Can a diabetic eat Cake?
In general, cake contains sugar, butter and refined carbohydrates. Sugar and refined carbohydrates can cause some quick spikes in blood sugar levels and some weight gain. Butter can add to weight gain problems. It is thus obvious that all ingredients in cake are harmful for a diabetic. However, experts say you do not need to give up eating cake altogether.
A diabetic can eat a piece of cake on rare occasions and in moderate portions. Following a careful approach to your diet plan, a diabetic can enjoy a piece of cake at times. You just need to watch your diet to keep blood sugar levels under check. Another tip is to add some healthful fruit to your cake to make it more nutritious. For example, cherries, blueberries or blackberries with a cake can do a diabetic some good.
Does cake raise blood sugar levels?
Cake is rich in sugar and refined flour. Both these ingredients can cause spikes in blood sugar levels. If you are planning to eat cake, it is a good idea to check your blood sugar levels before and after eating cake. Checking your blood sugar levels can help you decide how much cake you can allow yourself. With best practice such as checking blood sugar levels, restrictions in food may not be necessary to keep blood sugar in check. However, in general foods like cakes, donuts, chocolate, ice cream, apple pie etc. are to eaten only in small portions.
You can measure blood sugar levels at home by using a blood glucose meter. I find this blood glucose meter very handy to check my blood sugar levels.
What happens if you leave sugar out of cake?
Leaving sugar out of cake may help reduce risk of blood sugar spikes. However, the question is about the palatability of the cake itself. Sugar caramelises and gives that property to the cake. Cakes also stay moist because of sugar. So, leaving sugar out of cake will give you a dry pallid cake. Hence it is not a good idea to leave sugar out of a cake.
However, you can use less sugar in a cake than normal. As a result, the cake may not taste as sweeter but that’s okay. You can also use dry fruits or honey instead of sugar. As honey is liquid, you can cut any other liquid ingredients to retain the consistency.
