Your diet directly impacts your blood sugar levels. You should follow your doctor’s orders about the specific foods you should eat for your individual condition. The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends eating a balanced diet to keep blood sugar levels normal. A healthy diet consists of 20 percent of your calories coming from protein sources, 40 to 60 percent from carbohydrates and no more than 30 percent from fat, a large component of foods like bacon. Diets to maintain blood sugar levels are low in added sugar, cholesterol and fat.
Ingredients
Bacon is made from the bellies of young swine, usually 6 to 7 months old, and contains strips of pink meat interspersed with white ribbons of fat. Bacon lasts longer than many other meats because of the curing process that includes significant amounts of nitrites and salt. The raw meat is either pumped full of the curing solution prior to heating, rubbed with salt and nitrites, or soaked in the brine. Other common additives used in bacon production include wood smoke, maple sugar, sugar, flavorings and spices. Salt prevents bacterial growth, and the sugar cuts the strong taste of the salt. There are about 380 calories in three strips of bacon, of which 110 come from fat. The serving typically contains 500 milligrams of sodium, 45 milligrams of cholesterol and 6 grams of protein.
Symptoms
Skipping meals, fasting, strenuous exercise and poor diet can lead to hypoglycemic symptoms. Conditions such as tumors, diabetes, autoimmune disorders and organ failure can cause sudden drops in your blood sugar when insulin levels are imbalanced. Symptoms include excessive sweating, headaches, heart palpitations and anxiety. Untreated, you can experience seizures, mental confusion and coma. While your diet cannot cure hypoglycemia, or low blood pressure, you can reduce the symptoms by eating a healthy diet. Some doctors recommend a high-protein diet to reduce symptoms, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, but the protein should come from lean cuts of meat that have not been processed. Refined foods like bacon that contain added sugar and unhealthy fats can lead to unwanted symptoms.
Avoid
You should eliminate bacon from your diet if you have low blood sugar or diabetes, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. The high levels of fat outweigh the healthy protein you’ll receive from the meat, and the added salt and sugar exacerbate blood level fluctuation even more. Read the labels on bacon that claims to have fewer fat calories or reduced salt levels because the brands often rely on added sugar to supplant the lost tastes derived from fat and salt. Other foods you should avoid include high-fat dairy products, egg yolks, dishes made with mayonnaise and fried food.
Options
A number of bacon alternatives are available that may not affect your blood sugar levels, weight, cholesterol and sodium intake as drastically. Canadian bacon is a low-fat alternative that contains zero to 3 grams of fat and fewer than 45 calories per serving according to MayoClinic.com. Soy-based bacon substitutes are a medium-fat meat substitute. A serving of three strips of soy bacon typically contains 4 to 7 grams of fat and 75 calories.
