13 Foods To Avoid With High Blood Sugar – Diabetic Health Tips

Last Updated on January 25, 2020

Diagnosed with diabetes? If yes, then your food choices play a vital role in your diet. Nothing you eat can be completely off-limits. You can have occasional treats of even the worst foods when consumed in tiny amounts. Some foods to avoid with high blood sugar are discussed in this article.

Eating a healthy balanced diet can be of great help with people with diabetes. Picking the wrong foods can cause insulin resistance and spike blood sugar levels. Big portions of vegetables and fruits help you stay at bay from diabetes, while smaller portions of high-carb and full-fat foods can be enjoyed as cheat treats.

Foods To Avoid With High Blood Sugar

Scroll down to read about the foods to avoid with high blood sugar and the alternatives you should add to your meal plans.

1. Swap Sugar-Sweetened Beverages With Water

Which are the worst foods to avoid with diabetes?

Sugary beverages top our list of foods to avoid with high blood sugar. These drinks are loaded with sugar and high levels of fructose which lead to metabolic changes. These changes promote insulin resistance, increase in body fat and cholesterol levels.

Avoid drinking soda, packaged fruit juices, sweetened ice tea or lemonade. These beverages contain high amounts of carbs and may increase the risk of diabetes. You must drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

2. Skip Sugary Foods Like Sweets

Sweets are made primarily of processed sugar. They lack in nutritional value and may cause a sharp spike in your blood sugar levels. This leads to excess insulin production in the body that accumulates fats and stores them on your thighs, buttocks, abdomen, and hips.

Pledge to reach out for whole fruits like oranges, pineapples, apples, berries or pears instead of sugary desserts and candies. Fruits contain plenty of fiber that aid in lowering blood sugar. Though there are a few fruits to avoid in diabetes you can snack on most of them. Have bananas, mangoes, and grapes in moderation.

3. Sip On Seltzer Rather Than Fruit Juice

The fiber-rich foods are considered healthy snacks for diabetics, but fruit juices are a completely different story.  Even fresh fruit juice contains lots of concentrated sugar which we should skip. Plus juices don’t fill you up making you eat more.

You can opt for whole fruits or go for zero-calorie seltzer with a dash of lime. Pick detox drinks to keep you hydrated and heal your body internally.

4. Replace White Carbs With Whole Grains

High-carb processed foods like white bread, pasta, and rice significantly increase blood sugar levels. These processed foods are big offenders having little or no fiber content. Fiber helps slow down the process of glucose absorption into the bloodstream. Lack of which can result in sudden spikes of sugar levels.

Replace white bread or anything made from rice or wheat flour with fiber-rich food to lower blood sugar levels. You may also experience a reduction in blood cholesterol and blood pressure once you add whole grains to your meals.

5. Omit Trans Fats From Your Diet

Trans fats are chemically modified unsaturated fatty acids to increase their stability. They add flavor and extended shelf life to food products. Trans fat doesn’t directly raise blood sugar but they are linked to insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and belly fat. This may be a concern for diabetics, as they increase the risk of cardiac diseases. Check out labels for ‘Trans Fat’ or ‘partially hydrogenated’ in the ingredient list.

Trans fat is mostly found in foods like margarine, peanut butter, coffee creamers, and frozen meals. They may also be added to chips, muffins, crackers and other baked goods. These are the foods to avoid with high blood sugar. Beware!

6. Bid Adieu To Fruit-Flavored Yogurt

There are a few worst fruits for diabetics that have high GI scores. Thus it’s best to avoid fruit-flavored yogurt which is typically made from low-fat milk loaded with carbohydrates and sugar. Plain yogurt is the best alternative to make smoothies and cereal bowls. If you crave eating ice-creams, pick frozen yogurt instead. This healthy meal is a boon for appetite, gut health and weight control.

7. Favor Low-Fat Over Full-Fat Dairy

Full-fat dairy products are known to raise blood cholesterol and increase the risk of heart diseases. This condition becomes worse when people have diabetes. A diet rich in saturated fats can worsen insulin resistance. Try to favor your meals with low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Creams, cheese, full-fat yogurt, spreads, etc. should be avoided.

8. Skip Fatty Cuts Of Meat And Pick Lean Proteins

Individuals with diabetes should limit their intake of high-fat cuts of meat such as ground beef, hot dogs, bacon, and ribs. Fatty meals come next in our list of foods to avoid with high blood sugar. Saturated fats in meat increase the risk of cardiac ailments. Prefer lean meat or even better plant-based proteins in your diet to maintain normal cholesterol levels. Plant-proteins have high fiber content which slows down sugar absorption and lower blood sugar.

9. Skip Sweeteners That Spike Your Blood Sugar Levels

We have seen what fruits diabetics should avoid; now here are few sweeteners that shouldn’t reach your pantry shelves. People think that natural sweeteners’ can replace refined sugar with no harm or rise in blood glucose. However, other forms of sugar like honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup can also spike sugar levels. These are processed foods and contain high amounts of carbohydrates.

10. Indulge on Fresh Fruits Instead of Dried Fruits

Dried fruits are a storehouse of nutrients. However, the dehydration process removes all water and it’s easier to munch much more of those tiny bites. Though snacking on dried fruits apricots, prunes or raisins is better than eating a pastry, it will still shoot up your sugar levels. Consider nibbling low-carb whole fresh fruits like apple or berries to satiate your hunger.

11. Limit Baked Goods And Packaged Snacks

Aside from the above foods to avoid with high blood sugar, next on our list are packaged and baked foods. Pretzels, chips, cookies, pastries, crackers, and doughnuts are loaded with unhealthy trans fats. Thus they are responsible to spike your bad cholesterol levels, block your arteries and cause a heart attack. Diabetic people are more prone to cardiovascular diseases thus they should limit their intake of saturated fats.

Now you can check the amounts of trans fat in any packaged product on the ingredient list. Check labels and steer clear from hydrogenated oils too. Seek out for healthy fats present in seeds and nuts, olive and canola oils, avocado and fatty fishes (if you eat non-veg).

12. Forget About Eating Oily Fried Foods

French fries! Soya popcorns! Potato chips! Fried nachos! Tempting, aren’t they? Satisfying the craving for oily foods can lead to health issues in the long run. Fried foods soak up loads of oil that equate to tons of calories. Avoid this greasy stuff and opt for fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. This will decrease carbs and increase fiber in your meals to lower blood sugar levels.

13. Drink Only In Moderation

It’s best if you can quit drinking habits. You might consider moderate drinking on occasions but remember to set your limits. Be sure to check with your doctor if drinking a glass of wine or cocktail can spike sugar levels. Too much alcohol can interfere with insulin production and may cause a dip in sugar too. For the best choices, it is recommended to have mixed drinks like rum with ice or calorie-free mixers. Avoid soda, sweet wines, and sugary cocktails at the bar.

Steer clear of these worst foods to keep your blood sugar levels in control. Do write to us about your foods to avoid with high blood sugar and healthy meal plans.

Frequently Asked Questions