7 Worst Foods You Can Eat for Diabetes (+ Healthy Alternatives)

As one of the most common illnesses in the U.S., diabetes has been studied extensively during the past few years. Aside from taking the right treatment recommended by your specialist and staying active, your diet can literally change your life as a diabetic.

Gerald Bernstein, M.D., director of the diabetes management program at Friedman Diabetes Institute in New York, the most important thing about your diet is keeping blood sugar within normal limits. That’s exactly why those delicious desserts like cake and sodas are on the no-no list.

However, it’s not just the sweets that make a difference. Turns out, every type of carb matters and unhealthy fats can also increase your risk for heart disease (since diabetics are at high risk for cardiovascular problems).

Whether you want to prevent diabetes or you already have it and you want to avoid any long-term complications, our list of 7 bad foods for diabetes (and their healthier alternatives) is a great place to start.

Ready? Let’s have a look:

#1: White rice

A study taken on 350,000 participants showed that eating white rice on a daily basis increases the risk for developing type 2 diabetes. In fact, any food that is highly processed, fried or cooked with white flour should best be avoided.

Unfortunately, the same goes for white pasta, which is made from highly processed flour as it can increase blood sugar levels in a similar way to sugar. If you’re a pasta enthusiast like me, you can just pick a healthy option as I suggest in my post, ‘What happens in your body when you eat pasta?’.

Captain’s Tip: Did you know that brown rice contains four times more protein than white rice? Much like black rice, this option is very healthy and nutrient-dense; plus, you can cook it just as you’d cook white rice so you won’t feel much of a difference.