How to Eat Outside Safely With Diabetes?

If you are someone who has diabetes, then food choices become a major challenge to manage. Clinical research and studies have found that the role of a healthy diet is significant in terms of lowering blood sugar levels.  However, it is natural for you to feel like eating outside sometimes, which might be risky if you have diabetes.

You can visit a trusted diabetes clinic in Siliguri or a location near you to analyse your blood sugar levels so that an accurate diagnosis and treatment can be ensured from experts. In this blog, you will learn how to eat outside safely once you are diagnosed with diabetes. Let us begin by knowing why eating outside with diabetes is considered risky.

Why Eating Outside With Diabetes Can Be Risky?

These are the top reasons why eating outside with diabetes poses a health risk:

• Hidden carbohydrates and sugars: It is a common practice in restaurants to add refined flour, corn syrup, or sugar to enhance the colour and flavour of dishes. In addition, the sauces and marinades used often contain a high quantity of sugar. Thus, you cannot count or track the quantity of carbohydrates and sugar content in the dishes being served.
• High sodium content: This is another common practice that involves preserving and flavouring the food by using sodium. It is a well-known fact that high blood sugar levels can increase blood pressure levels. In addition, sodium is not healthy for individuals with high blood pressure. Thus, the risk of unknowingly consuming a larger quantity of sodium remains high.
• Large portion sizes: Diabetic people are advised to eat small portion sizes of meals. However, restaurants often serve large portion sizes that can lead to overeating. Thus, the calorie count in outside food tends to be high, which is a major risk factor due to the chances of increased blood sugar levels.
• Refined carbohydrates and low fibre content: Outside food is often made using white rice, white flour, and potatoes. In addition, the use of fibres and whole grains are mostlky avoided. According to clinical research and studies, a lack of fibre can lead to carbohydrates breaking down rapidly and increasing blood sugar levels.
• Disruptions in regular meal timings: Eating outside is directly related to irregular meal timings due to longer waiting times or traffic delays. This can significantly increase blood sugar levels by disrupting medication timings as well.
• Blood sugar spikes from high fat: Some of the most loved outside foods, such as pizza and creamy pasta tends to slow down glucose absorption. Thus, your blood sugar levels might rise a few hours after eating such meals. This means you might experience hyperglycemia long after taking medications.
• Use of unknown ingredients and cooking methods: When you eat outside, it becomes difficult to determine whether the food is deep-fried, sauteed, or breaded. It is a well-known fact that even healthy food options can contain hidden sugar and fats. Thus, eating outside food can be risky for diabetic individuals.

Know How To Eat Outside Safely With Diabetes

Here are the steps that you can follow to eat outside safely despite having diabetes:

• Order sauces and dressings on the side: This step is based on asking to put the salad dressings, sauces, and gravies on the side of the plate. This approach will allow you to limit the consumption of sugar and carbohydrates by eating a limited quantity of salad dressings or sauces, and sometimes even gravy.
• Research the menu before ordering: With the growing consciousness among people regarding what they are eating, several restaurants make the ingredients transparent. Thus, you can take a look at the ingredients being used on different dishes and then order the one that is diabetic friendly.
• Prioritise meals that use healthy cooking methods: This is based on ordering meals that are grilled, roasted, or steamed over fried or breaded. Healthy cooking methods can help you avoid potential blood sugar rise due to trans fats or carbs.
• Maintain regular meal timing: It is highly recommended by diabetologists not to skip meals prior to eating outside food to manage calorie intake. In addition, if you are planning to dine in late, then you need to consume small fibre-rich snacks to maintain your blood glucose levels.
• Prioritise using the plate method: The plate method is based on filling half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, such as salad and green beans. The remaining half should consist of one-quarter of lean proteins and one-quarter of complex carbohydrates. Thus, you need to choose your food wisely and ask for proper segregation of the quantities.
• Be choosy with beverages: This is based on avoiding sugar beverages or sweetened cocktails within your meals, which can significantly increase your blood sugar levels. Thus, the key is to stick to water or sparkling water with lime so that blood sugar levels can be managed effectively.

• Monitor blood sugar before and after eating outside: It is advised to use a glucometer before and after eating outside. This approach can prove to be immensely effective in terms of helping you determine the foods and restaurants that are causing blood sugar spikes. Thus, you can choose the one that does not hamper your blood sugar levels.

Final Thoughts

There is a deep relation between food and blood sugar because the digestive system breaks down carbohydrates in food into glucose, which gets released into the bloodstream. Thus, for diabetic individuals, eating outside food tends to be risky because of the potential use of higher quantities of carbs and sugar in outside foods.

If you are experiencing fluctuating or consistent blood sugar levels, it is highly advisable to visit a top diabetes clinic, such as Kins Diabetes, to ensure proper treatment and care. In addition, such trusted clinics can offer effective suggestions in terms of dietary habits, which include eating outside safely.

Do not let high blood sugar hamper your quality of life. Visit the best diabetes clinic in Siliguri or a location of your convenience now.