If you have prediabetes, these foods may be the worst choices for you

What is prediabetes?

Prediabetes is a state before diabetes develops, usually accompanied by impaired fasting blood sugar and impaired glucose tolerance. Under normal circumstances, our fasting blood sugar is <6.1mmol/L, and even if we take 75g of glucose orally, our blood sugar is <7.8mmol/L 2 hours later.

However, for people with impaired fasting blood sugar, their fasting blood sugar is usually between 6.1 and 7.0 mmol/L, and after oral glucose intake, their blood sugar is less than 7.8 mmol/L.

People with impaired glucose tolerance have fasting blood sugar levels less than 7.0 mmol/L, but after taking oral glucose, their blood sugar levels are between 7.8 and 11 mmol/L.

Both of these conditions indicate that the insulin function in the body has been affected to some extent, and we are getting closer and closer to diabetes. Therefore, if you have one of these two conditions, you should start to prevent the occurrence of diabetes. If you allow it to develop, the risk of diabetes will be higher.

Diabetes prevention is multi-faceted. For those of us who have not yet developed diabetes, health education is one of the most important links. There are many aspects to this, including a healthy diet, weight control, moderate exercise, salt restriction, smoking cessation, alcohol restriction, a healthy lifestyle with psychological balance, and raising the overall awareness of diabetes prevention and treatment among the community. However, it is too complicated to talk about it all at once.

Refined carbohydrate foods may need to be changed

It is challenging to tailor food choices to suit our health for different populations, but if our goal is to prevent diabetes, targeting refined carbohydrates may be enough.

Refined carbohydrates are foods that have added sugar, many sweeteners, and white flour. These foods are usually ultra-processed products. Simply put, these foods are completely or mostly stripped of the fiber, vitamins, and even minerals that should be in the food during the processing process.

Therefore, highly processed foods have many disadvantages for people with prediabetes.

Disadvantage 1: Refined carbohydrates cause large fluctuations in blood sugar

White bread, biscuits, cakes and pies are all processed carbohydrate foods. The only advantage of these foods is that they are high in carbohydrates, which can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar in a short period of time. For patients with prediabetes, the greater the fluctuation in the rate of blood sugar rise, the more difficult it is to challenge insulin function. The higher the risk of developing diabetes in the future.

Disadvantage 2: Refined carbohydrates lack nutritional balance.

Refined carbohydrate products usually lack protein, vitamins and minerals, which are important nutrients that help regulate hunger and appetite. In particular, protein, healthy fats and dietary fiber play an important role in slowing down digestion and maintaining a sense of fullness. If our diet is not properly matched and the proportion of carbohydrate intake is large, there will inevitably be a transient intake of large amounts of carbohydrate products, but still not be able to achieve a sense of fullness. The sense of fullness that comes from the accumulation of carbohydrates usually means an excess of total energy, which will lead to a surge in blood sugar in the later stage.

Be mindful of your intake of refined carbohydrates

For people with prediabetes, they can pay more attention to the selection of original carbohydrate ingredients in their daily life. In general, ingredients rich in dietary fiber and with a low glycemic index are our first choice. For example, common beans, vegetables, and fruits. However, for foods that have empty calories, lack dietary effects, and have a high glycemic index, it is best to control the amount, such as common white rice, white flour, white sugar, and processed rice noodles, noodles, biscuits, desserts, etc.

Because these refined carbohydrates are low in fiber and nutrition, they have a poor sense of fullness and are easy to be consumed in excess, causing a delayed peak in energy. In the long run, this vicious cycle can easily induce obesity, increase the risk of the three highs, and increase the risk of diabetes.

This combination is not only nutritious but also healthier

Convert your refined carbohydrate products into high-fiber, complex carbohydrates. For example, whole grains, beans and other starchy vegetables are combined with each other. This is not only more nutritious and richer, but also has a strong sense of satiety, has little effect on blood sugar fluctuations, and is more friendly to the pancreatic function of people with prediabetes. Reduce the risk of diabetes progression.

After reading this, I believe everyone may have a certain understanding of refined carbohydrate products. Therefore, I hope everyone can reduce the intake of refined carbohydrates in their daily diet, and at the same time, they can match their favorite carbohydrate style to make it more nutritious and healthier.