I have a stupid question....how do I know what things have white flour and sugar? I know that bread is one and I have already switched to whole wheat and whole grain because of my diabetes. But what else?
Really check labels. Most breads say whole wheat, or whole grain, but if you look at the ingredients on the package, enriched bleached flour (white flour) is often one of the first ingredients...(Which means there is more of it that anything else.)
Most all regular pasta, bread, sweets, crackers...(the list goes on and on) have either/or flour and sugar. A lot of "fat free" salad dressings have them as well. High Fructose Corn Syrup is JUST AS BAD as sugar for a diabetic/sugar addict.
Yep, most processed foods will be out. The best way to go sugar/white flour free is to eat more fresh fruits, veggies, lean meats, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, healthy oils, and whole grains. Anything processed that is SWEET probably has sugar, corn syrup, or some other sugar like "cane syrup". And if you buy a cereal look for "whole" oats, wheat, barley etc. No white rice, instead use brown rice. HTH
Watch for labels that say "wheat flour" - that's still white processed flour but they're trying to fool you. Also a lot of things that say "whole wheat" may have "whole wheat" as the first ingredient and then "flour" in one of it's many forms as the second, which means it might well have nearly as much white flour as whole wheat. Much of the "brown" colored bred that says "whole wheat" on the front really doesn't have much whole wheat flour in it. They use molassas to color the bread brown.
Ideally you can find breads with "whole grains" rather than just whole wheat. Whole wheat flour is still milled so fine that while you get more nutrition and fiber, your body still treats it much like white flour. But whole grains get the nutrition, fiber, and slower digestion your body needs.
Arnolds makes a line of whole grain breads with no HFCS that looks and tastes just as good as white bread so even my pickiest kids like. And it's often on sale at 2 for $5 so I stock up and freeze it.
I second the Arnold's Bread. I get the double fiber wheat bread with no HFCS and it's great. Tried Pepperidge Farms version and it just fell apart, and also tasted way too sweet.
One thing too though is ALL bread will have sugar in it. Its required to make the yeast rise. So, you can't completely escape it in bread. Just try to find one that has the least amount per slice. Its hard, I know!
It's kind of an unscientific way of doing things...but very often the whole grain breads are very heavy and dense. If it's fluffy, soft bread, you probably don't want it.
Try to eat sweet potatoes more often than regular potatoes. I'm not diabetic, but I am insulin resistant, and sweet potatoes are actually better for insulin resistance. I've all but cut out potatoes.
Also--DON'T EAT CORN! That's actually one of the hardest things for me, but my doctor once told me that if I was going to eat corn four days a week (as I was doing) I might as well eat pixie stix. Hence, the whole HFCS being bad thing.
I've just gotten to the point where I eat one grain carb a day. All other starches come from fruits and vegetables.
I second what everyone else is saying. Start reading your labels. If it says "enriched wheat flour" it's out. That's just an acronym for refined flour. Most highly processed food (i.e a lot of stuff Americans eat) is full of sugar and other preservatives.
You will be amazed at where you start finding sugar or HFCS. Ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, salad dressing, tomato sauce, the list goes on and on. If the sugar is listed within the top 5 ingredients, it's definitely out. If it's further down the list, then it should be okay in moderation.
I personally side-step anything that has the word "flour" in it. My grains are all unprocessed, like steel cut oats, brown rice, quinoa, millet, sweet potatoes and occasionally white potatoes.
As far as sugar, you won't believe the many names that sugar has! HFCS is just one of the many names. I avoid anything that ends in -ose!!
Question about eliminating white flour and sugar
Its hard, I know!
