!#8# Which Foods Should Type 2 Diabetics Eat and Which Ones Should They Avoid?

!±8± Which Foods Should Type 2 Diabetics Eat and Which Ones Should They Avoid?

Ask any diabetic which foods are off limits and they won't hesitate to rattle off dozens of desserts, sweets, and other sugary foods. But are these "conventional wisdom" foods really the sugar-spiking villains they're made out to be?

If you are like most people with type 2 diabetes, you likely wonder every time you enter your local grocery store:

which foods you should steer clear of? which foods you should eat sparingly? which foods you can go to town on?

The USDA Pyramid: refined bread and other simple carbohydrate-rich foods top the list of food types that you should avoid. This includes white (not sweet) potatoes, white pasta, crackers, cookies and desserts. Not surprisingly, desserts are the worst offenders because of their dynamic duo of starchy refined grains and pure sugar.

When you do eat the occasional piece of bread, whole grain bread is a much better choice than white bread because its carbohydrates enter your system more slowly, (a phenomenon known as the glycemic index). Of course, like any carb-rich food, you should think twice about going overboard lest you find yourself with sky-high blood sugar levels later... even if the food is natural, fiber-rich, and "healthy".

Which Foods to Eat and Which Foods to Avoid?

1. Processed sugar, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), and most artificial sweeteners are among the few foods that can confidently receive the "banned" stamp for most type 2 diabetics' diets. Chocolate is acceptable once in a while as long as it contains a large amount of cocoa... at least 70%.

2. Fruit, because they're pleasantly sweet, get a bad rap with many diabetics. While high-carbohydrate fruits like bananas are not on the list of forbidden food, they should be eaten only in small amounts whose total carbohydrates add up to 15 grams or less. Other fruits such as avocados are low in carbohydrates, and can be eaten in correspondingly larger amounts. Opinion is sharply divided on the effects of grapes as a diabetic food... some swear that it is a superb aid to combating high blood sugar levels, while others assert with equal vehemence that grapes are harmful and should be taken in small quantities, if at all.

3. Among drinks... fruit juice and soda are two major culprits in raising your blood sugar level. Fruit juice contains far more sugars than the fruits it comes from... it's simply a concentrated form of their most sugary parts with heaps of sugar and HFCS added for good measure, plus the fiber is removed in the juicing process.

4. HFCS deserves its own mention due to the fact that piles of research studies show that it actually worsens insulin resistance... not to mention the fact that it is pure, unadulterated sugar!

Foods with HFCS, like yogurt, may surprise you, and don't be afraid to become a label sleuth to pinpoint foods in your diet that deftly hide HFCS. It may be hard to wave goodbye to some of your favorite foods, but if you're truly dedicated to a life free from the clutches of type 2 diabetes, passing on dessert is a small price to pay.