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Are you diabetic? Watch out for these 5 harmful ingredients in packaged foods

Scan your food labels for these ingredients that are bad for diabetics.

Written by Sandhya Raghavan | Published : November 16, 2017 5:32 PM IST

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Food-labels

Being a diabetic, you are already banned from having a whole lot of things. Companies capitalise on this by selling packaged foods that target the diabetics, claiming to be sugar free or diabetic friendly. But the truth is no matter how harmless and healthy these eatables look, there may be other dangerous ingredients apart from sugar which may cause the same amount of harm to diabetics. So the next time you pick up something from the supermarket, watch out for these deadly ingredients.

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Sodium: Although diabetics shouldn't cut down on salt, they should make a conscious effort to avoid packaged foods that have too much sodium. This includes packaged soups, chips, instant noodles and other assorted savoury items. This is because sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure and diabetics are more vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases than the others. [1] Also Read - Deadly H3N2 Flu Strain Sweeps Delhi-NCR: High Fever, Lingering Cough, Severe Fatigue - Doctors Warn of Rising Hospitalizations

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Candies

Corn syrup: Most products that claim to be sugar free may contain something as bad as sugar if not worse, high fructose corn syrup. It's probably one the worst ingredients for diabetics which has the capacity to influence blood glucose levels. Studies say that diabetes prevalence in countries with higher availability of high fructose corn syrup was 20 percent more than countries with low availability. [2] [3]

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Fried-foods

Acrylamide: Although it's not a food additive, it is a chemical that is produced when certain ingredients like potatoes are exposed to very high temperatures. So French fries, chips and other potato dishes is full of this harmful chemical. Apart from being a dangerous carcinogen, acylamide can also reduce blood insulin and insulin resistance in the general population. [5]