Fruit And Diabetes – Friend Or Foe?

I want to briefly touch upon the topic of eating fruit. I see many people who are suffering from diabetes avoid fruit entirely. Usually, it’s because they have come to believe that since fruit has sugar and all sugar must be avoided by diabetics, this automatically means that fruit is off limits.

But is this really the case?

The first thing you need to remember about fruit is the fact that fruit itself is packed with nutrients. It’s really like Mother Nature’s medicine. It contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, all of which are going to help make you stronger than ever.

It’s a shame to miss out on all this!

Second, fruit also comes packed with fiber. And guess what is a diabetic’s best friend? That’s right – fiber.

When you eat fiber, it slows down the release of glucose into the blood stream, meaning you won’t get the blood glucose spike that you’d normally get from foods that contain carbohydrates – fruit sugar included.

So, despite the fact that fruit does contain some sugar, the fiber helps to offset the blood glucose spiking that comes from that sugar.

And to add to this, it’s also important to note that about half the sugar found in fruit is fructose, which is a form of sugar that does not influence blood glucose levels. Instead, fructose simply moves into the liver where it is sent for processing.

So, all in all, fruit really will not have the same degree of impact on blood glucose levels as, say, eating a chocolate bar would. Keep this in mind when you consider saying ‘no’ to that banana or apple.

And if you are really that concerned about the sugar content in fruit, just choose the lower-sugar varieties that are available.

Cranberries, raspberries, and kiwis are the fruits with the lowest overall sugar content, so you might want to prefer these over the ones with a higher sugar content.