Type 2 Diabetes – The Worst Foods For Diabetics!

This is a companion piece to a recent article I wrote titled “Best Foods for Diabetics.” In that article, I talked about some characteristics that make a food very good for you. You have to keep your blood sugar moderate, but you also have the exact same additional health requirements that everyone else has. You need proteins, fats, sugars and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). After all, diabetes is still people. But there are some things that present unique challenges for diabetics over other people. We’ll start our list with diabetic-specific types of problem foods, and end with other bad ideas to put in your mouth (and we’re not talking about eating paper clips or anything like that).

Here are some foods to avoid…

1. Foods with a high glycemic index:

The GI was invented for a reason. It is also advertised and talked about all the time for a reason. The glycemic index is a measure of how long it takes for a particular type of food to put extra sugar into your bloodstream. The higher the number, the faster the food turns into nothing more than sugar, which will crash inside you and cause damage to the most sensitive (and useful) parts of your body. In general, it’s a good idea to avoid foods like white bread, sugar cubes, sugary candy, and most types of breakfast cereals. Failure to avoid foods like these will often lead to serious health problems down the road. And as Jimmy Buffett would say, it will be your fault.

2. Foods with nothing but hollow calories:

As a type 2 diabetic, you are more likely than the average person to gain weight. And with this being the case, eating foods without significant nutritional value is just asking to gain weight and experience the additional problems that high blood sugar and insulin levels add to your life. If you want joint problems, extra stress on your internal organs, and looking in the mirror and horrified by what you see, feel free to eat as many hollow calorie foods (like marshmallows and rice cakes) as you like. Not coincidentally, most hollow calorie foods also have a high GI. Avoiding that aisle in the supermarket is a very healthy step.

3. Carbonated drinks:

It is true that drinks are not food in the technical sense. But you still need them to live, so they’re worth mentioning. There are very good reasons why you should drink milk (if you’re okay with consuming animal products), and even high GI juices are defensible in moderation, because they contain large amounts of micronutrients. However, there is absolutely nothing good about sodas and energy drinks. They are toxins that will dehydrate you. While they’re not as bad as a vial of battery acid fresh out of the microwave, they’re a lot worse than plain, cheap, healthy water.

There is no list of foods that you absolutely cannot eat. All foods, in smaller portions, can be included in a particular eating plan to help you control your blood sugar levels and your weight. Ultimately, you decide what to eat. And it is you who will learn to associate certain foods, in certain amounts and in certain combinations, with higher blood sugar levels in your body.