High Fat Food For Diabetics and the Affect on Blood Sugar

High Fat Food For Diabetics and the Affect on Blood Sugar

When it comes to food consumption, all meals should use fat in moderation. It is true we all need some fats in our diets to live a healthy life, and fats are included and added to foods, as it is often through fats that we get the flavors of many foods. However too much fat, and the wrong fat can lead to obesity and other health issues such as cardiovascular disease. When it comes to food for diabetics however, controlling fat intake is more important, as often most type 2 diabetics will already be obese (from a BMI perspective) and not controlling fat intake will only exacerbate the problem. There are however a wide variety of fats, that are often defined as either; healthy, non-healthy, saturated, non-saturated, or trans-fat.

When you eat high fat foods (like a cheeseburger), your immediate blood glucose reading may be relatively normal. But, because fat acts much like protein, it slows down the digestion of the carbohydrates, and hence you may notice a higher than normal blood sugar range many hours later. It is difficult to plan for such a blood sugar spike because it can be quite delayed compared to many other foods that are eaten that raise blood sugar.

The best food for diabetics for a type 2 diabetic is to wherever possible avoid foods with high saturated animal fats, and instead choose the more natural, healthy, unsaturated fats and oils. Also ensure you read the food labels of food you look to eat carefully as usually the different fats are listed on most food labels. Wherever possible attempt to keep fatty choices to a level of less than 10% of fat, as this will prevent excessive fat intake, and also help to keep you within normal blood sugar range.

Extra body weight that you carry around is making your body work harder than it needs to, and has a negative impact on your body's systems and it will also affect how your body uses and needs insulin.

When deciding on the best food for diabetics, try and select those that have healthy fat choices like;

* Avocado - oil or the fruit itself

* Sesame, olive, or canola oil

* Black or green olives

* Peanuts and peanut butter (this also doubles as a protein)

* Sesame seeds

* Walnuts

* Pumpkin and sunflower seeds

And avoid wherever possible fats that come from;

* Butter or margarine

* Animal fats

* Any solid (at room temperature) frying fats

* Salad dressings

* Mayonnaise

If you have any concerns about your choices of food for diabetics, or your diet in relation to the fats you are eating, either the type or the quantity, you should talk to your dietitian for more information.