Diabetes: What Foods to Avoid

By: Bahara Noorzai and Igor Klibanov

You are a diabetic. You’re concerned about the negative consequences of diabetes, such as heart attacks, strokes, vision loss, and so on. You don’t want to live with that. There is so much conflicting information on diabetes and you want to know what works and what doesn’t. So in this article, we are going to be busting a few of those myths. 

And of course, we will offer you the information you came here for—namely, a list of foods to avoid if you are a diabetic (fortunately, it’s not a long list…lucky you). 

But before we get into this article, what qualifies me to talk about this? 

My name is Igor Klibanov. 

Hi. 🙂

I am the author of the Amazon bestseller, Type 2 Diabetes Reversal Secrets. Additionally, I am a personal trainer who specializes in helping diabetics reverse their diabetes.

You’ve probably read a bunch of articles recommending foods you should avoid. You are in the right place because in this article, I will let you know which ones are simply just a myth.

Myth 1: Avoid Sweetened Breakfast Cereals

The 4 nutritional factors that influence blood sugar the most are (from most impactful to least impactful):

● Total calories 

● Total fiber 

● Carbohydrate content 

● Glycemic load (not to be confused with the glycemic index)

Glycemic load is the extent to which any given food raises the blood sugar (glycemic index, by contrast, is a measurement of the speed of the increase of blood sugar – not the extent. A food can cause blood sugar to rise quickly, but a low amount. For instance, carrots). An example is if blood sugar is 5.0 mmol/l, glycemic load might increase the blood sugar to 5.6 or higher. But it does not tell you the amount of time that it takes to go from 5.0 to 5.6 (because the speed is much less important than the amount).

They say to avoid sweetened breakfast cereals, but as long as total calories and total fiber are good, it matters very little what is made up of the rest. Let’s hypothetically say you need 2000 calories a day. Your fiber makes up about 200; which means you have around 1800 calories left. Out of that 1800, you use around 400 in protein which takes you down to 1400. That remaining 1400, you can use to eat whatever you want. 

One study found that sugar in and of itself does not cause diabetes. In another study, they gave one group of participants 10% of their calories as sugar and to another group, they didn’t. But both groups consumed the same number of calories, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. At the end of the study, there was no difference in blood sugar between the two groups.

Therefore, sweetened breakfast cereals are fine as long as they are high in fiber. Bonus points if they are high in protein. What exactly does it mean to be high in fiber? My general rule is at least 2 grams of fiber for every 10 grams of carbs.

Sugar is NOT the problem. Too many calories and too little fiber is the problem. 

You must be curious about fiber now – let’s answer those questions. 

So what should the fiber content be? For diabetics, fiber content in general should be a minimum of 17 grams of fiber per 1000 calories.

You might wonder, what about sweetened breakfast cereals that are low in fiber? Well in that case, you can make low fiber cereals high in fiber by adding your own fiber. You can add foods like flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and so on, as they happen to be really great ways to add fiber to otherwise low fiber cereals. 

Before you run and make yourself a bowl of your favourite sweetened breakfast cereal, let me make it clear. Sweetened breakfast cereals are not a health food. However, they will not make diabetes worse as long as (once again) total calories and total fiber are on track. 

By the way, what should be the target range for diabetics? Ideally, HbA1C is in the 5.1-5.4% range. This is the range associated with the lowest all-cause mortality.

Myth 2: Avoid Dried Fruit

This myth comes from an incomplete understanding of sugar. Dried fruits are sweet, so therefore, they are high in sugar. That’s correct. But where they go wrong is that they don’t distinguish between the different types of sugar. 

There are 3 types of sugar:

1. Glucose.

– Causes blood sugar to rise the most and the fastest.

2. Fructose (found is fruits).

– Raises blood sugar a little bit.

– Majority of fruits are high in fructose, low in glucose.

– In lots of studies, fructose does not raise blood sugar to the same extent or same speed as glucose, which is why dried fruits are not just fine, but beneficial.

3. Galactose (found in milk, from the word lactose).

Because they’re dehydrated, dried fruits are super high in fiber. Because they have a lower water content than high-water fruits (like watermelon, plums, or peaches). 

Myth 3: Red Meat Causes Diabetes

This is false! Yes, red meat is associated with diabetes but like the saying goes, “correlation isn’t causation.” In other words, just because red meat is associated with diabetes, does not mean red meat is the cause of diabetes. 

Let me give you an example. Ice cream sales are associated with drowning. Does that mean ice cream causes drowning? No, it doesn’t!

There is another association. Swimming is associated with warm temperatures. If it’s 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) outside, you will most likely want to go swimming. If it is 5 degrees Celsius outside (41 degrees Fahrenheit), you would not want to go swimming. So when people swim more, people drown more.  

Same thing goes for red meat. Red meat is associated with diabetes but that doesn’t mean that it causes diabetes. 

Red meat is not the problem…charred red meat is the problem. In fact, charred red meat has been proven to be carcinogenic. So avoid it.

Myth 4: You Need to Lose Weight to Improve Your Diabetes

Not true! However, that is not to say to walk out of your gym if you have weight to lose. In fact, you should lose it but there are ways you can keep your blood sugar low and improve your diabetes without losing weight. 

Studies show that the blood sugar is lowered without weight loss. Some people take a supplement, some others exercise, and some individuals add fiber. And even without any change in weight, diabetes can still be reversed. Lots of studies that test different supplements, different dietary guidelines, or different physical activities find a drop in blood sugar without seeing a drop in weight.

Don’t get me wrong – weight gain into the obesity range isn’t good, but blood sugar can certainly be lowered without weight loss.

The Truth About Carbs

Right now, there are a lot of discussions about diabetes and most are all about carbohydrates. However, carbs are only the third most important variable. The most important variable is total calories. The second most important variable is total fiber. 

It might come to you as a shock but people improve their blood sugar control on both high carb diets and low carb diets; they just improve more on low carb diets. Many wonder why there are still improvements with high carb diets. Because people do not distinguish between high fiber carbs (such as, beans, lentils, peas, etc) and low fiber carbs (such as, white bread, potatoes, rice – including brown rice, etc). High fiber carbs are way more beneficial for your blood sugar compared to low fiber carbs. They are both carbohydrates but one contains a lot more fiber than the other. 

Now let me get into the main reason that you came to this article. So far, I have mentioned to you what you do not need to avoid (such as sweetened breakfast cereals, dried fruits, and red meat). So what should you avoid? 

Avoid: Any Foods That Are Addictive

Addictive foods are the ones that make you want to eat beyond the point of fullness.

Let me give you an example. For me, I love, love, love chocolate. If I know there is chocolate at home, I will eat it without a doubt, even when I am not hungry. Personally, chocolate is a trigger food for me, so I just don’t keep it at home, as I am aware of the 0 self control I have when it’s around.

What’s your trigger food? Chips? Ice cream? Chocolate? If you know you have trigger foods of your own – meaning foods you eat not for hunger, but for pleasure. Try to avoid them. It is not about the calories or the sugar in that specific trigger food of yours but more so the effects it has on total calories.

Avoid Sweetened Beverages

Examples: 

• Pop
• Fruit juice
• Alcohol 

They all have lots of sugar, no fiber at all, and they are not all that filling. They do add to your calories by a lot. However, to your fiber – not at all. Therefore, they raise your blood sugar quite significantly. I’m not going to outright tell you not to drink alcohol, pop or fruit juice, but try to keep it to as little as possible.

Minimize Foods that are Partially Hydrogenated

Like commercially baked goods (cakes, cookies, pies), microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, etc.

They don’t have as much nutritional value as fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts, seeds, dairy and whole grains. The nutritional value is really in a food’s fiber and protein content. These foods have very little of either.

How To Create a Healthy Eating Plan

I know there is a lot of information to follow, so let me attempt to help you out a little. 

Step 1. Calculate the number of calories you need per day.

• Multiply your desired body weight in pounds by 15.

Let’s say you weigh 200 pounds but you want to weigh 190 pounds. You will multiply 190 by 15. 

• If your desired body weight is more than 10 lbs away from your current body weight, multiply a weight that is 10 pounds below that by 15. 

Let’s say you weigh 200 pounds but you want to weigh 150 pounds. Multiply 190 by 15. Once you reach 190; multiply 180 by 15 and so on. 

Step 2. Factor In Your Fiber Requirements

• Diabetics need between 35-50 grams of fiber per day.

• If you’re under 150 lbs., get 35 grams of fiber
• If you’re 150-200 lbs., get 40 grams of fiber
• If you’re 200-250 lbs., get 45 grams of fiber
• If you’re over 250 lbs., get 50 grams of fiber

How does that help us with calories? You subtract that from your total calories. 

• 1 gram of fiber has 4 calories

– Which means that if somebody is getting 50 grams of fiber; that means they are getting 200 calories. 

There is not one single food that is 100% fiber. At best, most high fiber foods will be between 20-25% fiber.

Let’s say you are eating beans. 

• Really high in fiber
• Not 100% fiber

If you are eating 100 grams of beans, that’s about 400 calories. So you subtract 400 from the number of calories you need per day. That is what you have remaining. 

Step 3: Factor In Your Protein Requirements.

One gram of protein is 4 calories.

What I consider as our “grade A” protein: 

• Meat 
• Fish (as a bonus, fatty fish have omega 3 fatty acids)
• Seafood
• Egg whites
• Low-fat dairy 

What makes these “Grade A” protein? They all have over 30 grams of protein per serving.

What I consider as our “Grade B” protein: 

• Beans 
• Lentils
• Greek yogurt (12-14 grams of protein)
• Peanut butter

These all contain 10-15 grams of protein per serving.

If you’re wondering “what about”, like “what about” cheese, milk, eggs, nuts, and why they aren’t on this list, it’s because they all have less than 10 grams per serving. If you want to delve into this in more detail, check out my article on the best protein sources.

You must make it a priority to first add protein to your plate before anything else. The key is more protein. 

Step 4: Factor in The Foods You Love with the Remaining Calories.

Let’s say in step 1 (calculate the number of calories you need per day), you calculated you can eat 2000 calories a day. 

In step 2, you factored in the fiber. Let’s say 400 calories minus 2000, you are left with 1600 calories. 

In step 3, you factored in protein requirements. Let’s say that is 150 grams per day. 150 grams of protein is 600 calories because 1 gram of protein is 4 calories.

And finally for the fun part. In step 4, you can eat whatever you would like with the remaining calories you have left. 

That line got you a bit excited, didn’t it? You want chocolate cake? Go ahead. I will say it might not be as filling and you will have maybe only one meal remaining instead of the regular 3 meals; because of the amount of calories chocolate cake has but you will enjoy it. 

You can even have those sweetened breakfast cereals all those articles are telling you to avoid. It’s your call. As long as you stay within the caloric limits you calculated in step 4. 

I hope this cleared up a lot of the misconceptions about what foods diabetics should and shouldn’t avoid. 

Being a diabetic does not have to limit you as much as lots of articles and books make it seem. You don’t have to stop having the things you love, but just be a little more on top of things such as your calories, fiber, protein, carbs, etc. Stick to this diligently, and you’ll be able to reverse your diabetes.