Diabetes and Fruits, The Truth Revealed

There seems to be a lot of confusion whether it is safe for diabetics to eat fruits or not. Fruits contain natural sugars and people with diabetes are often told to avoid all sugar-containing foods, including fruits.

Fruits provide a broad range of health benefits for everyone, including people with diabetes. People are too focused on sugars on its own, but all carbohydrate-containing foods affect blood sugar levels. So actually it’s not the type of carbohydrate you eat that matters but the amount.

Myth Busted

It’s a common myth that people with diabetes should not eat fruits because they contain natural sugars and carbs. Fruits are packed with health-promoting vitamins, minerals, and fiber. For those reasons, they should be part of any healthy diet. Having a piece of fruit actually works great to satisfy your sweet tooth while getting all the beneficial nutrients your body needs to function properly.

People with diabetes, however, should treat fruits just as any other carbohydrate-containing food when planning their meals to avoid sugar spikes.

When you’re on a carb-counting diet, one serving should contain 15 grams of carbs. So depending on which fruit you eat the portion size will differ. That’s the advantage of eating low-carb or low GI fruits; you can consume a larger portion to meet the 15 grams.

As a general rule, 15 grams of carbs can be found in:

• 1 small piece of whole fruit
• 1 cup of most berries or melons
• ½ cup frozen or canned fruit
• 2 tablespoons dried fruit
• 1/3 to ½ cup fresh fruit juice

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Why Should Diabetics Watch Their Fat Intake?

Fat can change your body’s response to insulin and sugars. Insulin is a hormone produced when sugar levels rise. It will help your body to transport sugar from your bloodstream into cells where it’s used for energy.

Studies show that people who eat lots of fatty food and/or are overweight don’t respond properly to those insulin levels, and sugars remain in the bloodstream instead of being escorted to the cells for energy. So your body will produce more insulin to get those sugars eventually out of the blood and into the cells. This mechanism can cause insulin sensitivity and diabetes type 2.

So a low-fat diet may actually help people use their insulin more efficiently and will prevent or reduce sugar spikes. A low-fat diet can reverse insulin sensitivity and for people with diabetes type 1, it can dramatically reduce the amount of insulin they need.

Some Guidelines

• Opt for whole, fresh fruits as they contain lots of fiber which helps to stabilize blood sugar levels.
• Avoid dried fruits and fruit juices. Although any type of fruit can be worked into a meal plan for diabetics, dried fruits or juices contain high levels of sugar and carbohydrates which reduce the serving size to almost nothing.
• Watch out for hidden sugars. Make sure to read the labels. Canned, frozen, or packaged fruits often contain added sugars or artificial sweeteners.
• Opt for fruits with a low glycemic index. Some fruits will raise blood sugar levels more than others.

As long as you count fruits into your meal plan they are absolutely safe and recommended. They add tons of health-promoting nutrients to your diet and you can substitute other carb-containing foods like starches, grains, and dairy.

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