Can a diabetic eat Sugar?
Experts say a diabetic can eat a nutritious balanced meal that has limited sugar, salt and saturated fat. A diabetic need not cut sugar completely from diet. This means a diabetic can eat moderate amounts of sugar. Thus, a diabetic can still eat some desserts, sweets, chocolates etc. as long as they are part of a healthful diabetic meal plan. In addition, a diabetic must exercise regularly. It is important to remember that eating moderate amount of sugar does not cause diabetes but poor lifestyle does. When it comes to sugarcane, a diabetic can only eat a small piece of sugarcane and not much.
How much sugar or carbohydrates can a diabetic eat?
How much sugar or carbohydrates a diabetic can eat depends on many factors. So, there is no one size fits answer here. For example, experts say an adult male can eat upto 36 gm sugar a day, an adult female can eat upto 22 gm sugar a day while a child can eat upto 12 gm sugar a day.
When it comes to carbohydrates, experts say one should aim to get about half of one’s daily calorie needs from carbohydrates. This means, if your daily calorie requirement to maintain health body weight is about 2000 calories, then you must aim to get about 1000 calories from carbohydrates. If carbohydrates give you about 4 calories per gram, this means you may eat about 250 gm carbohydrates.
Can a diabetic eat artificial sweeteners?
If a person continues to eat excess sugar or carbohydrates over long time, it may lead to insulin resistance. This in turn can cause many health problems including diabetes complications.
When a person eats excess added sugar over time, it may also cause damage to liver and lead to obesity. This in turn can increase the risk of diabetes. However, natural sugars from fruits and vegetables do not cause such health issues. Eating artificial sweeteners over long time can also cause diabetes complications eventually.
