Potatoes, fried chicken and full-cream milk: A diabetic's nightmare!

Making the right food choices for a diabetic is crucial.

That’s because eating right can help you maintain your health and help keep your blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible, explains WebMD.

But doing it right is about a much more than avoiding sugary snacks and treats. Read on to discover some surprising foods all diabetics should avoid…

Six foods that are surprisingly bad for your diabetes

#1: Potatoes and other starchy veg
Because your body finds it very easy to digest potatoes, they’re notorious for causing blood sugar spikes. This is true of other starchy veggies including peas, corn, squash and pumpkin, adds livestrong.com.

#2: Fried chicken
Chicken is a pretty healthy meal choice, but it depends on how you prepare it. Frying chicken, for example “adds significant carbs, calories, sodium, and fat [and] turns a good protein choice into a healthy-meal deal-breaker,” says diabeticlivingonline.com.

And as all diabetics know, carbs with a high glycaemic index (GI) are bad for your blood sugar.

#3: Full-cream milk
To keep your calories down and avoid obesity – which complicates diabetes – you need to limit your dietary fat. One of the easiest ways to do that is to stick to low-fat dairy products instead of full-cream ones.

#4: White rice
“Recent studies have shown that eating white rice can raise blood glucose significantly, especially if eaten often or in large quantities. One study showed an 11% increase in diabetes risk with each daily serving of white rice,” adds sharecare.com.

#5: Frozen pizza
Just like fried chicken, frozen pizza tends is high in calories, sodium, carbs and fat. In addition, many manufacturers add extra sugar into these products to keep them fresher for longer.

#6: Tomato sauce
Don’t use shop-bought tomato sauce brands, warns sharecare.com. “Many brands list some sort of sweetener as the second ingredient, which can have a disastrous effect on your blood sugar level. [And] it doesn’t matter if it’s called sugar, evaporated cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, or malt syrup, they’re all sugar, and all of them will elevate blood glucose.”

So there you have it. Controlling your diabetes is about more than limiting your sugar intake. You need to ensure the foods you eat support normal blood sugars, encourage a healthy weight and help you avoid common diabetic complications.