Diabetics Beware
Having diabetes doesn’t mean you can never enjoy dessert again, but it does mean that you have to be more mindful and acknowledge that some sweet treats make blood sugar management considerably more difficult. Foods that combine large amounts of added sugar with refined carbohydrates tend to raise blood glucose quickly, while many desserts also provide relatively little fiber or protein to slow digestion. Here are 20 sweet treats you should try to avoid as much as possible if you're diabetic.
1. Glazed Donuts
It might be your favorite breakfast treat to pair with a cup of coffee, but if you have diabetes or are trying to be careful about your sugar intake, you've got to start turning glazed donuts away. They might be small in size, but each bite packs so much refined flour, added sugar, and fat that doing without is clearly the right choice.
2. Frosted Cupcakes
Cupcakes already deliver so much sweetness on their own, but once you add on that thick layer of frosting which is quite literally just sugar, the entire treat is just bad news for your sugar management. It doesn't help that most cupcakes are traditionally made with refined flour, and toppings can include fillings, sprinkles, or candy toppings outside of just frosting.
3. Gummy Candy
Candy can be hard to resist if you have a sweet tooth and love the different textures, but everything from gummy bears to fruit chews are all built around sugar and syrups that offer no nutritional value. Their small size can be misleading too, with just a few bites absolutely destroying your sugar levels.
4. Milk Chocolate Bars
Speaking of candy, chocolate bars are another big culprit that can ruin your sugar management. We know that chocolate craving can hit pretty hard sometimes, but opting for a small piece of dark chocolate is far better than downing several bars that are sugary and contain other unhealthy add-ins.
5. Caramel Apples
Apples on their own are a healthy snack that can easily fit into a diabetes-friendly eating plan, but once it's covered in a thick shell of caramel, that completely changes the situation. All that concentrated added sugar counters the health benefits of the apple, and that's before even factoring in if its rolled in chocolate, cookie crumbs, or candy pieces too!
6. Regular Ice Cream Sundaes
Unfortunately, even the most traditional of ice cream sundaes can become carbohydrate and sugar-heavy when you combine sweetened ice cream with chocolate syrup, caramel, whipped cream, cookie pieces, and a cherry on top. Not to mention, if you're eating it at a shop, portion sizes are likely to be out of control.
7. Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls might be eaten as a breakfast meal, but that doesn't mean they're healthy or filling by any means. Made from refined sugar and flour, the sweet cinnamon mixture and the icing or glaze only tack on even more reasons why it's not a friendly diabetes treat. It's not something you should have if you want to start your morning off on the right foot.
8. Cheesecake With Sugary Toppings
Cheesecake might taste more rich and full compared to most overly sweet desserts, but that doesn't mean it's not made without plenty of added sugar still. The cake itself isn't very healthy already, but when you top it with fruit syrups, caramel, or chocolate sauce, the dessert becomes something your body certainly won't appreciate.
9. Frosted Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies might be a popular holiday treat, but these start with refined flour and sugar before the frosting and sprinkles even enter the picture. With sugar literally in its name, it only makes sense that it's dangerous for those with diabetes. They're easy to snack on, but that's exactly why you should stay away from them.
10. Fudge
Given that fudge is literally a dense and smooth sweet treat made of sugar, you definitely want to avoid it as much as you can if you have diabetes or are watching your sugar intake. A small square, or really even just a bite, contains a notable amount of sugar that might make your skin crawl if you knew how much.
11. Sweetened Frozen Yogurt
The word "yogurt" can make frozen yogurt sound automatically healthier or at least more suitable for a diabetes-friendly diet, but that's not always the case. Many varieties contain added sugar, and once candy, syrups, cookie crumbs, and sweetened fruit toppings are added to the picture, the final bowl is really just your typical sugar-laden dessert.
12. Fruit Pie
Just because you see the word "fruit" in the name doesn't mean it's healthy. Fruit pies might offer more nutrition than other desserts, but because they include much more than just fruit, it really just cancels out. Sweetened fillings contain substantial amounts of added sugar, and that's before factoring in the crust full of refined carbs and fat and toppings like ice cream or whipped cream.
13. Chocolate Brownies
It's hard not to crave brownies when you have an intense chocolate craving, but this dense dessert is loaded with refined flour, sugar, and chocolate in a way that's too easy to overeat if you're watching your sugar levels. Most brownies come loaded with unhealthy add-ins too, making this treat one of diabete's worst enemies.
14. Sweetened Pudding Cups
Packaged pudding is convenient, smooth, and portioned neatly, but they also pack a fair amount of added sugar. A small container may not be especially filling either, especially when it provides little fiber. That means you can finish dessert and still find yourself looking for another snack soon afterward.
15. Candy-Coated Popcorn
Plain, air-popped popcorn can be a healthy snack that provides whole grains and fiber, but drenching it in caramel, chocolate, or sugary coatings creates an entirely different beast. The coatings add concentrated sugar while dangerously preserving the light, easy-to-eat texture that encourages large handfuls.
16. Sweet Bakery Muffins
Muffins often get mistaken for being more healthy than cupcakes, but the truth is, they're really closer to cakes than a healthy bread! Looking at their ingredients, these baked goodies are still made with refined flour, added sugar, and toppings like chocolate chips, streusel, or sugary glazes, which can all contribute significant carbohydrates that are bad for diabetics.
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17. Sweetened Milkshakes
We already mentioned how sugary ice cream can be, but turning it into a more easy-to-eat format just makes it plain dangerous. Not to mention, milkshakes mix in flavored syrups, sweetened whipped cream, candy or cookie pieces, and more, turning the whole thing into a sugar bomb that's bound to be bad for your health.
18. Packaged Snack Cakes
Individually wrapped snack cakes are designed for convenience, but their nutrition profile often includes refined flour and plenty of added sugar on top of fillings, icing, chocolate coatings, and sugary decorations. We know Twinkies might be an American classic, but for the sake of your health, it's better to just not buy them.
19. Fruit Gummies and Fruit Snacks
Pictures of strawberries, berries, or oranges on snack packages don'tmake fruit snacks comparable to eating actual fruit. Far from it, actually. Many chewy fruit products contain added sugars or concentrated sweeteners while offering far less fiber than a serving of whole fruit, among other things.
20. Syrup-Soaked Pastries
Pastries are already something you should monitor how much you eat, but when they're soaked or coated in a sweet syrup, that should raise even more alarms. And depending on the recipe, you're entering dangerously high levels of sugar if honey, sugar syrup, icing, or sweetened fillings are all present in the same dessert.
