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Foods to Avoid With Diabetes (Especially When Blood Sugar Is High)
These foods are rated unsafe at the poorly-controlled level — they tend to drive a rapid, pronounced rise in glucose. That does not always mean "never", but they call for real caution, smaller portions or a better-controlled starting point. Where the source flags a food as not recommended in any amount, we say so plainly.
Introduction Matching Foods Why This Matters Related Topics & Categories
Introduction
These foods are rated unsafe at the poorly-controlled level — they tend to drive a rapid, pronounced rise in glucose. That does not always mean "never", but they call for real caution, smaller portions or a better-controlled starting point. Where the source flags a food as not recommended in any amount, we say so plainly.
Matching Foods
857 foods currently match this topic, sorted to help you scan quickly.
Food Category Carbs / 100 g Safety Portion (well-controlled)
Lasagna (béchamel) Grains & Starches 13.9 g Use caution about 216 g Lasagna, cheese, frozen, prepared Grains & Starches 13.8 g Needs care about 217 g Lasagna, cheese, frozen, unprepared Grains & Starches 21.6 g Use caution about 139 g Lasagna, vegetable, frozen, baked Grains & Starches 14.2 g Needs care about 211 g Lay's, Potato Chips (Jays Foods Inc.) Grains & Starches 58.3 g Needs care about 43 g Lean Cuisine, Cheese Ravioli (Nestle Usa-Frozen Food Division) Eggs, Milk & Dairy 16.6 g Needs care about 181 g Lean Cuisine, Chicken Carbonara (Nestle Usa-Frozen Food Division) Meat, Poultry & Fish 11.4 g Lower impact about 255 g Lean Cuisine, Chicken Fettuccini (Nestle Usa-Frozen Food Division) Meat, Poultry & Fish 16.4 g Needs care about 183 g Lean Cuisine, Chicken Teriyaki (Nestle Usa-Frozen Food Division) Meat, Poultry & Fish 12.4 g Lower impact about 209 g Lean Cuisine, Comfort Shrimp Alfredo (Nestle Usa-Frozen Food Division) Meat, Poultry & Fish 11.8 g Needs care about 254 g Lean Cuisine, Pepperoni Pizza (Nestle Usa-Frozen Food Division) Grains & Starches 34.1 g Use caution about 88 g Lean Cuisine, Veggie Scramble (Nestle Usa-Frozen Food Division) Grains & Starches 10.6 g Lower impact about 198 g Lean Pockets, meatballs & mozzarella Meat, Poultry & Fish 32.3 g Needs care about 93 g Lemonade Beverages 10 g Needs care about 188 g Lemonade (from powder) Beverages 97.6 g Needs care about 18 g Lemonade, frozen concentrate, pink Beverages 48.9 g Needs care about 36 g Lemonade, frozen concentrate, white Beverages 49.9 g Needs care about 37 g Lemonade, powder, prepared with water Beverages 3.6 g Needs care about 33 g Lemonade-Flavour Drink (from powder) Beverages 97.9 g Needs care about 18 g Lentil Soup Legumes 10 g Lower impact about 86 g Lentil soup with bread Legumes 12.8 g Needs care about 312 g Lentils (cooked) Legumes 20.1 g Needs care about 199 g Libyan bazin (barley dough with sauce) Meat, Poultry & Fish 30 g Use caution about 111 g Light Beer Beverages 1.6 g Needs care about 356 g Light ice cream, creamsicle Sweets & Sweeteners 32.8 g Needs care about 80 g Light Wine Beverages 1.2 g Needs care about 148 g Lo Mein Grains & Starches 17.1 g Use caution about 146 g Luqaimat Sweets & Sweeteners 51.3 g Use caution about 47 g Luqaimat with Date Syrup Sweets & Sweeteners — Lower impact about 89 g M&M's, Candy, Peanut (Mars Chocolate North America LLC) Sweets & Sweeteners 60.9 g Needs care about 43 g Maamoul (2 pcs) Sweets & Sweeteners 58 g Use caution about 41 g Maamoul date-filled Sweets & Sweeteners 55 g Needs care about 44 g Maamoul pistachio-filled Sweets & Sweeteners 50 g Needs care about 48 g Maamoul plain Sweets & Sweeteners 55 g Needs care about 44 g Maamoul walnut-filled Sweets & Sweeteners 52 g Needs care about 46 g Mac & Chicken Sausage Big (Yummy Spoonfuls) Meat, Poultry & Fish 17.7 g Needs care about 169 g Madfoon (Yemeni buried lamb) Meat, Poultry & Fish 21.3 g Use caution about 141 g Madhbi (grilled meat on stone) Meat, Poultry & Fish 21.3 g Use caution about 141 g Maftoul cooked Grains & Starches 26 g Use caution about 96 g Mandarin Fruits — Lower impact about 264 g Mango Fruits — Lower impact about 187 g Mango + orange juice Beverages 12.2 g Use caution about 164 g Mango juice Beverages 14 g Use caution about 143 g Mango nectar, canned Fruits 13.1 g Needs care about 153 g Mango smoothie (milk) Beverages 9 g Needs care about 256 g Mango smoothie (water) Beverages 10.5 g Needs care about 220 g Mango, dried, sweetened Fruits 78.6 g Use caution about 32 g Manoushe akkawi cheese Grains & Starches 44.9 g Use caution about 67 g Manoushe cheese (large) Grains & Starches 44.7 g Use caution about 67 g Manoushe cheese (small) Grains & Starches 43.5 g Use caution about 69 g
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Why This Matters
After a meal, carbohydrate is broken down to glucose and absorbed into the blood; insulin then helps move it into cells. Foods that release glucose slowly produce a smaller, steadier rise. HbA1c reflects your average blood sugar over roughly the past three months. It is the anchor for the three control levels used throughout this site.
Turn food decisions into confident ones with Flona
Flona is your daily companion for insulin decisions — basal, rapid-acting, mixed or meal-based — and for estimating carbs at a glance. It is guidance to support you day to day, not a replacement for advice from your physician or diabetes care team.
Medical disclaimer: This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Ratings and portions are estimates derived from nutritional composition, not measurements of your own glucose response; individual responses vary. If you take insulin, confirm carbohydrate amounts against a nutrition label before dosing. Always follow the guidance of your own physician or diabetes care team.
How these ratings are produced: our safety estimate is derived from each food's nutritional composition — carbohydrate content, fibre, food category and physical form (liquid or solid) — combined with established diabetes nutrition principles and a realistic serving size. They are estimates for planning, not measurements of your own response and not a prescription. Individual responses vary considerably, so always follow your own clinician's advice.
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