Foods that Act Like Sugar
I write a lot about sugar and foods that act like sugar in this blog. Lately, I’ve been getting a few questions about what I mean by “foods that act like sugar,” so here is the explanation and it all start with an understanding of the glycemic index.
The Glycemic Index
By now, most people have heard of the glycemic index, but I’ll take a moment to explain it.
The way the glycemic index works is that a scientist will measure the blood sugar of a volunteer and then feed that volunteer a single food. After two or three hours, the volunteer’s blood sugar is measured again. What scientists have discovered through this kind of testing is that certain foods increase blood sugar a little, others increase blood sugar moderately, and still other foods increase blood sugar dramatically.
While there are complicated glycemic index charts that show hundreds of foods, here is a typical one:
What you want to notice about this list is that sugars (left-hand column) are mostly in the high top part of the chart. Sucrose (table sugar) and glucose are always found near the top, but, here is the kicker: so are white rice, pancakes, bread, corn flakes, crackers, parsnips, potatoes and many other foods. These are the Foods That Act Like Sugar in your body.
Here is a partial list of foods that act like sugar
GRAINS
- Brown rice
- Glutinous rice
- Instant rice
- Jasmine rice
- Long grain rice
- Parboiled rice
- Sweet corn
- White rice
- Wild rice
GRAIN PRODUCTS
- Breads (all breads)
- Bagel
- Baguette, white
- Blueberry muffin
- Bran muffin
- Corn tortilla
- English Muffin
- Kaiser bread rolls
- Rice Pasta
- White bread
- Whole Grain bread
- Wonder Bread™
Breakfast Cereals (almost all)
- Cheerios™
- Coco Pops™
- Corn Chex™
- Corn Pops™
- Cornflakes™
- Crispix™
- Grapenuts Flakes™
- Grapenuts™
- Instant Cream of Wheat
- Life ™
- Quick Oatmeal
- Raisin Bran™
- Rice Chex™
- Rice Krispies™
- Shredded Wheat™
- Special K™
- Special K™
- Total™
Crackers and Chips (almost all)
- Corn chips
- Popcorn
- Potato chips
- Pretzels
- Puffed rice cakes
- Rice cracker
- Soda Crackers
- Water crackers
Other Breakfast Foods
- Croissant
- Cupcake
- Doughnut
- Muffins
- Oatmeal muffin
- Pancakes
- Pop Tarts™
- Waffles
Cakes
- Almost all cakes
- Angel food cake
VEGETABLES
- Carrots, boiled
- French fries
- Parsnips
- Potato: Baked, Instant, Mashed
- Pumpkin
- Sweet potato
- Tapioca
FRUITS
- Banana
- Dates, dried
- Raisins
- Watermelon
Fruit Products
- Fruit Roll-Ups®
- Fruit Juices
- Jams and Jellies
- Processed fruit bars, fruit wraps…
SUGAR AND SUGAR SNACKS
- Most sugary snacks
- Candy Bars
- Glucose
- Honey
- Jelly beans
- Sucrose
- Syrup
DRINKS
- All fruit juices
- All sodas
- Most sport drinks
DAIRY
- Yoghurt, low fat
- Ice cream
BEANS
- Broad beans
- Kidney beans
OTHER
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Pizza, cheese
- Popcorn
- Soup, green pea
- Soup, split pea
Is fresh squeezed orange juice okay or all fruit juice fresh or bought?
Hi Brenda,
No fruit juice (both fresh and frozen) are not allowed as they act like sugars in our bodies.
Best of luck!
Dr. Scott
Thank you.
Sorry; another question… I didn’t see anything about quinoa. Is that okay?
Ask as many questions as you need to, glad to answer.
Quinoa is low-glycemic, so it fits the diet. I would use it sparingly.
Scott
Thank you. Another one… Soy milk & almond milk in teas & smoothies? Is that ok? I’ve noticed soy milk & almond milk have added cane juice.
also, I use 2 different protein powders. 1 is Vi-shake from Visalus that has some added sweetener. The other is vega which I don’t think does. I have to double check.
Thank you
Brenda,
You should be able to find unsweetened almond milk. I’m not a big fan of soy, but there should be an unsweetened version as well. I love coconut milk from So Delicious and they have an unsweetened version. I don’t don’t Vi-shake, but the Vega products do contain sugars. If you are looking for a protein powder, choose a straight protein with nothing else added.
Hope that helps!
Scott