7 Popular Foods That Can Quickly Lead to Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease resulting from the blood sugar/glucose levels being too high. While diabetes is not caused by the foods we eat, foods can greatly impact the condition and trigger symptoms. The hormone insulin helps transport glucose to our cells for them to get energy. There are two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. With both types of diabetes, the body is either unable to make insulin (type 1), or cannot utilize it well (type 2).
Without insulin, glucose remains in the blood. Symptoms of diabetes may include urinating often, sores that take longer to heal, weight loss with minimal effort, constant fatigue, and blurry vision. While the following foods won’t outright cause diabetes, they may contribute to diabetes development:
1. Chips and cheetos
Chips and Cheetos are well known and loved for their salty deliciousness, but these foods might not be the best choice if you are diabetic. These snacks lead to LDL, otherwise called bad cholesterol, which increases your risk of strokes or heart attacks. More importantly, they make your diabetes more difficult to control as they are packed with starch in higher quantities than most foods. Consuming a lot of starch means more glucose your body can’t use.
2. Cheese burgers and fast food
Cheese burgers and other fast foods contain large amounts of trans and saturated fats, increasing the levels of a type of fat present in the blood. High levels of this fat increase can cause type 2 diabetes. Additionally, these highly processed foods are broken down relatively quickly in the body, which may lead to extremely high blood sugar levels.
3. Oreos and processed sweets
Oreos and processed sweets have considerable amounts of sugar. There is an evident connection between sugar intake and increased chances of diabetes. Not only can all this sugar cause obesity, but obesity puts you at tremendous risk for diabetes. Loving sweets and having them often could cause your body to develop insulin resistance. This will cause an increase in blood sugar levels and put you at greater risk.
4. Pizza
Processed and junk foods are directly linked to a rise in blood sugar levels. Pizza, for example, can be detrimental for diabetics. It is high in calories, salt, and processed foods, such as flour and cheese. Doing so can make the condition harder to control, leading to additional health risks.
5. White bread
These and starchy foods have been directly linked to diabetes. Consuming a considerable amount of white bread may cause weight gain and this weight can put you at extreme risk for diabetes. Having a lot of this type of bread could also cause insulin resistance, as was mentioned before.
6. Soda
Soda and other sweetened beverages, too, have strong ties with the disease. For diabetics in particular, it can lower your ability to properly manage your sugar levels. You are also at increased risk of contraction if you have one or more of this beverage daily. Like many foods on the list, increased soda intake leads to insulin resistance.
7. Sweet coffee flavored beverages
Remember, as someone with diabetes, sugar is not your friend. While coffee has been related to a decreased risk of diabetes, it is necessary to avoid some coffee varieties. Sweet coffee flavored beverages are on that list. Sweetening coffee leads to more sugar and calories, which is not a good combination for diabetes. That also goes for fancier coffee beverages such as mochachinos, lattes, and frappuccinos with a lot of added sugar.