One of the toughest things about being a diabetic is your relationship with sweet foods. It\u2019s no secret that when someone is diagnosed with diabetes, they\u2019re told to limit the amount of dessert they eat.<\/p>\n
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But the flip side of this is also true. At times, diabetics have to eat sweet foods when they don\u2019t want to, i.e., when they have low blood sugar.<\/p>\n
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It might be hard for everyone to sympathize with this complaint. Yeah, right<\/em>, a non-diabetic might think after reading this. I wish I sometimes <\/em>had to eat a cookie<\/em>. The problem is that even though diabetics have to consume sugar to raise low blood sugar, it\u2019s not a guiltless pleasure. The sugar still has the adverse effects on your body and weight that it would with anyone else. Plus, lows often happen at times when you least feel like indulging in sweet foods. For example:<\/p>\n \n 1. In the middle of the night. This is one of the most common times to go low. It\u2019s also one of the times when you\u2019re least likely to be craving something sweet, or even to be thinking about food at all. You don\u2019t want to rouse yourself from peaceful dreams to go through your low blood sugar routine: scarfing down glucose tablets, waiting twenty minutes to make sure your blood sugar has risen enough, brushing your teeth, and, after all that, trying to get a little more sleep before your alarm clock rings.<\/p>\n \n 2.\u00a0After exercising. The last thing you want to do eat the calories you\u2019ve just burned. If you\u2019ve really pushed yourself in your workout, you might even feel a little nauseated. In psychological or psychical terms, it\u2019s not a time when your body craves sugar.<\/p>\n \n 3.\u00a0After eating at a restaurant. Personally speaking, it\u2019s more common for me to have high blood sugar than low blood sugar after eating a meal at a restaurant. I underestimate the amount of insulin I need because–of course–I don\u2019t want to admit to myself how many carbs are actually in the food. Sometimes, though, a meal that will appear to be so high in carbs that I overestimate the amount of insulin I need. Two hours later, the realization that I consumed less carbs than expected would be a relief….except that I immediately have to eat those missing carbs in the form of glucose tablets. If I\u2019m already full of a hearty meal and delicious dessert, it\u2019s not likely that I\u2019m in the mood for anything more.<\/p>\n \n \n So how can you make consuming sugar for low blood sugar less annoying?<\/p>\n \n \n Whenever possible, I try to eat something healthy to combat a low. Fruit or even fruit juice have more nutrients than glucose tablets, which contain only sugar. Even if I\u2019m not in the mood to eat anything<\/em> when I\u2019m low, at least I don\u2019t feel guilty if I eat something healthy. The problem with these options is that they\u2019re hard to keep on hand. Juice boxes can be cumbersome and develop leaks. Fruit is perishable; you can\u2019t keep it tucked in your bag for months in anticipation for the time you\u2019ll finally need it. A piece of fruit also won\u2019t raise your blood sugar as quickly as something made from pure sugar would. All too often, the choice is between glucose tablets and candy.<\/p>\n \n \n When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, my doctor warned me that the reserve of food I kept for lows shouldn\u2019t be too tasty. Otherwise, I might be tempted to give myself a little extra insulin just so I would go low and \u201cneed\u201d to eat some of the stash. I\u2019ll be the first to admit that I don\u2019t do a perfect job of\u00a0 managing my diabetes, but I can say I\u2019ve never felt this particular temptation. If I want to eat something extra after I\u2019ve already given myself a shot for a meal, I just give myself another shot to cover it. So, if it\u2019s a choice between sugar pills (which I find slightly disgusting) and chocolate (which I love) I\u2019ll take chocolate any day. I figure that if I have to eat something unhealthy for my low, it might as well be something that tastes good. (Although I should acknowledge that chocolate, which contains fat in addition to sugar, is less heathy than glucose tablets.)<\/p>\n \n \n Ultimately, the best solution is probably to place a stricter limit on the amount on your daily sugar intake. If you happen to go low while sticking to this plan, you can eat something sweet with impunity. This isn\u2019t the easiest route to go. In the back of your mind, you might think: But what if I don\u2019t go low? I still deserve something sweet today! <\/em>Try to look on the bright side: if you don\u2019t end up needing to dip into your reserve of candy, you\u2019ve been that much healthier for a day.<\/p>\n \n \n Does anyone else find themselves going low at times when you least feel like eating something sweet? What are your ways of dealing with this situation?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s no secret that when someone is diagnosed with diabetes, they\u2019re told to limit the amount of dessert they eat. But the flip side of this is also true. At times, diabetics have to eat sweet foods when they don\u2019t want to, i.e., when they have low blood sugar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[1397,1391,791,792,507,156],"yoast_head":"\n