24 Problematic Foods to Avoid With Diabetes (Includes a Chart)

Diabetes mellitus gets its origin from the Greek language: diabetes means to pass through, while mellitus means sweet. This terminology dates back all the way to 250 B.C.

Now, 2,000 years later, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.

More than 37 million Americans have it (that’s around one in ten people), while another 96 million are living with prediabetes (1, 2).

Diabetes is a metabolic disease that’s characterized by elevated blood sugar, and eating certain foods (and drinks) can exacerbate it. This is why, in this article, we’ll cover the 24 different foods and drinks you should avoid when living with diabetes.

We won’t leave you hanging there…we’ll also give you a full list of foods that you can enjoy—guilt-free.

In order to eat in a way that manages diabetes, it all comes down to two things: the glycemic index and the glycemic load of food.

The glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) are ways of measuring how different types of food affect your blood sugar. The GI measures how fast a food will raise your blood sugar, while the GL measures how much of an effect a food has on your blood sugar over time.

Put simply, eating foods with a lower GI and GL help keep your blood sugar levels from spiking.

The ranges for GI and GL are the following:

Glycemic Index

• Low (Good) Glycemic Rating: 1 to 55
• Medium Glycemic Rating: 56 to 69
• High (Bad) Glycemic Rating: 70+

Glycemic Load

• Low (Good) Glycemic Load: 1 to 10
• Medium Glycemic Load: 11-19
• High (Bad) Glycemic Load: 20+

Here’s the most up-to-date list of the food and drinks to avoid with diabetes (3)…

Wondering about a particular food in general? Check out this handy resource.

• Soda: A single bottle of Coca-Cola (20 fl oz) has 65 grams of carbohydrates.

• Fruit Juice: One cup of orange juice contains 26 grams of carbohydrates (whereas an orange contains just 11 grams).
• Flavored Coffee Drinks: A grande vanilla latte (16 oz) from Starbucks has 37 grams of carbohydrates.

• The first ingredient in packaged snacks like saltine crackers, pretzels, and graham crackers is unbleached enriched flour. This is the first red flag that a food product should be avoided.
• Sugary drinks contain high levels of fructose, which research has linked to diabetes and insulin resistance (4, 5).
• Trans fats—found in margarine, frozen meals, creamer, crackers, muffins, peanut butter, and more—have been linked to decreased artery function, insulin resistance, belly fat, inflammation, and decreased levels of “good” cholesterol (6, 7, 8). Having diabetes already makes you twice as likely to experience heart disease or stroke, so the additional heart health risk caused by trans fats is extra dangerous (9).

Fortunately, there are all kinds of delicious and healthy foods that can help manage your blood sugar (10).

Here’s a list of real, whole foods to enjoy…

• Salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, and trout
• Beans
• Chia seeds
• Probiotic yogurt
• Leafy green vegetables (non-starchy vegetables like lettuce, kale, spinach, broccoli, collard greens, cabbage, and cauliflower)
• Certain nuts (walnuts, pistachios, almonds, and peanuts)
• Low-sugar fruits (citrus, berries, and an occasional banana)

And try these healthier swaps for beverages you may love:

• Instead of soda, drink a Zevia.
• Instead of drinking fruit juice, eat fruit.
• Instead of a vanilla latte, add a scoop of NativePath French Vanilla Creamer to your morning coffee.

A Note About Bananas

Since bananas are high in simple carbs that can raise your blood sugar, many people with type 2 diabetes feel conflicted about whether or not they should eat them (11). If you’re wondering how much sugar is in a banana, it often depends on its size. Eating a smaller or medium-sized banana, especially one that is slightly underripe or not yet overripe, can help curb the level of carbs you consume while still reaping the benefits of bananas’ antioxidants, potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, and vitamin C (12).

If you are on a strict low-carb diet, you may need to steer clear of bananas. But for most people with type 2 diabetes, bananas are okay in moderation. If you have concerns, check with your doctor before adding them to your diet.

It may seem like diabetes comes with a very restrictive diet, but if you think about it, you can still eat most of the whole foods out there! The main foods you’d want to cut out would be the highly processed, high-carb foods that weren’t even considered “food” until 100 years ago (think: soda, packaged snacks, and white bread). These are the foods that easily spike your blood sugar.

When in doubt about whether you should or shouldn’t eat a certain food, reference this guide. We recommend bookmarking it so that it’s readily available.