Foods with Hidden Dangers for Diabetics

It can be difficult for newly diagnosed diabetics to figure out what foods they can and can't eat. Sometimes the choices seem easy, such as lean chicken breasts and fresh carrots. But as they try to achieve more variety in their diet, they may stumble into traps, foods that seem like easy choices but actually have hidden dangers for diabetics.

For instance, a lettuce salad seems like a good choice, and it certainly can be. However, the type of dressing (and amount) added can turn a healthy meal or side dish into a piece of candy. Sweet, tomato-based dressings such as French, Russian and Western typically contain around 11 grams of sugar per serving. Ranch dressing, on the other hand, has just 1 gram. Granted, this exchanges grams of sugar for grams of fat, but the fat can be the only fat taken in on that day. It's ok to have the entire day's serving of fat in one meal, but the 10 extra grams of sugar per serving are dangerous.

The best choice for a diabetic is a salad with lots of greens and other vegetables, such as fresh spinach, red or yellow peppers, celery, carrots, radishes, and other such foods. The variety of flavors helps make it more appealing to the palate. For dressing, one of the best choices is a Balsamic Vinaigrette, typically weighing in at only 2 grams of sugar per serving with very little fat. No hidden dangers lurk here.

As for candy and other sweet foods, some diabetics feel that sugar-free candy and cookies and so on can be eaten as desired with no repercussions. The danger in this way of thinking is two-fold. First, even sugar-free candies sometimes have calories, and certainly other goodies like puddings and cakes do. They also may contain other carbohydrates such as the bleached flour one might find in a bread product, such as sugar-free angel food cake. These kinds of carbs can be just as dangerous to diabetics and so should be eaten in moderation.

The other hidden danger of sugar-free products is the effect the sugar substitute may have on the body. Many people feel ill effects such as headaches and stomach complaints. Again, limited servings of such foods tend to reduce these problems.

Before long, dining out sounds good, and again the food choice may seem clear for the diabetic. Chinese food is full of vegetables and meat; if one avoids the rice and noodles, the carb count should remain low. But there are two ingredients in much Oriental food that may pose a hidden danger for diabetics. The first is MSG. While it is used less and less often these days and is supposed to be posted when it is included, patrons can't be guaranteed that they know if they are ingesting it. MSG acts like any other high carbohydrate and spikes the blood sugar. Even if the meal doesn't have MSG, the dishes may be loaded with sugar. Some are more obvious than others-sweet and sour sauce and orange glazes have just as much sugar as it sounds like they do. But other sauces may, as well, including dark, soy sauce based choices.

But Chinese food doesn't have to be off the menu for diabetics. Patrons should ask the server for low-carb, low-sugar choices. Extra soy sauce can usually be added if the flavor seems to be lacking since it typically contains less than 1 gram of sugar per serving.

Diabetics should remember that while such hidden dangers exist in foods, they are not insurmountable. Careful monitoring of glucose levels should alert diabetics when they have consumed something that negatively affects them, bringing those hidden dangers out to the light. Usually, then, a way can be found to avoid them and still have satisfying food.