Diabetic patients are absolutely not allowed to eat sweet foods. In people's minds, white bread without sugar can be given to diabetics, while yogurt with sugar must not be eaten; sugar-free mooncakes can be eaten, but apples with sugar cannot be eaten. However, recent nutritional studies have concluded that there is no absolute relationship between whether or not a food has a sweet flavor and whether or not it raises blood sugar quickly. As long as they choose their food carefully, diabetics can eat some sugary foods selectively.

The level of glucose in the blood rises after eating foods containing sugar and starch. The main purpose of dietary control for diabetics is to try to slow down the hydrolysis of starch from food into glucose and its absorption into the bloodstream by the small intestine, so that blood glucose levels don't go up and down, and fluctuations are as gentle as possible. The reason why diabetics are afraid to choose sweet foods is because they are worried that the sugar in them is too easily digested and absorbed, and that it will quickly raise the body's blood sugar.

However, many of the foods that raise blood sugar quickly are not sweet. For example, white bread has a stronger ability to raise blood sugar than honey, and white rice has a stronger ability to raise blood sugar than apples. Apples are richer in pectin, which can slow down the absorption of sugar, and thus will not lead to abnormally high blood sugar. Buns and puffed food are both foods that raise blood sugar quickly, despite their lack of sweetness.

In 2002, U.S. nutritionists in Washington, D.C., held a "sugar and health" seminar, experts believe that too much sugar will reduce the density of nutrients in food, and therefore is not conducive to health, but does not mean that all sugary foods are harmful to health. Foods with a lot of added sugar, such as sweetened beverages, may lead to obesity and increase the risk of high blood cholesterol, but foods containing sugar, such as fruits, dried fruits, and yogurt, are still beneficial to health. Meanwhile, everyone reacts differently to sugar in food; those who lack exercise and those who are obese are most sensitive to eating sugar, while those who exercise regularly can eat sweets in moderation without becoming obese.

Many nutritionists point out that eating sugar is not the main cause of diabetes, and that eating absolutely no sweet foods is not a key point of dietary control for diabetics. As long as the dietary nutrition to achieve a good balance, as long as the food in addition to sugar also contains other components that can delay the absorption of sugar, such as protein, dietary fiber, etc., diabetic patients can eat some appropriate sweet food, even artificially added white sugar food. Safer sweet foods include apples, pears, peaches, dried apricots, cherries, citrus, grapefruit, papaya and other fruits, as well as yogurt, low-sugar milk, low-sugar soybean milk and so on. In addition, a little ice cream can be eaten in small amounts.

While enjoying the pleasures of sweetened foods on a limited scale, it's important to remember to maintain the overall nutritional balance of the meal, and to be mindful of controlling the total amount of energy in foods. Foods rich in protein and fat both have a lower rate of blood sugar rise, but too much fat is not good for controlling blood lipids or for reducing weight in overweight diabetics. Therefore, although chocolate, shortcrust pastry, crispy cookies, moon cakes and other sweet foods do not quickly increase blood sugar, diabetics can not eat regularly, because they contain a lot of fat, protein, vitamins and minerals content is very low. Even if they are made into "sugar-free food", diabetics still should not feel safe to eat.