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Food to Avoid When Suffering From Diabetes Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a disorder that causes vomiting, nausea, gastroesophageal reflux and unsteady blood glucose levels due to the stomach's inability to properly dispose of food and waste. These symptoms are similar to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and can result in severe health problems if you are diabetic. If you are suffering from any of the symptoms you should contact your doctor immediately to avoid further complications. Along with medication, you will need to adjust your diet by changing how much and how often you eat, and avoiding high fiber and high fat foods.

  1. High Fiber Foods

    • Although fiber is helpful in lowering blood glucose levels, high amounts of fiber can exacerbate your gastroparesis. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, foods that are high in fiber include: nuts, oatmeal, oat bran, dried peas, blueberries, apples, pears, beans and strawberries. Other foods high in fiber include whole grain bread and pasta, couscous, barley, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, celery, tomatoes, seeds, cereal and brown rice. According to the American Diabetes Association, oranges and broccoli are among the high fiber foods that are hard for your stomach to digest. Eliminating such a large amount of essential fiber requires that you speak to your dietitian about safer alternatives.

    High Fat Foods

    • Foods that are high in fat are harder to digest than foods that aren't. Consumption of high fat foods results in poor movement through your stomach, and leads to painful symptoms such as heartburn and GERD. Cutting out foods that are high in saturated and trans fat can help alleviate the symptoms. Foods that contain saturated fat include dairy, cheese, butter and red meat. Reduce your saturated fat intake by switching your whole milk products with nonfat or low- fat varieties, and replace ground beef with lean ground beef. Eat more poultry, but be sure to remove the skin from chicken to reduce saturated fat. Fish is a healthy alternative that is also a rich source of protein. Mackerel, tuna, salmon and anchovies are high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids.

    Large Meals

    • Although eating three large meals is important for your diet, your stomach cannot handle the amount of food from each meal. Give your stomach a break by eating six small meals daily. Depending on the severity of your gastroparesis, your dietitian may recommend going on a liquid diet for a few days to reduce the symptoms of gastroparesis and manage your blood glucose levels if they are unstable.

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