People with type 2 diabetes need to not only take their medications, but also try to make healthier diet and lifestyle choices. But what’s healthy and what’s not? It’s often confusing.
Take a look at the following habits that may seem to be good for your health, but may actually be sabotaging the efforts patients are making.
Check the nutrition facts when buying food
Supermarkets seem to be full of foods that are suitable for people with diabetes because they have no added sugar. But these foods contain sugar substitutes, and sugar substitutes contain carbohydrates, meaning that these foods can spike blood sugar levels.
Before adding foods to your shopping cart, check their nutrition facts to know how many grams of carbohydrates are in each serving and how much sugar has been added, which can help control blood sugar levels.
Eating the occasional meal replacement energy bar
Loss of weight may be helpful in controlling diabetes, and meal replacement energy bars seem to be a shortcut to achieving a slimmer body.
Many meal replacement products are made for athletes and are therefore high in calories. Other meal replacement products contain ingredients such as sugar alcohols (sorbitol, mannitol, etc.) that can lead to stomach problems.
It’s okay to use a meal replacement energy bar for breakfast once in a while when time is running out, as long as you read the nutrition information on it.
However, it is wiser to stick to a regular diet or a full, balanced, calorie-restricted meal.
Supplements are not as good as real food
A diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables provides all the nutrients needed. Multivitamin supplements can help replenish needed vitamins, but they are still not as nutritious as real food.
Some patients take supplements such as cinnamon or chromium in hopes of keeping their blood sugar stable. It is not clear whether these supplements are effective.
If you choose these or other supplements, you should consult your doctor. Your doctor will make sure they are safe and will not interact with the medications you are taking.
Eat whole fruits
Natural foods do not equate to being healthy.
For example, one cup of apple juice contains 25 grams of sugar and 0.5 grams of fiber. A whole apple, on the other hand, has less sugar (19 grams), more fiber (4.5 grams), and a longer duration of fullness, which helps stabilize blood sugar.
More importantly, one study found that drinking juice every day made you more likely to develop diabetes, but eating whole fruit regularly made you less likely to develop the disease.
Don’t overdo it with diet soda
Bariatric sodas may be free of calories, carbohydrates, and sugar, but they should still not be consumed excessively.
One study found that overweight people who relied on diet soda ended up consuming more calories from food. Why? Because dieters may think they’re “cutting back” on calories from their drinks, so they can eat as much as they want.
Artificial sweeteners can also confuse patients’ bodies because they taste sweet but don’t provide calories.
If patients want to drink cola, it’s okay to indulge occasionally.
However, water and other unsweetened beverages, such as regular tea, should usually be consumed.
Avoid all high-fat foods
Eating small amounts of fat is good for your health, but you should choose the right kind of fat.
Saturated fats (found in meat and dairy products) should be limited, and trans fats should be avoided altogether. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, on the other hand, are beneficial to human health.
In fact, certain high-fat foods seem to be beneficial for people with diabetes. Consuming both nuts and high-carbohydrate foods may prevent blood sugar levels from getting too high.
Other studies have shown that people who eat avocados regularly are less likely to develop metabolic syndrome, which can present with a range of symptoms, including high blood sugar.
You should keep in mind to eat small amounts of fat, otherwise calories can add up quickly.
The food packaging trap
Each pouch looks small, so many people open one after another and end up eating more than they did when they started with the “regular” pouch.
In one study, subjects who were given 9 small bags of chips ended up eating twice as much food as those who were given 2 large bags.
So be honest with yourself.
So, be honest with yourself: can you really stop? If you can’t, put the box back on the shelf.