If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, living a healthy lifestyle is often the first step in the treatment of blood sugar levels. This means eating healthier, exercising a lot, losing weight if necessary and ensuring sufficient sleep and relaxation. But what is the best food to eat if you have diabetes? 

White or brown rice? 

One of the recommendations is to avoid products with a lot of starch or sugars. So no white bread, no white rice and no white pasta, but the whole grain version with more fiber and slower carbohydrates. This would cause the sugar level to rise less quickly. According to the theory, yes. But in practice we see that some Clear.bio users with diabetes do not get a spike at all after e.g. eating white rice. This – of course – also depends on the total quantity and what is eaten with it, but as long as it does not give a spike, this is fine! Is white rice the healthiest choice? Not necessarily, because it hardly contains any fiber and less nutrients than brown rice. But it is not ‘forbidden’ because it would raise your sugar level. Therefore, mainly choose whole grains and, as an exception, the white options.

Fruit juice or fruit? 

Fruit juice is another product that is strongly discouraged in diabetes. Understandable, because you easily drink 4 oranges – and therefore also the fruit sugars of 4 oranges – while you would only eat 1 fruit piece. Here too, practice sometimes shows unexpected results. For some people, sugar levels rise significantly after drinking a glass of fruit juice, and for others it just stays within their target range. Although it also depends on the quantity and what you eat with it, it seems not to be so ‘black and white’ and ‘forbidden’ in diabetes. Can you then replace fruit with fruit juice from now on? No, because here too you miss important nutrients and fiber that you do get when you eat fruit. And after a glass of juice you will also be less full than after eating fruit. You might eat more together with the juice or feel hungry again quickly and then eat more. This – of course – will cause a rise in your sugar level after all. But every now and then a glass of juice should be possible if your sugar level allows it.

Never an ice cream again? 

And what about chocolate, cookies, candy and ice cream? You may have guessed it. One reacts very strongly to this and the other does not. Are these nutrious and healthy choices? No, not at all! Your body does not need these highly processed and sugary products to function properly. They do not satiate, so you can easily continue eating and they are also poor in nutrients. Can you never eat them again if you have diabetes? Theoretically no, but if your sugar level remains within your target range after eating that sugar-rich ice cream, then please enjoy it! Just don’t eat two, because then your sugar level will probably spike.

In other words, there are dietary guidelines for diabetes that absolutely contribute to a healthy lifestyle and improve your sugar level. Mainly try to follow them. And then check with Clear.bio whether you can have an ice cream as an exception. That definitely would be nice during a hot summer like this one!