“Is it suitable for a diabetes patient to eat fruits?”
Diabetes is a common disease nowadays, over 420 million people worldwide have diabetes.
It’s always hard for people who have diabetes to pick the right food for them.
As they have to pick food that nourishes their body and at the same time don’t contain any sort of added sugar.
So, staying away from any desserts or candies, that’s a good job!
But skipping fruits from your daily meals, I don’t think that’s a good idea. you should reconsider it.
Moreover, not all kind of fruits, there’s kind of fruit that you can eat moderately and kinds you should avoid them. Some fruits are less sugary than others.
The form of fruits and the preparation also counts.
That means GO for fresh or frozen fruits and cut down on any canned or dried fruits.
Also, I don’t recommend fruit juices, It raises the blood sugar very quickly due to the high sugar concentration. According to the global diabetes community website, It’s better to avoid fruits juices.
This a small guide for you to eat fruits for diabetes patient
Why does our body needs fruits?
Our body needs all kind of nutrient to stay healthy and well functioned.
Fruits provide essential nutrients to our body even if you have diabetes.
Thus, adding fruits cautiously to your daily meal will help you to maintain your health and body functions and make you feel full for a long time.
Fruits are full of nutrients such as:
Vitamin C: Enhance your immune system, repair and support body tissues growth, provide healthy skin and gum
Potassium: Reduce stress and anxiety, healthy blood pressure, support in building body muscles and reduce muscles cramps.
Dietary fibre: Control blood sugar level, decrease blood cholesterol level, lower risk of heart disease.
Folic acid: Support the body to make the red blood cells and prevent the folate deficiency anaemia also play an essential role during and after pregnancy.
What’s the glycemic index?
The Glycemic index (GI) is a rating system to measure how a food item can raise your blood sugar level.
And kind of food ranges from 1 to 100 glycemic index. You can use it to choose the fruits that suit your nutritional plan.
The higher glycemic index the high effect on your blood sugar level.
Fruits with a low GI (55 or less)
- Apples
- Oranges
- Bananas
- Avocados
- Berries
- Pears
- Plums
- Grapefruit
- Lemons
- Pineapple
- Apricots
- Kiwi
- Strawberry
- Peaches
Fruits with moderate GI(from 56 to 69)
- Cantaloupe
- Cherries
- Figs
- raisins
- Papayas
- Dates
Fruits with a high GI( higher than 70)
- Watermelon
- Pumpkin
- Any processed fruits, like juices, smoothies.
Accordingly, It doesn’t stop on fruits, every food has its own GI measurement.
That may help you to know more about any kind of food.
Also, the University of Sydney created a database to figure out the glycemic index of any kind of food.
Your daily portions of fruits
“You’ll have on-target blood sugars as long as you eat right, exercise, and take your medicine.” – Adam Brown
Your blood glucose is affected by three sources of energy from food (carbohydrates, protein, fats).
Carbohydrates can affect your blood sugar level rapidly.
Protein affects the sugar level, but more slowly than carbohydrates.
Fats make your body more resistant to insulin so, you’ll need extra insulin dose to cover any fatty food.
However, knowing the fruit that enters your body is important depending on its size.
For example:
Small fruits like kiwis or plums two of them equal one portion.
Medium fruits like apples, oranges one of them equal one portion.
Large fruits like watermelon or pineapple equal half portion.
Your daily sugar intake from fruits also depends on your physical activity, your gender and your age.
In general, the safest amount of sugar for diabetic people is two or three servings daily( one serving= 15 grams of carbohydrates).
Or 100 grams of fruits between meals so you can keep your sugar level under control.
Amount of sugar (carbohydrates) in fruits
Furthermore, if you want to count the carbohydrates in each fruit you can categorize fruits into two sets.
Not all fruits contain the same quantity of carbohydrates. It differs from one to another.
Here is the list that contains the most amount of sugar and a list that contain the least amount of sugar.
Fruits have the most sugar you probably have to remove it from your list are:
- Mangoes: one mango contains 45 grams of sugar.
- Grapes: 1 cup of grapes contain 23 gram of sugar.
- Cherries: one cup of cherries contains 18 grams of sugar.
- Pears: one medium pear contains 17 grams of sugar.
- Watermelon: one medium wedge contains 17 grams of sugar.
- Bananas: one medium banana contain 14 grams of sugar.
Fruits have less amount of sugar you should add it to your meal plan are:
- Avocados: one avocado contains 1/2 grams of sugar.
- Guavas: one guava contains 5 grams of sugar.
- Raspberries: one cup of raspberry contain 5 grams of sugar.
- Cantaloupe: one medium wedge contain 5 grams of sugar.
- Papayas: the half of papaya contains 6 grams f sugar
- Strawberries: one cup contains 7 grams of sugar.
The benefits of eating fruits for diabetic
“The sugar in fruit is not the same as the sugar in manufactured foods and may be metabolized differently. And there are other nutrients in fruit that may benefit in other ways.” – Dr Huaidong Du, a research fellow at the University of Oxford.
Also, to get the most nutrient for your body, buy fruits in season, It’ll be fresher and in a high nutrition level.
You can get so many benefits from fruits for a diabetic, such as:
- Decrease heart disease.
- Boost your energy.
- Lower risk of obesity.
- Reduce kidney disease.
- prevent you from the stroke.
- Maintain your weight.
- Feel full for a long time.
- Clearer skin.
- Helps in proper digestion.
- Boost the immune system.
To sum up
Every person should add more fruits to their daily meals whether you have diabetes or not.
Fruits are rich in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and fibre that protect your body from many diseases and maintain body functions.
In addition, fruits contain a diversity of natural sugar amount which is more healthy than the added sugar in processed food.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat it because you have diabetes. As long as you’re eating it moderately It’s fine.
Indeed, It’s a crucial part of a diabetic person life to plan a balanced meal and picking the right fruits to eat while controlling the fruit portion in order to achieve a stable blood sugar level.
You have two ways to watch your blood glucose, either the glycemic index counter or the carbohydrates counter.
In conclusion, having diabetes shouldn’t stop you from eating fruits.
