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Get the facts on these diabetes diet misconceptions

By Rachel Meltzer Warren, MS, RDN 

Don’t eat carbs! Stay away from dessert! Sugar is the enemy! When it comes to managing your diabetes, it may seem like everyone has advice to offer. And while it’s nice to be surrounded by people who care, when you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, you need the facts, not the word on the street. Read on as we debunk five of the most common mistruths about managing your diet when you have diabetes. 

Myth: “Don’t eat carbs.”

Even though carbohydrates have the greatest effect on blood sugar, they’re essential for good health, whether you have diabetes or not, says Gerald Bernstein, MD, director of the Diabetes Management Program at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. “Sugar, in particular, glucose, is the core of how our bodies function.” Your body breaks down carbohydrates to make glucose, which gives you energy and keeps your organs working properly. Since people with diabetes have trouble metabolizing glucose, it is important that they choose moderately-sized portions of healthy carbohydrate-rich foods. It’s equally essential to favor slow-digesting carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, beans and lentils (which cause blood sugar to rise more slowly), over the faster-digesting, blood sugar-spiking refined carbohydrates like white bread and cookies.  

Myth: “Stay away from sweet vegetables like carrots.”

It’s true that some vegetables are starchier than others — potatoes, corn, and peas among them — and raise your blood sugar in the same way that carbohydrates like bread, rice, and pasta do. You’ll want to limit those veggies in the same way you would other carb-heavy foods. Sweetness, however, isn’t generally an indicator of a vegetable’s carbohydrate content. Many sweet but non-starchy veggies, such as carrots, beets, and sugar snap peas, are quite low in carbs (about 5 grams in ½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw). So if taste can’t be your guide, how can you tell what’s low-carb and what’s not? Your best bet is to look up a food’s carb content as you plan your meals.

Myth: “Say goodbye to dessert.”

You're allowed to have sweets if you have diabetes, just like you can have some pasta or bread. But, once again, it’s all about portion control and planning. For everyday dessert cravings, you’ll want to opt for something sweet but nutritious, like fruit. But there’s nothing wrong with giving yourself a treat once in a while, just as long as you balance it out by keeping the other carbs in the meal moderate. For example, if you’re hankering for that double chocolate brownie for dessert, keep your slice small and offset those carbs at dinner by replacing your pasta with thinly sliced zucchini “noodles” instead. 

Myth: “Just go on medication — it’s so much easier than changing your diet!”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” says Bernstein. In other words, medication and diet work hand in hand to help keep your blood sugar well controlled and help prevent diabetes complications. The good news: Diet and exercise can greatly decrease the risk of complications in people who already have diabetes and can prevent high-risk people from developing diabetes in the first place. “Exercise plays a big role in normalizing response to insulin,” says Bernstein. In other words, the more exercise you do, the fewer meds you may need. Exercise can also help you slim down, which will also help you decrease the need for medication. 

Myth: “Eat as much as you want, they’re sugar-free.”

While artificially sweetened versions of your favorite foods (like cookies, candies, and coffee drinks) do have fewer carbohydrates than your typical sugar-sweetened ones, that doesn’t mean they’re carb-free (Hershey’s Sugar Free Special Dark Chocolates have 24 grams of carbs in 5 pieces!). Also, look out for sneaky sugars in seemingly sugar-free snack foods, like the “No Sugar Added” Vanilla Latte from Coffee Bean, which still has 22 grams of carbs and 12 grams of sugar. No sugar added simply means that additional sugar wasn’t added during the food processing. Always check the food label to find out the actual carb content. 

What's more, most alternative sweeteners are hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than sugar, which may numb your sugar senses, causing you to feel less satisfied by subtle sweetness (like that found in vegetables and fruits). Excessive use of these sweeteners may also induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut flora (microbes living in the intestines), according to a study published in the journal Nature. The take-away: Continue to keep portion sizes moderate like you would with sugar-filled foods, even if the label says “sugar-free."

Published on January 16, 2015.

Rachel is a New York City-area nutrition writer, educator and counselor.