Foods that Make Controlling Blood Sugars Difficult

As every diabetic learns very quickly, most carbohydrate foods require extra planning for successful use in a diabetic diet. Almost all grain products will raise blood sugars, increase insulin resistance, and make you fat—unless you follow the recommendations of later chapters in this book. For the short while it will take you to get your blood sugars under control, carbs are a no-no. This even includes items that are labeled “no sugar added” or “sugar-free” unless they truly contain no carbohydrate at all.

Foods that are labeled “sugar-free” are actually some of the most dangerous foods for diabetics. They may not cause tooth decay, but they certainly can raise blood sugars, typically 6 to 24 hours after they are eaten.

This is a partial list of the sugars you can find in “sugar-free” foods. All of them will raise blood sugar:

carob

corn syrup

dextrin

dextrose

dulcitol

fructose

glucose

honey

lactose

levulose

maltodextrin

maltose

mannitol

mannose

molasses

saccharose

sorbitol

sorghum

treacle

turbinado

xylitol

xylose

Fructose, the primary ingredient in high-fructose corn syrup and most abundant sugar in fruits, was once recommended as a sugar substitute for diabetics. A small amount of fructose, about the equivalent of a teaspoon (5 grams) of powdered fructose or the fructose content of a 3-1/2 oz (100 gram) apple, may be helpful to blood sugar control.

Fructose stimulates the liver take glucose out of the bloodstream to make glycogen. It also stimulates fat cells to take glucose out of the bloodstream to make fat—so fruit and fructose should be strictly avoided unless you know your overall food consumption is under control An apple a day can keep the diabetes doctor away only if you are careful not overeat.

Much more than 7.5 grams of fructose, however, has serious deleterious effects. Fructose-rich fruits stretch the lining of the small intestine and stimulate the release of glucagon raising blood sugars, but the fructose they contain does not use require insulin. Blood sugars go up even before the fructose is absorbed, and insulin is free to do the one job it does better than storing sugar, storing fat. Raisins and honey are about 40 per cent fructose. Just 8 or 10 raisins may be all a diabetic adult can process, or 1 fluid ounce (30 ml) of a fructose-sweetened soft drink is enough to trigger fat storage.

Even “innocent” foods like Chiclets and chewing gum deserve scrutiny. A single stick of gum contains 1 gram of carbohydrate. In an average-weight adult, this 1 gram of carbohydrate will result in a blood sugar increase of about 5 mg/dl. Chew a fresh stick every 30 minutes through the morning, however, and blood sugar goes up 50 mg/dl. In a child, this increase might be 200 mg/dl.

If you are diabetic and you choose to eat a high-carb or high-fructose food, do your blood sugar control a favor and at least choose to eat a small portion and wait to see if you are really hungry for more. Diabetics do not have to deny themselves al carbs at all times, but a nibble does less to a diet plan than a super-sized double helping.