Can diabetics eat white sugar?

The diet of diabetics needs special attention. Generally, they cannot eat foods with a high glycemic index. White sugar is also relatively high in sugar. Therefore, in order to better treat and solve diabetes, you should pay attention to eating less high-sugar foods as much as possible.

1. Most people firmly believe that diabetics cannot eat sweet foods. In people's minds, white bread without sugar can be eaten by diabetics, but yogurt with sugar must not be eaten; sugar-free moon cakes can be eaten, but apples with sugar cannot be eaten. However, nutritional research in recent years suggests that there is no absolute relationship between whether a food is sweet and whether it quickly raises blood sugar. As long as they choose their foods carefully, people with diabetes can eat some sugary foods selectively.

2. After eating foods containing sugar and starch , the glucose level in the blood will increase. The main purpose of controlling diet for diabetics is to slow down the rate at which starch in food is hydrolyzed into glucose and absorbed into the blood by the small intestine as much as possible, so that blood sugar concentration does not fluctuate greatly and the fluctuations are as smooth as possible. The reason why diabetics dare not choose sweet foods is because they are worried that the sugar in them is too easy to digest and absorb, and will quickly increase blood sugar in the body.

3. However, many foods that quickly raise blood sugar levels are not sweet foods. For example, white bread has a stronger ability to raise blood sugar than honey, and white rice has a stronger ability to raise blood sugar than apples. Apples are rich in pectin, which can delay the absorption of sugar and thus will not cause an abnormal rise in blood sugar. Although steamed bread and puffed foods are not sweet, they are foods that quickly increase blood sugar.

4. In 2002, American nutritionists held a seminar on "Sugar and Health" in Washington. Experts believed that too much sugar would reduce the nutrient density of food and thus be detrimental to health, but it cannot be said that all sugary foods are harmful to health. Foods with large amounts of added sugar, such as sweetened drinks, may cause obesity and increase the risk of hyperlipidemia, but foods containing sugar, such as fruits, dried fruits, and yogurt, are still good for health. At the same time, everyone reacts differently to sugar in food. Those who lack exercise and obese people are most sensitive to eating sugar, while people who exercise regularly can eat sweets in moderation without becoming obese.

5. Many nutritionists point out that eating sugar is not the main cause of diabetes, and absolutely not eating sweet foods is not the key point of diet control for diabetics. As long as the dietary nutrition is well balanced, and as long as the food contains other ingredients that can delay the absorption of sugar, such as protein, dietary fiber, etc., diabetics can eat some sweet foods appropriately, even foods with artificial white sugar added. Relatively safe sweet foods include fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, dried apricots, cherries, citrus, grapefruit, papaya, as well as yogurt, low-sugar milk, low-sugar soy milk, etc. In addition, you can also eat a small amount of ice cream.