Fruits have many health benefits—they contain vitamins, minerals, filling fiber and antioxidants. Fruit can be beneficial to a diabetes meal plan if eaten in moderation. The key to eating fruit is to make sure you eat the right kinds in the appropriate portions.
The fiber found in fruit can help to prevent blood sugar spikes, may aid in pulling cholesterol away from your heart, and increase feelings of fullness, resulting in less food intake. Fruit is also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, which can help reduce your blood pressure.
On the flip side, fruit is a carbohydrate and it contains a natural sugar called fructose. Carbohydrates, whether from bread, milk, yogurt, potatoes, or fruit, get broken down and turn into sugar or glucose. For this reason, it's recommended that people who have diabetes monitor how many carbohydrates they eat, including fruit servings.
Avoid Dried Fruit and Fruit Juices:
Dried fruit, especially if it is sweetened, is higher in carbohydrates per serving than natural whole fruit. It also contains more sugar because sugars are added to flavor
It's also best to avoid all fruit juices. Even 100 percent fruit juice, causes instant spikes in blood sugars because the flesh of the fruit, which contains fiber, is discarded. It is also easy to drink an excess amount of calories without realizing it. For example, 4 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice contains 60 calories, 15 grams carbohydrate, and 15 grams sugar.
Instead of dried fruit or fruit juice, opt for whole fruit—fresh, frozen, or canned—without added sugars.
Keep Portions in Check:
Keep in mind that one fruit serving is about 15 grams of carbohydrate. How much of each fruit you can eat within that one-serving limit will depend on the type of fruit. Here is a list of what is considered one serving for common whole fruits:
- 1 small piece (4 ounces) apple, orange, peach, pear, or plum
- 1/2 medium banana
- 2 small or 1 large tangerine (4 ounces total)
- 2 small (2 ounces each) kiwi
- 4 small (1 ounce each) apricots
- ~1 cup of melon (cantaloupe, watermelon, or honeydew)
- 15 grapes or cherries
Choose Fruits With a Lower Glycemic Index:
Here are some examples of low, moderate, and high GI fruits:
- Low GI fruits (55 or less): apples, pears, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, grapefruit, pear, nectarine, orange
- Moderate GI fruits (55-69): cherries, mango, papaya, grapes
- High GI fruits (70 or greater): watermelon, pineapple
Note this information, while also keeping in mind that everyone has their own trigger foods, which will spike blood sugars more than others. Additionally, the riper a fruit is, the more it affects your blood sugar.
Pair it With Protein:
pairing fruit with a protein can help slow down a rise in the blood sugars. You can do this by incorporating fruit into your meal allotment for carbohydrates or add protein to your fruit snack.
For example:
- 1 4-ounce apple slice with 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 cup raspberries with 1 small non-fat Greek yogurt
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