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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)
Potato burger bun Meat, Poultry & Fish 48 g Needs care about 63 g Potato fatayer (large) Grains & Starches 40.3 g Use caution about 74 g Potato fatayer (medium) Grains & Starches 40.1 g Needs care about 75 g Potato fatayer (small) Grains & Starches 39.8 g Lower impact about 75 g Powdered Milk Eggs, Milk & Dairy 38 g Lower impact about 350 g Prime Orange /6 48P (Gatorade) Beverages 18.9 g Use caution about 99 g Protein smoothie Beverages 11.8 g Use caution about 196 g Prunes Fruits 64 g Needs care about 39 g Pulled pork in barbecue sauce Meat, Poultry & Fish 18.7 g Needs care about 160 g Qatayef Asafiri with Cream Sweets & Sweeteners 41 g Lower impact about 124 g Qatayef with Walnuts & Erythritol Sweets & Sweeteners — Lower impact about 108 g Qatayef with Walnuts & Syrup Sweets & Sweeteners 48 g Use caution about 40 g Qidreh (spiced rice and meat) Meat, Poultry & Fish 28 g Use caution about 107 g Quaker Old Fashioned Oats (Qtg) Grains & Starches 67.5 g Lower impact about 40 g Quaker, Granola, Oats, Honey & Almonds (The Quaker Oats Company) Grains & Starches 72.9 g Needs care about 41 g Quinoa cooked Grains & Starches 21.3 g Needs care about 156 g Quinoa flakes (gluten-free) Grains & Starches 64 g Lower impact about 40 g Raisins Fruits 79 g Lower impact about 30 g Raisins, golden, seedless Fruits 80 g Use caution about 31 g Raisins, seeded Fruits 78.5 g Use caution about 32 g Rakak crispy bread Grains & Starches 62 g Lower impact about 40 g Ramen Grains & Starches 14.2 g Use caution about 176 g Red Bull Energy Drink Beverages 10.2 g Needs care about 184 g Red Bull, Energy Drink (Red Bull North America, Inc.) Beverages 11.3 g Use caution about 166 g Red Grapes Fruits 18.1 g Lower impact about 160 g Refried beans, canned, traditional style Legumes 13.6 g Lower impact about 238 g Refried beans, canned, vegetarian Legumes 13.5 g Lower impact about 242 g Restaurant, chinese, fried rice, without meat Grains & Starches 32.8 g Needs care about 91 g Restaurant, family style, chicken tenders Meat, Poultry & Fish 19.3 g Needs care about 155 g Restaurant, family style, french fries Grains & Starches 37.2 g Use caution about 67 g Restaurant, italian, lasagna with meat Grains & Starches 11.4 g Use caution about 263 g Restaurant, mexican, cheese quesadilla Grains & Starches 24.1 g Needs care about 124 g Rice and vermicelli mix, rice pilaf flavor, prepared with 80% margarine Grains & Starches 25.7 g Use caution about 117 g Rice and vermicelli mix, rice pilaf flavor, unprepared Grains & Starches 76.3 g Use caution about 39 g Rice biscuit (gluten-free) Sweets & Sweeteners 72 g Lower impact about 30 g Rice flour, brown Grains & Starches 76.5 g Use caution about 39 g Rice flour, white, unenriched Grains & Starches 80.1 g Use caution about 37 g Rice pudding Sweets & Sweeteners 20 g Use caution about 120 g Rice with chicken Meat, Poultry & Fish 28 g Use caution about 107 g Rice with chicken (half) Meat, Poultry & Fish 27.9 g Use caution about 108 g Rice with chicken, frozen entree, prepared (includes fried, teriyaki, and sweet and sour varieties) Grains & Starches 22.5 g Use caution about 133 g Rice with meat Meat, Poultry & Fish 28 g Use caution about 107 g Rice with meat (half) Meat, Poultry & Fish 27.9 g Use caution about 108 g Rice with peas and meat Meat, Poultry & Fish 34.4 g Use caution about 87 g Rice with vermicelli Grains & Starches 30 g Use caution about 100 g Rice, white, -grain, raw, enriched Grains & Starches 79.3 g Use caution about 38 g Rice, white, glutinous, unenriched, cooked Grains & Starches 21.1 g Needs care about 142 g Rice, white, glutinous, unenriched, uncooked Grains & Starches 81.7 g Use caution about 37 g Rice, white, steamed, chinese restaurant Grains & Starches 33.9 g Needs care about 88 g Risotto Grains & Starches 24.8 g Use caution about 101 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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