11 FOODS FORBIDDEN FOR DIABETICS AND HYPERTENSIVE PEOPLE - NUTRITION - 2024

There are foods forbidden for diabetics that must be avoided to prevent the disease from worsening and to improve health and quality of life. In this article I will leave you a list of 11 of the ones you should avoid the most.

Diabetes is a very delicate metabolic disorder for those who suffer from it, so it is very normal to find advice to improve the situation through physical exercise or through good eating habits to lower sugar.

However, all this is useless if we do not eliminate from our shopping basket those foods that can make diabetes worse.

List of foods not suitable for diabetics

1- Simple sugar

It is clear that the first enemy of those who suffer from this disease is sugar. Why? Because it causes the concentration of glucose in the blood to rise very abruptly and suddenly.

Those who suffer from type 1 diabetes, thanks to the assumption of insulin by the venous route, manage to bring this concentration to a normal level, since their cells recognize insulin and allow glucose to enter their cellular stores.

For people with type 2 diabetes the situation is different. They have a resistance to insulin and for this reason, even if they take it intravenously, their cells do not recognize it effectively and it will take longer for blood glucose to reach a normal level.

This group includes refined and brown sugar and all sugar-rich foods such as chocolate, honey, cakes, syrups, ice cream, jams.

2- Refined flour (and all its derivatives)

All products made with white (refined) flour such as bread, pasta or pizza have a very high Glycemic Index (GI). The glycemic index is a systematic way of classifying carbohydrates based on the effect they have on the immediate increase in blood glucose levels.

In simpler words, each food containing carbohydrates, once eaten, causes the concentration of glucose (sugar) to increase in our blood in one way or another.

When the concentration of glucose increases suddenly, it is said that the food has a high GI, as in the case of refined foods, that is, they have undergone an industrial process in which the external part (the one that contains fiber) is removed and micronutrients) leaving only starch (sugar) and protein.

So what happens when we eat refined flour and its derivatives? That blood glucose will rise rapidly and in this case, as before, those with type 2 diabetes will have a lot of difficulty lowering their blood sugar.

When the amount of glucose in the blood is very high, a part will be stored in the cells of the adipose tissue, transforming into fat and still worsening the situation of those who suffer from this disease.

3- White rice

Follow the same rule for refined flour. White rice has a very high Glycemic Index and is therefore best avoided. It is best to switch to a diet based as much as possible on the consumption of whole grains and vegetables.

I'm not just talking about brown rice, but about discovering the huge variety of whole grains on the market. Just go to an organic shop or a quality supermarket to find millet, quinoa, wild rice, oats, buckwheat and sorghum.

4- Fruit in syrup

Diabetics can eat fruit by choosing the one with a low glycemic index. But fruit in syrup is high in simple sugar and therefore causes a sudden spike in blood sugar.

5- Sausages

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These foods should be eliminated from the diet of diabetics and avoided for everyone else. First, because they have a very high percentage of saturated fats, which, as we saw, are the main responsible for the appearance of type 2 diabetes. Second, because these foods have a very high level of salt.

Although salt does not have an effect on blood glucose, people with diabetes are at higher risk of developing health problems that affect the heart. A high consumption of salt contributes to hypertension.

6- Fatty meat

Eating meat in general has been shown to increase the risk of many diseases, including type 2 diabetes.

Some researchers in Taiwan have found that meat consumption is directly linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Asian populations have traditionally always had very few cases of diabetes. However, since a more Western diet has become fashionable, it has increased dramatically.

The researchers studied two different groups of people: one that was fed a traditional Asian diet (with sporadic consumption of meat and fish) and another that was totally vegetarian. The study found that the vegetarian group had half the chance of getting diabetes. And the risk decreased even more if dairy was also eliminated from the diet.

Diabetics should avoid meats that are excessively rich in saturated fat, such as hamburgers, sausages, duck, roasts in general. It is better to opt for lean meats, such as rabbit, turkey, chicken, some cuts of pork (tenderloin). However, recent studies have led to light that even the consumption of chicken meat leads to weight gain.

This seems to be due to the fact that today, the chicken meat that is sold at an industrial level, is a genetically modified chicken (so that it fattens in an exaggerated way), and fed with feed. In fact, the amount of fat in chickens in the last century has risen from 2 grams per serving to 23 grams.

This type of chicken contains two or three times more calories derived from fat than those from proteins. The best thing would be to find free range chickens, raised in the open air, fed naturally and not genetically modified.

7- Whole dairy

All milk derivatives (other than skim or light) are not advisable for diabetics, because they are rich in fat and sugar. In this group are butter, cheeses, margarine, yogurt, cream and cream. Also dishes that contain a lot of dairy.

8- Pizza

The pizzas that are in circulation, both the frozen ones that fill supermarkets and those of the large commercial chains, are bad for diabetics. Its dough is not only made with refined flour, but also with a lot of saturated fats (palm oil, butter).

So they have the two main enemies that we should keep away from our daily diet. Apart from the dough they are also decorated with the worst cheeses, creams and oils.

If you want to eat pizza, learn to prepare it yourself, using whole wheat flour, extra virgin olive oil and garnishing it with tomato sauce and vegetables, avoiding cheese.

9- Sauces

The most used sauces to dress salads, hamburgers and other dishes are made with fats and sugars.

Ketchup, for example, is high in sugar. Mayonnaise does not have sugar but it does have a lot of saturated fats (especially industrial ones that are not made with extra virgin olive oil but with palm oil or other lower quality vegetable oils).

Even soy sauce has sugar in it. This is to avoid also due to its high sodium content.

10- Fried

All fried foods are forbidden foods for diabetics because, apart from increasing blood glucose, they also increase cholesterol levels. Instead of frying, bake, boil, or steam the foods that are best for you.

The fried ones provide fats that are not healthy and at the same time very harmful to our health. All people, diabetic or not, should avoid them.

11- Industrial food

And here we have the apotheosis of the food to eliminate from our lives, whether we are diabetic or not. I'm talking about fast food, industrial confectionery, sweets, fruit juices and soft drinks.

Each of these foods are true bombs of sugars and saturated and trans fats. In the context in which we live, in a society where it is easier and cheaper to buy industrial and pre-cooked food than fruit and vegetables, it is very tempting to opt for this type of food.

It is very important to be aware that, in the long term, it will lead to a whole set of diseases that would have been very easy to avoid. How? Simply eating in a healthy and balanced way, choosing whole grains, legumes, fruit and vegetables as the protagonists of our diet.

References

1. Al Essa HB, Bhupathiraju SN, Malik VS, Wedick NM, Campos H, Rosner B, Willett WC, Hu FB. Carbohydrate quality and quantity and risk of type 2 diabetes in US women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Dec; 102 (6): 1543-53.
2. Medina-RemÓn A, Kirwan R, Lamuela-Raventós RM, Estruch R. Dietary Patterns and the Risk of Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases, Asthma, and Mental Health Problems. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2016 Apr 29: 0.
3. Michael Greger. How not to die