Posts Tagged ‘weight gain’
Foods That Raise Blood Sugar
It’s no secret that foods that raise blood sugar are the whites: sugar, white bread, white rice, etc. In fact, you’re pretty much safer staying away from anything white (cauliflower being an exception to the white rule).
But there are other foods that can raise blood sugar that aren’t white, and that may be good for you. These can include sweet fruits like pineapple and potatoes (although potato skins are OK). Raisins and many dried fruits also fall into that category. Corn and peas are two other foods that can raise blood sugar more quickly than other healthy foods.
You need to be careful about yogurt. If it’s low-fat or fat-free, there might be a great deal of sugar in that container. Fruit on the bottom also has sugar, generally in a syrup. Yes, yogurt can be healthy, but plain is best as far as sugar goes. Otherwise…read labels carefully.
Foods That Raise Blood Sugar to Stay Away From
In addition to “the whites” as listed in the opening paragraph, what other foods fall into this category?
As expected, items like cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream show up in this category. But also are chips and pretzels. The chips and pretzels contain white flour or corn (both can raise the bloods’s sugar).
Fruit juice can be counted among the foods that raise blood sugar — and quickly! Part of it is that most fruit juices for sale include HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) that can send blood sugar skyrocketing. Otherwise, juice tends not to have any pulp, present in fresh fruit — and the pulp (fiber) helps slow the release of sugar into the blood. If you must have fruit juice, make it freshly squeezed.
Know Your Body
Some people are sensitive to wheat, even whole wheat, rye, pumpernickle, etc. If that’s you, stay away from these as much as possible.
Others are sensitive to most fruits, due to the high fructose concentration. If you’re ultra sensitive to fruit, eat extra veggies instead.
High blood sugar isn’t anything to laugh about, even if it’s not officially up to diabetic levels. It can damage your body, not to mention help you gain weight (or have trouble keeping it off). Hmmm, sounds like I’ll be needing a post on the damage high blood sugar can cause the body.
But for now, be mindful of what you eat. It’s perhaps unreasonable for most people to cut out high sugar foods in the cold turkey method. But you can start gradually reducing and then eliminating the foods that raise blood sugar from your diet.
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