The ability of diabetic patients to metabolize blood sugar is hindered, so they cannot eat foods with high sugar content in their lives, which will cause further harm to the condition. Therefore, many people will choose sugar-free foods, so diabetic patients Can I eat sugar-free food? Are sugar-free foods really free of sugar? People with diabetes can eat sugar-free foods, but there are things they need to pay attention to. Let’s learn more about them below.

1. Several misunderstandings about sugar-free foods

1. No sucrose does not mean sugar-free. Being sucrose-free does not mean that there are no other monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, galactose, ribose, etc.) or disaccharides (lactose, maltose, etc.), so these products are sucrose-free products, not sugar-free products. Although some are labeled "sucrose-free", their ingredients list states that white sugar or glucose is added. Sucrose and white sugar are the same thing, they are just called by different names. There are also some that use intermediate products of starch hydrolysis, such as maltose syrup, fructose syrup, corn syrup, etc., and their sugar-raising speed is no less than that of white sugar.

2. Inability to taste sweetness does not mean sugar-free. Refined carbohydrates such as steamed buns and rice do not taste sweet unless chewed, but they also raise blood sugar very quickly. According to national standards, food can be considered sugar-free if the sugar content per 100 grams (ml) is less than 0.5 grams. However, the actual situation is that when added sugar is less than 5%, human taste buds will hardly feel sweetness. On the contrary, some foods with added sweeteners such as cyclamate, aspartame, and xylitol taste sweet, but they are genuine sugar-free foods.

3. Although there is no added sugar, the raw materials themselves are foods rich in carbohydrates. For example, sugar-free biscuits, cakes, snacks, moon cakes, rice dumplings, glutinous rice balls and other foods, even if there is no added sugar at all, are foods that raise blood sugar rapidly because the ingredients are made of fine rice and noodles, and in order to make up for the sugar-free taste The disadvantage is that more fat is often added. The fat content of so-called sugar-free whole grain biscuits is as high as 30%. The fat content of meat dumplings, black sesame glutinous rice balls and snacks is also not low, which is not conducive to diabetic patients' control of blood sugar and weight.

4. Even genuine sugar-free foods have no blood sugar-lowering effect. No one food can lower blood sugar, it just raises blood sugar at different speeds. Some sugar-free foods mislead consumers by claiming that their products can lower blood sugar. Moreover, these sugar-free biscuits, shaqima, cakes and other foods themselves are not low in fat and calories. People with diabetes still need to eat them in special quantities, and the staple food and calorie content of three meals a day must be reduced accordingly.

2. Suggestions for purchasing sugar-free foods

1. First of all, choose sugar-free foods produced by relatively large manufacturers, because large manufacturers will respect nutrition experts when making ingredients. opinions. If the production is standardized, the feeding will be relatively accurate. Secondly, we need to consider what is the sugar content of the main raw materials for making sugar-free foods? All starch-containing foods contain sugar. Patients can check the food ingredient list to see the glycemic index of the main ingredients in sugar-free food ingredients. The ingredient list of some sugar-free foods indicates "how much dextrin is contained". The presence of dextrin means it contains sugar. In addition, protein, fat and sugar (carbohydrates) can be converted into each other in the liver.

2. When purchasing sugar-free products, you should not only check whether they are marked with the words "sugar-free food", but also look at the ingredient list to see what kind of sweetener is used to replace the sugar. , cannot be eaten blindly because it may contain glucose and other sugars. Not only should you look at the sucrose content on the packaging of the food, but you should also consider whether the food itself contains sugar. Even if some food additives do not contain sugar, the food itself may contain sugar. Sugar-free foods (such as sugar-free pastries) are made of grain and can decompose glucose in the human body, so sugar-free foods are not sugar-free.

3. When choosing sugar-free foods, you must be careful. Although some foods are marked "sucrose-free", their ingredient lists are marked with white sugar or glucose. In fact, sucrose and white sugar are the same thing, they just have different names. Others use edible sugar and saccharin instead of sucrose. The essence is to replace the soup without changing the medicine. Consumers play some word games and try to pass off the fake as sugar-free food. This requires consumers to keep their eyes open and avoid being confused and misled.

In addition, even if you choose reliable sugar-free food, you should not eat it openly, nor should you stop or reduce the use of hypoglycemic drugs just because you eat sugar-free food. When eating sugar-free foods, you must reduce the amount of staple food. It is not recommended to eat all whole grains as staple food.

When eating sugar-free foods, be sure to calculate the energy produced by them into the amount of staple food required for a day, and subtract the corresponding amount of staple food. Diabetics can refer to the food ingredient exchange table to calculate. Suggestion: Calculate sugar-free foods into the total energy required for a day, and then standardize the proportion of grain, oil and meat within the required energy range.

3. Treat sugar-free foods rationally

Although in the current market, sugar-free foods are mixed, and there are many worrying aspects, it does not mean that sugar-free foods do not exist. significance. After all, it is not too much to choose a reliable brand and manage your blood sugar and blood lipids well. In addition to three meals a day, it is not too much to occasionally enjoy sugar-free sweets. However, you must pay attention to reducing the energy and carbohydrates of the meals accordingly. , and blood sugar should be monitored closely.

It is particularly worth reminding that sugar-free drinks can only replenish water and should not be used by diabetic patients when they experience hypoglycemia.

4. How to prevent blood sugar from rising

(1) Eat less at the next meal, eliminate a snack or switch to food with a lower glycemic index (GI). Because for overweight patients with type 2 diabetes, they only need to lose 5 to 10% of their weight to significantly improve their blood sugar conditions. Therefore, as long as you reduce caloric intake appropriately, you can achieve better blood sugar control. The general experience is: reducing carbohydrates by 15 grams (approximately equivalent to 50 grams of rice or 30 grams of steamed buns, 150 grams of apples or pears, 400 ml of milk or 300 ml of sugar-free yogurt) can reduce blood sugar by approximately 1.7mmol/L.

(2) Increase the amount of activity or do more exercise. People with type 2 diabetes generally gain better blood sugar control by exercising more. Even simple exercises, such as walking for 20 minutes a day, can effectively improve insulin resistance and reduce weight as long as you persist. Studies have confirmed that through reasonable exercise, diabetic patients can indeed reduce the dosage of anti-diabetic drugs, and can even completely wean themselves off drug treatment.

(3) Adjust medication (increase the dosage, increase the frequency of medication, or add another antidiabetic drug). Although the exercise and diet modification methods are economical and have few side effects. Medication does treat high blood sugar more quickly and effectively than the first two methods.

(4) Self-relaxation and emotional regulation Relaxation exercises (such as deep breathing, relaxing muscles with relaxing and soothing music, etc.) can help relieve stress and make anti-diabetic treatment more effective. Learn to regulate emotions and enhance self-efficacy (people's subjective judgment of whether they can successfully perform a certain behavior), thereby overcoming fear, negativity and other negative attitudes after illness, which will also help control blood sugar.

(5) Actively treat other diseases (such as colds, infections, etc.). Problems such as colds and infections will cause an increase in adrenaline in the body, which will lead to an increase in blood sugar.

(6) Increase the intake of sugar-free liquids. Dehydration can also cause blood sugar to rise. People (whether they have diabetes or not) should consume about 2 to 3 liters of sugar-free liquids (water, drinks, soups, etc.) every day. When blood sugar rises, drinking water can not only dilute blood sugar but also avoid excessive food intake. Patients with heart disease or kidney complications need to appropriately limit fluid intake and should consult a doctor or nutritionist for specific details. The most important strategy for hyperglycemia is prevention. This can generally be accomplished with good self-monitoring of blood glucose.