We often emphasize that diabetics should “keep their mouths shut”; the most frequently asked question from our readers is “What should I not eat if I have diabetes?
However, there does not seem to be a single answer to this question. Sometimes even different doctors have conflicting opinions. It’s no wonder that people with diabetes are always confused.
Authoritative guidelines say so
Guidelines for the treatment of various diseases are written by top medical experts and serve as a “baton” to guide clinicians in their treatment.
There are many guidelines for diabetes, but to answer the question “what can’t diabetics eat”, let’s first look at the “Chinese Diabetes Medical Nutrition Treatment Guidelines (2013)”, which is closely related to diabetes diet.
This guide has these clear restrictions on food.
Limit total energy according to individual circumstances;
Limit the intake of saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids, such as fatty meats, animal oils, crispy pastries, fried foods, etc.;
Stop smoking and limit alcohol: prevent cardiovascular disease and hypoglycemia;
Limit salt: to help lower blood pressure and reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular pathology;
Patients with diabetic nephropathy: restrict protein under the guidance of a doctor.
In addition, the guidelines issued by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) can be considered a global wind vane for diabetes treatment and have important reference value.
In the guidelines just released this year, the ADA Diabetes Treatment Guidelines (2017), the dietary restrictions for diabetes are even stricter, suggesting that sugary drinks and foods containing artificial trans fatty acids should be avoided.
Artificial trans fatty acids are commonly found in sandwich cookies, shortbread cookies, cream cakes, French fries, fried chicken, doughnuts and other types of processed foods. Sugary drinks include sodas, fruit juices, etc.
Forbidden foods, do not eat or try to eat less
The latest scientific research has fully proved that smoking, intake of sugary drinks and artificial trans fatty acids are not conducive to diabetic disease control.
We also need to keep up with the times, we should quit smoking, do not drink sugary drinks, do not eat foods containing artificial fatty acids, such as all kinds of processed foods, baked snacks, fried puffed snacks.
If you can’t do all the quitting now, you should at least reduce the amount you consume and eat as little as possible.
Limited consumption of restricted foods
In addition to the above taboos, there is no absolute can not eat food. For example, cholesterol, the guidelines suggest that the daily cholesterol intake of diabetic patients should not exceed 300 mg, while those with cardiovascular disease and diabetic nephropathy should preferably not exceed 200 mg. but this does not mean that sugar lovers cannot eat foods containing cholesterol.
Some foods that contain cholesterol, such as egg yolk and lean meat, are also rich in high-quality protein and other essential micronutrients that are essential to the daily diet.
If you do not eat all cholesterol-containing foods in order to limit cholesterol, you may be “picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelon,” and your body may not be getting enough nutrients. A wise approach is to eat less cholesterol-rich foods, such as fish roe and animal offal.
So, for the restricted foods, sugar lovers are allowed to eat in moderation, just don’t exceed the limit.
”Keeping your mouth shut” cannot solve all problems
We all know that keeping your mouth shut and your legs open is an important way for sugar lovers to improve their lifestyles and cooperate with diabetes treatment.
However, we would like to remind some sugar lovers, especially those who have discovered diabetes, not to think that they can control their blood sugar by improving their lifestyle alone just because they resent medication.
As we have said before, not all sugar lovers can control their blood sugar by simply adjusting their lifestyle, without medication or injections. Click here to see: Which diabetics can go without medication?
When the blood glucose does not reach the target level even after lifestyle adjustment, you should follow the doctor’s instruction to add oral medication or insulin to help your blood glucose reach the target. Do not delay to avoid great harm to your body from uncontrolled high blood sugar.