Indulging Your Sweet Tooth
By medical definition, diabetes means that your body is having difficulty maintaining normal sugar levels in the bloodstream. Carbohydrates will be broken down into sugars after you eat them, but how rapidly your blood sugar levels shoot up after eating depends on the type of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates with a high “glycemic index” raise blood sugars quickly, so you should avoid these foods, many of which are the foods we typically think of as “sweets”— cakes, cookies, candy bars, and ice-cream treats. Eating these foods regularly or in large portions defeats the whole purpose of treating your diabetes. If you aren’t familiar with the concept of using the glycemic index to guide your carbohydrate choices, ask your dietician or doctor for more information.