7 Foods That Spike Blood Sugar
1 / 8 7 Foods That Spike Blood Sugar If you have type 2 diabetes, you know about the importance of making healthy mealtime choices. But just as important is staying away from the wrong foods — those that can spike your blood sugar. That's because simple carbohydrates, like white bread and sugary soda, are broken down by the body into sugar, which then enters the bloodstream. Even if you don't have diabetes, these foods can lead to insulin resistance, which means your body's cells don't respond normally to the insulin produced by the pancreas. Here are seven foods you should avoid for better blood sugar control. Continue reading >>
Diabetes Breakfast Mistakes To Avoid
Mom is still right: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially when you have type 2 diabetes. Your diabetes diet needs to give you a healthy supply of energy to jumpstart your body in the morning. "Remember that first thing in the morning, you’ve gone many hours without eating and your body needs fuel," says Kelly O'Connor, RD, director of diabetes education at the endocrinology center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. "If you’re not giving it any, it will create its own in the form of stored blood sugar that gets released into your bloodstream — which often results in blood sugar that’s too high." Healthy breakfast food is also a must when it comes to diabetes control and weight management. “Remember that when your body is fasting, you’re not giving it any energy, so it slows down to conserve what it has left, which is counterproductive," O'Connor says. The trick is to keep your metabolism going all day long at a steady rate. "The simple solution to both of these issues is to eat a good breakfast," she says. Avoiding Breakfast Mistakes Breakfast blunders can happen during the week when you wake up late and try eating breakfast while running out the door, or on the weekend when you go out for a big breakfast. However, the biggest mistake to avoid is skipping breakfast altogether. When you go too long without eating, your body goes into starvation mode. And when you finally give in to hunger later in the day (and probably overeat), your body will grab all the fat from your meal and store it. That's bad for anyone, especially for someone with type 2 diabetes. Here are some other breakfast mistakes to avoid: Don’t fly on a sugar high. If you don't have a lot of time in the morning for healthy breakfast foods, you may be tempted to wolf do Continue reading >>
Can Diabetics Eat Ham?
Michelle Kerns writes for a variety of print and online publications and specializes in literature and science topics. She has served as a book columnist since 2008 and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Kerns studied English literature and neurology at UC Davis. Sliced ham on a bed of lettuce.Photo Credit: DAJ/amana images/Getty Images A balanced diabetic meal plan should include between 2 and 5 ounces of protein-rich foods daily, says the American Diabetes Association. Poultry, fish, shellfish, dried beans and legumes, soy, nuts, seeds, eggs, beef and cuts of pork such as ham can all contribute to this recommendation, though some choices are healthier than others. Talk to your doctor or a dietitian if you need help planning a diet that can help you manage diabetes. A serving of fresh ham prepared without glaze or sauce does not contain any carbohydrates and has a glycemic index of 0. This ham will not affect a diabetic's blood glucose and can help maintain a steady blood sugar level. However, prepackaged lunch meat ham, sugar-glazed hams or honey-baked hams may contain between 4 and 15 grams of carbohydrates per serving. The ADA advises diabetics to check the nutrition label for carbohydrate information before eating any meat products that may have added carbohydrates. It's important for a diabetic to limit his intake of sodium. Diabetics have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure and should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium each day, according to the Cleveland Clinic. A typical slice of regular ham can contain 320 milligrams of sodium, or over 20 percent of a diabetic's daily limit. If you choose to eat ham, look for low-sodium brands or cook your own fresh ham without adding salt or high-sodium seasoning blends. In 2011, an Continue reading >>
Can You Eat Eggs If You Have Diabetes?
To eat or not to eat? Eggs are a versatile food and a great source of protein. The American Diabetes Association considers eggs an excellent choice for people with diabetes. That’s primarily because one large egg contains about half a gram of carbohydrates, so it’s thought that they aren’t going to raise your blood sugar. Eggs are high in cholesterol, though. One large egg contains nearly 200 mg of cholesterol, but whether or not this negatively affects the body is debatable. Monitoring your cholesterol is important if you have diabetes because diabetes is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. High levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream also raise the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. But dietary intake of cholesterol doesn’t have as profound an effect on blood levels as was once thought. So, it’s important for anyone with diabetes to be aware of and minimize other heart disease risks. A whole egg contains about 7 grams of protein. Eggs are also an excellent source of potassium, which supports nerve and muscle health. Potassium helps balance sodium levels in the body as well, which improves your cardiovascular health. Eggs have many nutrients, such as lutein and choline. Lutein protects you against disease and choline is thought to improve brain health. Egg yolks contain biotin, which is important for healthy hair, skin, and nails, as well as insulin production. Eggs from chickens that roam on pastures are high in omega-3s, which are beneficial fats for people with diabetes. Eggs are easy on the waistline, too. One large egg has only about 75 calories and 5 grams of fat, only 1.6 grams of which are saturated fat. Eggs are versatile and can be prepared in different ways to suit your tastes. You can make an already-healthy food even better by mixi Continue reading >>
The Truth About Red Meat And Diabetes
Not all red meat is created equal – some isn’t even good enough to even be considered food. Yet when a news article talks about red meat being bad for you, you can bet the author (or the study behind the news) failed to distinguish between processed meat and unprocessed meat, as well as overcooked meat and properly cooked meat. That’s not even considering grass-fed meat vs. industrial meat, which I’ve blogged about extensively. “Red-meat-is-bad” articles don’t always deserve a rebuttal because *most* red meat actually is bad for you. However, it’s a major mistake to say all red meat is bad for you. This post serves to confront misleading headlines about red meat and diabetes risk. Let’s ask a few questions, see what the science actually says, and talk about the Bulletproof recommendations. Processed meats like hot dogs, bologna, deli meats etc. contain high omega-6’s, often have mold toxins called mycotoxins, and nitrates that can combine with bad gut bacteria. All of these can be correlated with an increased risk of diabetes. Instead, insist on eating grass fed, low toxin meat to promote good health and optimize performance. Research Doesn’t Distinguish Between Processed Red Meat and Unprocessed Red Meat When articles suggest red meat causes chronic diseases like diabetes, you would expect a high degree of specificity and accuracy. Unfortunately all you get are alarming headlines and half-truths. When you see blog posts like “Hot Dogs, Bacon and Red Meat Tied to Increased Diabetes Risk,” you should ask yourself how the authors justify lumping hot dogs (a blend of soy, wheat, MSG, and cast off animal parts) in with meat and what the study design looked like. Of course, the recent news about diabetes referenced a study that did not distinguish h Continue reading >>
Does Eating Red Meat Increase Type 2 Diabetes Risk?
153 Comments If you already eat Primal, your email inboxes are most likely filling up with links to the story. Concerned mothers clutching the local paper’s “Health” section are calling (or, if they’re hip, texting). Smug vegetarian Facebook friends are posting the story on your wall, sans commentary. Yes, it’s about that time again. It’s another week, it’s another observational study by data-mining researchers hoping to establish a solid link between red meat and some chronic, horrific illness. So, what’s killing us this time? Well, considering that they’ve already done studies linking red meat to colorectal cancer, heart disease, and outright death, type 2 diabetes is next. Here’s a link to the full study (PDF). Researchers drew on data from three large-scale dietary habit questionnaires of medical professionals to explore how red and processed meat intakes associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes. The first set was the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which comprised 37,083 male physicians followed for 20 years; the second was the Nurses’ Health Study I, which included 79,570 female nurses followed for 28 years; and the third was the Nurses’ Health Study II, which followed 87,504 women for 14 years. These data were pooled with additional data from 442,101 participants in existing studies, so it was a big pile of numbers with which to work. Sure enough, they found a link between processed meat intake and type 2 diabetes, with a smaller link between unprocessed red meat and the illness. A daily 50 gram serving of processed red meat was associated with a 51% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while a 100 gram serving of fresh red meat represented a 19% increased risk. Unprocessed meat included “beef, lamb, or pork as main Continue reading >>
Diabetic Diet: Meat Choices
Meat (1 ounce = 7 grams of protein, 0 grams of carbohydrate, fat varies) One ounce of meat is about the size of your thumb; 3 ounces is the size of a deck of cards. No more thant 3 ounces of protein at a meal is recommended. (Try to eat meats from this page only; unfortunately, this means nothing fried.) Very Lean Meat Choices (0-1g fat/ounce and 35 calories) Poultry: Chicken or turkey (white meat, no skin), Cornish hen (no skin). Fish: Fresh or frozen cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, trout, lox, tuna fresh or canned in water. Shellfish: Clams, crab, lobster, scallops, shrimp. Game: Duck or pheasant (no skin), venison, buffalo, ostrich. Cheese: Fat-free (less than 1 gram of fat/ounce), low fat cottage cheese. Other: Processed sandwich meats with less than 1 gram fat or less/ounce, such as: deli thin, shaved meats chipped beef, turkey ham egg whites (2) egg substitutes, plain hot dogs, fat free sausage, fat free or less than 1 gram fat/ounce Lean Meat Choices (3g fat/ounce and 55 calories) Beef: USDA Select or Choice grades trimmed of fat such as round, sirloin, flank steak, tenderloin, roast (rib, chuck, rump); steak (T-bone, porter house, cubed); ground round. Pork: Lean pork such as fresh ham, canned, cured, or boiled ham, Canadian bacon, tenderloin, center loin chop. Lamb: Roast, chop or leg. Veal: Leap chop, roast. Poultry: Chicken, turkey (dark meat, no skin), chicken (white meat, with skin), domestic duck or goose (well-drained of fat, no skin). Fish: Herring (uncreamed or smoked), Oysters, Salmon (fresh or canned), catfish, Sardines (canned), tuna (canned in oil, drained). Game: Goose (no skin, rabbit). Cheese: 4.5% fat cottage cheese, grated parmesan, cheeses with 3 grams of fat or less/ounce. Other: Hot dogs with 3 grams of fat or less per ounce. Processed sand Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Diet Food List
Now some of the diabetes diet information presented below may be slightly different to what you are used to seeing. That’s because there are quite a few flaws in the common diet prescription for type 2 diabetes. In our work with clients we’ve discovered that a ‘real food’ approach to eating has helped control type 2 diabetes the most. That’s because there is more to managing diabetes than just counting cabrs! So we’ve put together this type 2 diabetes diet food list that will give you a great place to start. FREE DOWNLOAD Like a Take Home Copy Of This List? Includes Snack Ideas and Food Tips! Type 2 Diabetes Diet Food List PROTEINS Every meal should contain a source of protein for energy production and to fuel the creation of new cells. Below is a list of good protein sources to choose from. Protein also helps to satisfy the appetite, keeping you fuller longer. Lean Meats Lean beef; veal, flank steak, extra lean mince, sirloin steak, chuck steak, lamb. Pork Lean cuts of pork; pork chops or loin. Poultry Chicken, turkey, duck, quail, goose. Fish Tuna, salmon, cod, trout, bass, flatfish, whitehead, mackerel, herring, eel, haddock, red snapper, trout, drum, walleye, sardines and so forth. Seafood Crab, lobster, prawns, shrimp, oysters, mussels, clams, scallops, abalone, crayfish. Game Meats Venison, wild boar, kangaroo, deer, pheasant, moose, wild turkey, alligator, emu, ostrich, elk, bison, turtle. Many people don’t eat these types of meats but you can eat them if you like them. Organ Meats Beef, pork, lamb, chicken livers. Beef, pork, lamb, chicken tongues, hearts, brains. Beef, pork, lamb, chicken marrow, kidneys. Many people don’t eat these types of meats either but you can eat them if you like them, and they are very good sources of vitamins and minera Continue reading >>
Best Food Suitable For A Diabetic Type 2 Person
Food plans for diabetics vary, depending on allowed individual sugar and carbohydrate content. In general, however, all persons with diabetes should eat, or avoid, the same foods. Avoid Foods Containing Sugar and Most Artificial Sweeteners This includes so-called “sugar-free” foods enhanced with artificial sweeteners. The Most Sugary Foods to Avoid Sweets and Chocolates, Including “Sugar-Free” Types These are not good foods for the diabetic, as they contain sugar and artificial sweeteners. Diabetics may eat Continental dark chocolate, with 70% or more cocoa solids, once a week. Foods Containing Significant Proportions of Ingredients Ending in -ose or -ol These ingredients are usually sugars. One notable exception is cellulose, which is a form of dietary fiber. Grains and Foods Made from Grain Products These include corn, rice, pasta, breads, cakes, tarts, breakfast cereals, and biscuits. Starchy vegetables Particularly avoid parsnips and potatoes. Limit carrots, beans (except runner beans), peas, and other starches. Be careful with packets of mixed vegetables. Limit Certain Dairy Products Limit milk to small quantities. Also limit cottage cheese, and sweetened or low-fat yogurts. Limit Commercially Packaged Foods These processed foods include frozen dinners, especially those marked “lean” or “light”, and snack foods or fast foods. Fruit Juices Choose fresh fruit instead, because it is lower in carbohydrates. For the fruit juice flavor, add a touch of fruit juice to water. Healthy Food for Diabetics This list of diabetic foods contains the best foods for diabetics to eat. All foods listed here are especially for Diabetes Type 2. All Meat Just when you were wondering, “What food can diabetics eat?” you find meat to be tasty answer. Bacon, pork, lamb, b Continue reading >>
I Have Diabetes…what Can I Eat?
From the day you are diagnosed with diabetes, type 1 or type 2, everyone around you is going start telling you what you can and cannot eat. Your doctor, friends, brother, mother, father, uncle, children, spouse, and even the television and every magazine and newspaper! (Be wary of the all the diet fads that will not be directed right at you!) By the time you’ve heard it all, you might feel like there’s nothing you’re allowed to eat except for steamed chicken and spinach. Here are three secrets for your life with diabetes around food: Despite what everyone is saying you “can’t” and “shouldn’t” eat, you are the one who puts the food in your mouth…which means you actually can eat anything, in a sense. It is your choice, and while we all would be better if we always chose the healthiest foods, try reminding yourself of this statement: “I can choose to eat whatever I want.” Thinking this way around your choices versus feeling like you aren’t allowed to eat practically anything can be a very helpful tool for feeling more empowered around food. No one can control what you eat except for you. It’s your choice. As people with diabetes, we do want to aim for 70 to 90 percent of the day’s choices to be very healthy, moderate to low in carbohydrates, and whole food choices, but you do not have to be perfect! Enjoying a treat (whether it’s potato chips or chocolate) in moderation is possible, but the key is moderation. Sometimes, putting too many rules around those treats can make us want more and more of them, which is why the way you think about food is going to very important for how you behave around food. Think about the treats you love the most and how to incorporate them carefully and in sensible portions in your week’s nutrition. Never stop Continue reading >>
7 Easy Breakfast Ideas For Type 2 Diabetes
Cooking with less fat by using nonstick pans and cooking sprays and avoiding fat- and sugar-laden coffee drinks will help ensure that you're eating a healthy breakfast. For many people, breakfast is the most neglected meal of the day. But if you have type 2 diabetes, breakfast is a must, and it can have real benefits. “The body really needs the nutrients that breakfast provides to literally ‘break the fast’ that results during sleeping hours,” says Kelly Kennedy, MS, RD, an Everyday Health dietitian. “Having a source of healthy carbohydrates along with protein and fiber is the perfect way to start the morning.” Eating foods at breakfast that have a low glycemic index may help prevent a spike in blood sugar all morning long — and even after lunch. Eating peanut butter or almond butter at breakfast, for example, will keep you feeling full, thanks to the combination of protein and fat, according to the American Diabetes Association. And a good breakfast helps kick-start your morning metabolism and keeps your energy up throughout the day. Pressed for time? You don't have to create an elaborate spread. Here are seven diabetes-friendly breakfast ideas to help you stay healthy and get on with your day. 1. Breakfast Shake For a meal in a minute, blend one cup of fat-free milk or plain nonfat yogurt with one-half cup of fruit, such as strawberries, bananas, or blueberries. Add one teaspoon of wheat germ, a teaspoon of nuts, and ice and blend for a tasty, filling, and healthy breakfast. Time saver: Measure everything out the night before. 2. Muffin Parfait Halve a whole grain or other high-fiber muffin (aim for one with 30 grams of carbohydrates and at least 3 grams of fiber), cover with berries, and top with a dollop of low- or nonfat yogurt for a fast and easy bre Continue reading >>
10 Diabetes Breakfast Mistakes To Avoid
I once went to see a friend who has diabetes. Her table was laid out with a wonderful breakfast for the both of us. However, it didn’t look too much like a breakfast a diabetic should be eating. There were carbs, carbs, and more carbs. To me it was a dream, but my thought for her was, “oh geeze, her blood sugar!” It seems innocent enough that we were having; croissants, jam, fruit, and array of fresh juices. For most people, this is a very healthy start. For diabetics, it is missing one key item that will help stall the burn of all those carbs – protein!” Here you will see biggest diabetes breakfast mistakes you’re probably making and you didn’t know you were doing it. Don’t make these breakfast mistakes to keep your blood sugar stable. At the end I have also included list of some commonly asked questions about diabetes breakfast. 1. Skipping Protein When you eat carbohydrates alone, they are digested quickly causing spikes in your blood sugar levels. When paired with a protein, they bind together and take longer to digest and burn up. If you have a bowl of cereal and toast, eat an egg with it. Fruit with Yogurt. Pancakes with Sausage. In a hurry? Just add Peanut Butter to your toast! 2. Smoothies on the Run Smoothies make you feel great! No doubt a good smoothie gives you a rush to get you going, but turns out its mostly a sugar rush. Make sure to check our 8 best smoothies for people with diabetes. Add a scoop of protein powder to slow the burn. Drink a smoothie and nibble a hardboiled egg. Skip the smoothie and have a bowl of oatmeal with some bacon! 3. Not Eating Breakfast You may have been fine without breakfast before diabetes, but after you are diagnosed you may not be anymore. People who skip breakfast actually have higher blood sugars during the Continue reading >>
Does Red Meat Raise Blood Sugars?
Recently I have heard more and more people use the phrase “I don’t eat red meat because it bad for my blood sugars.” As red meat- along with any other cuts of meat- is a food made up of only fat and protein, eating red meat will have no immediate effect on your blood sugar. Crash course in macro-nutrients Foods can be broken up into three macro-nutrient categories: Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein. Blood sugars increase when we consume Carbohydrate foods- fruits, rice, beans, pastas, breads, milk, and starchy vegetables such as corn, potatoes and winter squash. As these foods are digested into their basic components- glucose is released into the bloodstream. This glucose is what causes blood sugars to raise after eating a food containing Carbohydrates. Protein foods however do not have glucose as part of their elemental structure, instead they break down into amino acids. Amino acids aid in building muscle and repairing cells in your body. Fats can be either saturated or unsaturated fats and fuel cells providing a required source of energy for our brains for survival. Red meat Foods are often a combination of these three macronutrients. Take red meat for example: Beef contains both protein and fat, but no carbohydrates. Where then does the misconception that red meat hurts blood sugars come from? Red meat is typically high in fats, especially saturated fatty acids. Foods containing fat are higher in calories which may lead to poor weight control if eaten in excess. As mentioned before, fats are essential for brain and cell health, but the American Diabetes Association recommends limiting fats to less than 30% of total calorie consumption with saturated fats making up less than 10% calorie consumption. Saturated fatty acids are the types of fat that stay solid at room Continue reading >>
5 Foods To Avoid
Tweet We take a look at 5 types of food which are either best avoided or relegated to occasional eating and not only for people with diabetes. The foods we’ve picked out are particularly relevant to people with diabetes that are carrying extra weight but, as none of us are immune from gaining weight, they have some relevance to us all. We’ve decided not to go with the obvious, i.e. sugary foods as this should be, well, obvious. 5. White bread and other 'white' foods White bread often gets a bad rap and frankly, it’s deserved. White starchy foods, such as white bread and white rice, are digested and converted into glucose very quickly by the body meaning they’re almost as quick to raise blood sugar levels as pure sugar. A regular size white bread roll will usually have around 30g of carbohydrate. This means that having a white bap will raise your blood sugar at a rate close to eating 7 teaspoons of sugar. Healthier alternative - whole grain bread: Whole grain bread should have significantly more fibre than white bread meaning that the carbohydrate gets converted into glucose less quickly. Look out for breads with higher fibre content. 4. Pastries and pastry based foods Pastries, such as pies and sausage rolls, hold a special place in the hearts of many of us but beware, pastries contain a significant amount of carbohydrate but also contain fat which together makes them highly calorific. Pastries are very energy dense foods meaning that even a relatively small portion of the food can contain a large number of calories. A 150g individual steak and onion pie, for example, contains 500 calories on its own so it’s easy to hit half your daily calorie intake in a single meal if you were to include potatoes and gravy. Healthier alternative - stew: A close but lower cal Continue reading >>
Top 10 Worst Foods For Diabetes
These foods can can cause blood sugar spikes or increase your risk of diabetes complications. Bacon In addition to whole-fat dairy foods, fatty or marbled cuts of meat also carry a hefty amount of saturated fat, which initiates inflammation in the body and leads to various side effects. Since those with diabetes are already at an increased risk of heart disease, eating high-fat meats puts them at an even greater risk than the average person. Instead of feasting on fatty bacon, hamburgers, bologna, hot dogs, or spare ribs, fill your plate with lean protein choices like skinless chicken and turkey, fish and shellfish, or lean pork tenderloin. Previous Next More Photos Snack Cakes and Pastries Whole Milk Continue reading >>
