What Are The Worst Foods and Drinks That Cause High Blood Sugar

Diabetes is quickly becoming `an epidemic disease worldwide. It has serious consequences such as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, and others. However, knowing the foods to avoid if you want to protect yourself from high blood sugar levels may seem difficult but you can follow some easy guidelines to control your blood sugar level. Avoiding foods that increase your sugar level will help keep you healthy and avoid the risk of future diabetes occurrence.

Foods and drinks that contribute to high blood sugar include:

• Sugar-sweetened Beverages: These beverages are high in carbs and it is advisable that persons who want to avoid high blood sugar stay away from them. Furthermore, sugar-sweetened beverages are high in fructose which is insulin resistant. The fructose level in sugary drinks can promote belly fat and harmful cholesterol levels. According to Rasa Kazlauskaite, “It’s really hard to control blood sugar if you’re drinking sweetened beverages” These drinks contain a high amount of sugar and they don’t aid in controlling blood sugar. Therefore, you should drink water instead of sweetened beverages if you want to control your blood sugar levels.
• Trans Fats: These are unhealthy. They are unsaturated fats that have been altered to increase their stability. Tran’s fats can be found in margarine, spreads, and peanut butter. Most manufacturers add trans-fat to baked goods so as to extend their shelf life. Tran’s fat leads to inflammation, belly fat, insulin resistance, impaired arterial function, and low levels of good cholesterol.
• White Grains: These include rice, white bread, and pasta. These are refined carbohydrates which means  that most of their fibres were removed during their processing. Known to increase blood sugar. Contain little fibre and fibre is important because it slows down the absorption of sugar.
• French Fries: French fries are something you must avoid if you want to stay away from diabetes as they are high in carbs. Deep frying foods produce toxic compounds while increasing the risk of disease and promote inflammation.
• Flavoured Yoghurt: Most flavoured yoghurts are made from low-fat or non-fat milk. They have high quantities of carbs and sugar.

• Flavoured Coffee Drinks: These are high in carbs and lead to high blood sugar.

• Honey, Maple Syrup, and Agave Nectar: Natural sugars such as honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar can spike blood sugar levels.
• Dried Fruit: Fruits lose water when they are dried and this often leads to a higher concentration of nutrients such as sugar. For example, raisins contain more carbs than grapes.
• Nondairy Milk: Non-Dairy milk such as oat milk and rice milk have high sugar levels.
• Packaged Snack Foods: Crackers, pretzels, and the likes are made with refined flour which gives few nutrients to your body and yet raises your blood sugar level. You should avoid them if you don’t want to have high blood sugar.
• Fruit Juice: There are instances where fruit juice has a higher concentration of sugar than expected. Furthermore, fruit juice is high in fructose and this promotes insulin resistance, heart disease, and obesity.
• Too Much Starchy Vegetables: The consumption of starchy vegetables in large amounts can cause high blood sugar levels.
• Sweetened cereals: Most cereals are high in carbs and highly processed.

Diet plays an important role in diabetes management as certain foods can affect blood sugar levels and insulin and that is why people must make an informed choice about what they eat and drink.

Foods that are ideal for persons with high sugar levels include:

• Non-starchy Vegetables: These are excellent for your health and suitable for persons with diabetes. Non-starchy vegetables include carrots, cucumber, cabbage, bean sprouts, spinach, lettuce, squash, and arugula.
• Broccoli: Broccoli has sulforaphane that helps to reduce blood sugar. Broccoli also has glucoraphanin that helps to reduce blood sugar and promote insulin sensitivity.
• Seafood: Seafood like shellfish offer vitamins, proteins, healthy fats, and antioxidants that help regulate the levels of blood sugar in the body. The level of omega-3 fatty acids and protein in fatty fish such as salmon is good for the body. Eating fatty fish at least once a week is advisable.
• Cacao: This is a seed that is filled with nutrients. It contains flavonoid epicatechin and this helps to regulate blood sugar.
• Pumpkin: Pumpkin is packed with antioxidants and fibre that regulate blood sugar. In certain countries, they are used as a remedy for diabetes.
• Beans: Beans are rich in nutrients like protein, magnesium, and fibre, while they can help lower blood sugar.

More Foods

• Kale: As a result, kale has antioxidants and fibre nutrients that help to reduce blood sugar.
• Nuts: Eating nuts can effectively regulate blood sugar and it is low in carbs.
• Flax Seeds: These are healthy, as well as being rich in healthy fats and fibre. They can help reduce blood sugar.
• Berries: Berries help to improve blood sugar. They have vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre.
• Sauerkraut And Kimchi: These fermented foods have compounds including antioxidants, probiotics, and minerals. Furthermore, eating them helps to improve blood sugar.
• Chia Seeds: Chia seeds can help improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels.
• Apples: Apples contain quercetin, Gallic acid, and chromogenic acid that protects against diabetes, while reducing blood sugar levels.
• Oats: Oats have soluble fibre that helps to improve blood sugar levels.
• Eggs: These are nutritious, as a result, they provide protein, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and antioxidants. They help improve blood sugar control.
• Tsunami Strain: The tsunami strain can help reduce inflammation and pain in persons with high blood sugar. It is rich in Omega-3 fatty acid which helps in weight loss and helps in controlling blood sugar levels.

In a nutshell, the maintenance of an efficient blood sugar level can have benefits such as improved health, improved mood, increased energy level, reduced risk of disease complications, and reduced fatigue. Along with a healthy diet, one must have an effective exercise routine to cope with diabetes. Furthermore, this is why it is important to protect yourself from high blood sugar levels.

Image Credit