When you're managing diabetes, eating out at a fast-food restaurant isn't always easy. However, fast food is sometimes the only option, which means that you need to look carefully at the nutritional information provided by the restaurant. This way, you can control the amount of carbs, sugar and calories in your meal to prevent a blood sugar spike.

Arby's is a fast-food chain specializing in sandwiches and is the second-largest sandwich brand in the world, being available in more than 3,500 locations in nine countries. The good news is that even though Arby's is not the healthiest place to eat out, there are multiple items on the menu that have under 50 g of carbs and just a couple of grams of sugar, which are thus suitable for people who have diabetes.

Here's what you should get at Arby's if you don't want to send your blood sugar levels into a frenzy.

Classic Roast Beef

This is one of the healthiest sandwiches you can order at Arby's and incidentally is also one of their classics. This sandwich has just 360 calories and 37 g of carbs. It also packs just 5 g of sugar, but you should keep in mind that this is before you add any sauces.

Turkey Gyro

Packing 48 grams of carbs and 5 g of sugar for a total of 470 calories, the Turkey Gyro at Arby's is a health-conscious choice not only for people with diabetes but also for everyone who wants to watch their intake of saturated fats and carbs. As in the case of any other fast-food sandwich, you can easily half the amount of carbs and sugar by removing the top bun.

Chopped Farmhouse Salad with Roast Turkey

Even though most people come to Arby's for their delicious sandwiches, this salad with roast turkey is one of the best meals you can order at this fast-food chain if you are watching your carb intake. The salad packs 240 calories and just 9 g of carbs before adding any dressings.

Vanilla Handcrafted Shake (Snack Size)

You shouldn't make a habit out of it, but you can actually enjoy a healthy-ish dessert at Arby's. The vanilla handcrafted shake has just 40 g of carbs and 250 calories for the snack size. While the sugar content is a bit high at 37 grams, most people can enjoy it as a treat from time to time, provided they are watching their carbs and sugar content for the rest of the day. Make sure you stick to the small snack size, though, because the large shake clocks in at a staggering 115 g of sugar.

What should you avoid at Arby's if you have diabetes? 

Unfortunately, just like in the case of most fast-food chains, there are more items on the menu that you should avoid than things you can enjoy at Arby's if you have diabetes. Most of the classic roast beef sandwiches such as the Half Pound French Dip & Swiss and Au Jus are best to be avoided. This sandwich, for example, has no less than 88 g of carbs and 740 calories, not to mention had it also clocks in at a whopping 3,400 mg of sodium, which is way more than the daily limit recommended by the American Heart Association.

The roast turkey ranch and bacon sandwich is also something that you should avoid, particularly because it has 79 g of carbs and 800 calories altogether. Worst case scenario, you can split the sandwich in half, but it would still be a bit much for someone with diabetes, not to mention that you might still feel hungry afterward.

If you think that the appetizers at Arby's might have something suitable for someone who lives with diabetes, you won't have much luck there. For example, a six-piece mozzarella stick order without the marinara dipping sauce has 56 g of carbs and 650 calories, which is quite a lot for something that won't feed you much.

Bottom line 

Even though Arby's has some of the best roast beef sandwiches in the country, this fast-food chain is not a very diabetic friendly place. However, if you find yourself in there with your family or friends, it's not impossible to enjoy a couple of items on their menu if you have diabetes.