As a person who does not have diabetes but has come in contact with people who do, I have always wondered what it would be like to have restrictions on what I can and can not eat. After reading this article I commend those who are affected by the disease because I know that I would find it extremely hard, if not impossible, to change my diet from what it is now in exchange for a regulated diabetes diet.

All of the foods listed in the article are dangerous to those who have diabetes because they can either increase the risk of diabetes complications or cause blood sugar spikes. The first food the article presents is candy. The harmful effects of candy are the same as those of cookies, syrup, and soda. All of these low-quality carbohydrates cause an increase in blood sugar levels. The articles proceeds to suggest that instead of eating candy, diabetics could eat fruit. However, they should avoid fruit juice. Fruit juice is full of fruit sugar, even 100% fruit juices. Dried fruits such as raisins are also harmful to diabetics because during the dehydration process the natural sugars in fruits become very concentrated. At this point in the article I was already able to develop a sense of how annoying it must be to decide which foods are a yes and which are a no.

Missing out on candy isn’t a big deal to you? Well, diabetics also have to watch the amount of carbs they intake. Therefore, all of the foods I basically live off of I would either have to not eat or learn to strictly regulate. These foods include pancakes, french fries, white bread, pastries, and etc. Not only are these foods harmful due to their amount of carbs, but fried foods such as fries, potato chips, and donuts are also harmful because of their starchy ingredients and in turn can cause cause blood glucose levels to shoot up. Refined starches act just as sugar when the body starts to digest them, therefore, anything containing white flour (pasta, rice, bread) should be avoided by those with diabetes.

The article lists a few more foods that diabetics should avoid, including bacon and milk. BACON AND MILK. So on top of diabetics not being able to regularly eat pancakes, they also can not eat or drink bacon or milk. Therefore, it would really suck to be a diabetic at breakfast.

Sources:

http://www.joybauer.com/photo-gallery/worst-foods-for-diabetes/whole-milk.aspx