Should diabetics just avoid foods that taste sweet? The answer is no. The sweetness of food is not a good indication of its sugar content. Even bland foods break down into sugars once they are digested.

There are different types of sugars, including brown sugar (white sugar with molasses), sucrose (table sugar), glucose or dextrose (usually extracted from corn syrup), fructose (found in many fruits), honey, maple syrup and lactose (milk sugar). Diabetics are often prone to chronically high blood sugar levels. Thus, they must pay close attention to how specific foods affect their blood sugar levels to ensure it is maintained as close to normal as possible at all times.

So, to know which foods are beneficial for them, diabetics should compare the glycemic index of foods. The glycemic index is the rate at which sugar levels increase in the blood. For example, glucose has a glycemic index of 100 because we eat glucose, it raises our blood sugar levels right away. Most foods eventually turn into glucose, but if we eat rice or bread for instance, it takes longer for the body's system to turn it into sugar and thus, raise the blood sugar levels.

Processing methods can affect the glycemic index of foods as well. For example, rice has a different glycemic index depending on how it is processed: parboiled rice-47; brown rice-59; white rice-88; instant rice (cooked and dried) - 91. Do you know that the time of harvesting is another contributing factor? For example, banana's gycemic index when it is picked unripe is 30 whereas it is 62 when it is picked ripe.

The lower the glycemic index, the more ideal the food is as a source of nutrition for diabetics. Diabetics must remember that they should not only be concerned about the sugar content in foods, but also more importantly, their glycemic index.


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