Diabetes Diet - How Common Snack Foods Rank on the Glycemic Index

According to the government's food guide pyramid, we need to eat certain portions of different food groups every day in order to get all of our essential nutrients. With these essential nutrients, our bodies will function properly and we'll stay as healthy as possible. However, diabetics have special nutritional concerns that they need to tend to. Most importantly, diabetics need to be sure that they limit the number of sugars that they consume every day and with every meal.

Why do diabetics need to limit sugar consumption?

Diabetics need to limit their sugar consumption because their bodies do not metabolize sugars as effectively as they should. In most cases, diabetics take prescribed medications that are designed to make their insulin more sensitive or to make their bodies produce more insulin. In some cases, such as with type 1 diabetics, the body does not produce any insulin at all, so diabetics need to actually inject insulin in order to break down food.

Insulin is a chemical that is produced by the pancreas to break food down. Without insulin, the food that we consume would not be able to be turned into energy. Instead, the sugars would circulate in our blood stream as a toxin. Also, our bodies would not be able to metabolize foods to use the foods as energy, so foods would be stored as fat, in most cases.

While insulin is the chemical that helps to break foods down, insulin does take time to break all of our food down. Insulin works directly on the sugars. Therefore, foods that have a high quantity of sugars - even good sugars - take longer to metabolize with the insulin. Foods that rank high on the Glycemic index are foods that have a high level of carbohydrates. These are foods that diabetics should avoid.

One of the best ways for diabetics to regulate their blood sugar levels through diet is to be sure that they snack. Snacking helps diabetics to avoid high spikes in their blood sugar levels around mealtime, followed by low drops in the blood sugar levels between meals. Therefore, diabetics should feel comfortable snacking - but they should still avoid snacks with high Glycemic index rankings, such as the following.

Snacks with high Glycemic index rankings:

Ice cream (60)

Maltose (beer) (105)

Glucose (100)

Pretzels (80)

Refined sugar (candy) (75)

Popcorn (55)

Honey (in tea, for example) (75)

Snacks with moderate Glycemic index rankings:

Yogurt with fruit (35)

Peaches (40)

Apples (40)

Snacks with low Glycemic index rankings:

Plain yogurt (15)

Nuts (15-30)

Peanuts (15)

Dried apricots (30)

Cherries (25) (Sugar Busters p. 64-65)

Again, individuals with diabetes should strive to avoid those snacks with high Glycemic index rankings and opt, instead, for snacks with low Glycemic index rankings. Diabetics may also want to speak with their doctors if they are considering beginning a new diet, as their diets may affect their medication and exercise routines as well.

Sources:

­Sugar Busters­; by H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, M.D., Sam S. Andrews, M.D., and Luis A. Balart, M.D.; 1995

http://imtypefree.com/diabetes-diet-guidelines-and-the-Diabetes-food-pyramid.html