in diabetics.

Diabetes is a chronic condition, and it can be managed only if stringent dietary guidelines are followed. You can include green and leafy vegetables and a whole lot of natural products in your diabetes diet – but ensure that you stay away from the above food items!