What To Avoid When You Have Diabetes

Are you tired of finding ways to keep your blood sugar level in check? Are you interested in knowing how you can do it without working too hard? If you choose healthy lifestyle options like an effective diet regime, if you exercise regularly, if you take your medication on time, you can beat diabetes easily.

Some food items appear to be beneficial for your diabetes problem but aren’t in reality. You, therefore, need a proper guidebook on what foods to stay away from when you have diabetes. Do you want to know what would happen to your overall health condition if you don’t take precautionary measures to normalize your blood sugar level?

• You might have a heart ailment that can lead to premature death.
• Can have a fatal stroke suddenly.
• You can also suffer from kidney failure.
• Your nerves might get damaged.
• You might gain excess weight.
• Your blood pressure and cholesterol levels can be abnormally higher.

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A detailed rulebook on what all diabetic patients should avoid and should do during covid-19  –

Although diabetic patients’ chances of catching the deadly coronavirus aren’t higher than any other person’s chances, you should also keep in mind that if you get it, then the complications won’t be easy to handle.

You have to be more careful about what foods to stay away from if you have type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

How to lessen the chances of diabetic and non-diabetic individuals catching the lethal coronavirus?

1. Go to Google right now and read all about the standard types of Personal Protective Equipment.
2. Keep your home safe from the virus by never compromising with hygiene.
3. Try to stay at home unless it is absolutely inevitable to go out for emergency needs.

One important tip for diabetic patients is to monitor their blood sugar level even during this pandemic at any cost. Once you get infected, there will be no shortage of life-threatening complications.

Why will this happen to all diabetics patients?

It will be difficult to undo because abnormal levels of blood sugar can weaken your immune system. If that happens, your body will not be able to fight against the virus.

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A list of life-resetting tips for all diabetic patients during the epidemic –

• Try to consume a regulated quantity of carbs. Too many carbs are harmful as well. So, never overdo it.

The question that pops up here is why carb intake is so important for diabetic patients?

Carbs along with protein and fat provide energy to your body. However, among these three, the effect of carbs on your body is the greatest and undeniable. This happens because carbs get broken down into glucose as and when they get absorbed by your bloodstream.

• There are a lot of food options. You can try eating broccoli, sometimes even green beans, or chickpeas. However, when everything goes wrong, pick up a tomato.
• You can also try to eat brown rice with any dish made of sweet potatoes.
• There are some fruits that you can try to include in your snack. For example – any kind of berry, apples.

Do you know what foods you should avoid when you have diabetes, especially during the pandemic when the medical facility is in a crisis mode?

1. Avoid anything sugary or sweet, like candies, lollipops, donuts, and cookies.
2. Do you have any idea about what drinks to avoid when you have diabetes? The answer is simple. Say goodbye to sweet juices, sodas, alcohol, and any beverage that has caffeine. Stick to water consumption only. If you decide to drink tea, don’t add sugar to it.
3. Try to give up eating salty chips or any salty snack.
4. Say no to white bread and white rice. Instead of that, say yes to brown bread and brown rice.
5. Stay away from all food items which has a high-fat content.
6. Pasta and noodles are harmful, so, stay away from them.
7. Your diet must contain a substantial quantity of fiber. High-fiber content foods are oats, soya chunks, and flax seeds.

Picture Courtesy – Times of India

What to do when there is a sudden dip in your blood sugar level?

This is an emergency. Henceforth, make sure you have basic carbs like honey, soda with sugar, any fruit juice, and sweet candies in your fridge all the time, especially during a time of crisis such as this.

A few more pointers that you as a diabetic patient need to remember-

• The amount of food in your meals should be the same. You must follow this diligently.
• The timing of your meals should be the same as well.
• Do you know how many minor and major meals you can have in a day? Three major meals every day followed by five minor meals.

What foods and drinks to avoid if you are borderline diabetic?

1. Steer clear from french fries. Potatoes are food items with an extravagant amount of carbs in them. French fries will increase your blood sugar level extremely. Also, with that much amount of oil, your overall health will be affected too.

2. Other food items that come on the list of what to avoid when you have diabetes are pretzels and crackers. Generally speaking, avoid all packaged snacks. Why? Because these snacks are made of refined flour. Hence, they fall in the category of processed foods which can increase your blood sugar level.

3. You can’t afford to not include fruits with low sugar content in your daily diet. However, you also can’t afford to include a dried version of fruits in your daily diet. Why? Because the concentration of sugar and carbs in dried fruits is way too high to keep your blood sugar level at an optimal level.

4. Don’t salivate on hearing chocolate hazelnut butter because it is too risky to consume for people with diabetes. It might look delicious but it is not healthy as it has high sugar content which can cause inflammation and a rise in blood sugar level.

Picture Courtesy – Medical News Today

5. Eat ice cream but not the entire container in a single go. It should be consumed moderately because, with all the sugar in it, your blood sugar level might spike up suddenly.

6. When we talk about foods to avoid when you have diabetes, packaged baked goodies come up in the top ten. Try to remember all the forms of sugar that you can think of. Now, let us tell you that packaged baked goods contain most of these different forms of sugar. Consuming this can not only affect your blood sugar level negatively but can also cause inflammation.

7. People often choose a chocolate milkshake as a snack for themselves after a workout session. However, diabetics don’t have that privilege.

8. Pizza is everyone’s favorite when they have no cooked food left in their fridge. Having said that, diabetic patients can’t afford to choose pizza as their go-to food item during such a crisis.

However, there are ways you can consume pizza and yet not raise your blood sugar level. How do you do that? Don’t add salt. Avoid adding any cheese because it has extra calories. Choose a pizza with a thin base made with vegetables or chicken.

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Few other things that you should avoid to keep your blood sugar level in check –

• Avoid gaining weight.
• Avoid not getting a night of good quality sleep.
• Stay away from not being physically active. Always prioritize including exercise or any form of workout in your routine.
• Avoid not getting rid of mental and emotional stress.
• Include sodium in your daily diet.
• Avoid not observing or monitoring your heart condition.
• Avoid smoking.

Bottom line –

We know that it is difficult to navigate what foods to eat if you have diabetes and what to avoid. Henceforth, the aforementioned guidelines will be useful undoubtedly. Follow every rule and tip that helps diabetic patients to keep their blood sugar level in control.

If all these tips fail to help you, don’t hesitate to seek professional help, especially if you suffer from gestational diabetes.

Picture Courtesy – Diabetes Self-Management

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