World Diabetes Day 2022: 7 Food Groups To Avoid If You Are Pre-diabetic

Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney disease, heart attacks, stroke, blindness and lower limb amputation. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or slowed down through a healthy diet, regular exercise, and smoking cessation. In addition, diabetes can be managed with medication, regular screenings, and treatment of complications. This can help prevent or delay the effects of diabetes.

You have pre-diabetes if your blood sugar is higher than normal. The level is not yet high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. However, pre-diabetic adults and children are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes if their lifestyle is not changed. As discussed above, dietary changes can help prevent diabetes. Continue reading the article to find out which foods to cut off from your diet if you are pre-diabetic.

Foods You Should Eliminate From Your Diet If You Are Pre-Diabetes:

1. Packaged Drinks

Because packaged drinks do not contain additional nutrients, such as fiber and protein, which can slow digestion, most drinks cause an increase in blood sugar. It’s a good idea to limit or avoid the following 100% juice, soda, and sweetened coffee drinks if you have prediabetes. Avoid drinking lemonade or sweet tea, mixed alcohol cocktails, energy or sports drinks, or lemonade. The impact of sugar substitutes on people with prediabetes is unclear to experts. If they are right for you, talk to your doctor.

2. Junk food

A comprehensive study found that individuals who frequented fast food restaurants more than twice a week gained more weight and had two times higher insulin resistance than those who ate less often. This is due to the significant portions of sodium, red meat and saturated fat on the menu. Do yourself a favor and make a whole wheat sandwich and sweet potato fries at home if you fancy a burger and fries.

3. Starchy Foods

Compared to their non-starchy equivalents, these contain more carbohydrates. But they also contain good nutrients. Give them a quarter of the space if you’re using the plate technique. White potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and winter squash such as acorn or butternut are examples of starchy vegetables.

Also read: Pre-diabetes: Can you stop the development of diabetes with lifestyle changes?

4. Pre-made desserts

It’s easy to understand how cheesecake ranks on the list of foods to avoid if you have prediabetes. Slices contain more sugar per serving than a woman should consume in a day, as well as a lot of saturated fat, which can reduce insulin sensitivity. However, beware of low-fat desserts such as sorbet or frozen yogurt, as they can be high in added sugars, which raise blood sugar levels and have little nutritional value. Instead, make your own dessert in your kitchen, such as a smoothie bowl or yogurt combined with fruit and cocoa powder.

5. Refined Grains

Refined grains, such as white rice, white pasta, and breads made with white flour, can raise your blood sugar levels. Replace these foods with whole grains such as brown rice, oats and oat bran, whole wheat, quinoa, millet and corn.

6. Breakfast Cereal

Many people enjoy a bowl of cereal with milk to start their day. And while some cereals are acceptable breakfast choices for people with prediabetes, many of the popular cereals are heavily processed and loaded with sugar. When you combine these added sugars with highly refined carbohydrates, the resulting food has an extremely high glycemic load and index. That means it will cause an unfavorable elevation of insulin and blood sugar.

7. Cocktails

If you order or prepare a drink at home in the future, think about what goes into it. Cocktails can be extremely dangerous for people with prediabetes because of the substances used in their preparation. Sugar, syrups, soda and fruit juice are used to make a variety of drinks. As a result, they can be extremely high in sugar, calories and carbohydrates, something you should avoid if you want to keep an eye on your blood sugar levels.

Now that you know which foods can worsen your sugar levels, make sure you avoid these foods and include beneficial foods in your diet as well.

Disclaimer: This content, including advice, provides general information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical advice. For more information, always consult a specialist or your own doctor. NewsMadura is not responsible for this information.