Are Fruits ok to eat

[mycort]

Hi All,

Since my diagnosis of being diabetic about 6 months ago, i've been trying to avoid candy, chocolate, and fruits...anything that was sweet.

I'm sort of not sure if eating fresh fruits will spike my blood sugar to a high level, so i stay away from eating this. as diabetics, are fruits ok for us to eat?

thx.

[mg_2204]

Many fruits are low GI. I try to have them because (1) blood sugars tend to behave better and (2) fruits are part of a healthy diet.

I do eat water mellon and other fruits with a higher GI but in smaller quantities and not that often. Depends how active I am that day, etc.

Dried fruits like dattes I avoid at all cost. They make BG go up the curtain. Too bad because I really like dattes.

Hope this helps!

[xMenace]

All fruit is good in my books. I will delay eating them if I can, say an hour or two after the meal.

[JediSkipdogg]

I think eating fruits are a key to just living. They help to prevent many diseases. I think one just has to realize to not eat a grapefruit if they are running high.

[blacklightmike]

One of the precepts I was given is to eat them with a meal... the sugars tend to digest slower with other foods present. If you eat them as a snack, balance it with some protein at the same time. An apple with a worm is perfect in this regard... :D

Are you T1 or 2? That might make a difference as well.

[am1977]

It's really not about sugar or sweetness. Diabetes is a disease relating to carbohydrate metabolism. Meaning, anything that is a carbohydrate becomes sugar once it is processed in the body. Yes, fruits, candy, juice, chocolate are carbohydrates, but so are milk, bread, potatos, pasta, etc.

I wouldn't say you have to cut it all out, but you should pay attention to what you are eating and watch portion sizes. Also, you may want to invest in finding a RD... It really helps to talk to someone who is a pro in the field.

Good luck and don't hesitate to post if you have any other questions :)

[Emm]

It's an individual thing...
Are you type 1 or 2? If you're on insulin, eat away... Just make sure you match it with a jab. If not, then save fruit for when you're lower, or even better - before or after exercise.

Fruit isn't 'naughty' as such - I don't believe any food is naughty. It's all about balance. Just get to know your numbers, always test when you eat something new to make sure you can handle it - if you can't, and you really want to, then find a way to make it happen! (for example, horribly high GI foods can be saved for a high exercise day or something like that - whatever works for you)

Personally, I tend to stick to apples and get the rest of my goodness from veggies. I don't see fruit as a necessity, they play with my numbers too much and I don't really care about leaving fruit behind! Gimme a good salad any day :D

[mg_2204]

In your signature :

medicinal chocolate *cough*

*cough* *cough* Can I have some? :D

[KickStart101]

Hi!

It would be valuable to test your sugars after you
eat each fruit to see how that particular fruit effects
your sugars, if you decide to try some.

I can't see how anyone can live without real, fresh
fruit on their menu. I believe it is more difficult for
Diabetics who are not on Insulin, however. Fruit
(as with other foods)seems to affect Diabetics
differently.

I was told fruits that are ripe or over-ripe will raise
my sugars more. So a banana with a smidgen of green
on the skin would be wiser to eat. A medium banana
would be 1 unit of Insulin for me. I would not take
a needle for it though. I would make it fit into my
normal Insulin schedule. Don't Dare stand between me
and my fruit. ;)

[Imperatrix]

Interesting that I'm now eating better since diagnosis! I've heard this happens a lot. Before, I rarely ate fruit, but now I have been eating apples and bosc pears...and I do have them with a bit of natural (no sugar/no hydrogenated fat) peanut butter for the protein. I try to buy small fruits so I don't have to halve them and save the other half for later. Oh, and I am a blueberry fanatic, too!!

[shockme]

welcome mycort:) as has been said-it's the carbs that are our enemy.all foods affect diabetics differently.so have a serving of fruit,then test 2 hrs.after.have you seen a dietician yet?she'll set you up w/the right amount of carbs to have.lota of great folks here-any questions-ask away.take care,trish

[BlueSky]

.... are fruits ok for us to eat? ....
Type 1s can get away with eating lots of carb and covering it with insulin, as long as they don't become insulin resistant. For a Type 2 it is not so easy. Any food with carb in it will increase insulin levels, whether it spikes your blood sugar or not. High insulin levels aggravate insulin resistance and promote progression of the disease.

So in answer to your question, whether or not sweet fruit, starchy vegetables or grains are OK to eat depends on how badly you want to prevent progression of Type 2.

[sofaraway]

for me i find fruits to barely affect my blood sugars at all, I never even bolus for them. As with everything you need to find out how they affect you and work a way to eat the fruits you enjoy.

[princesslinda]

I don't have fruit very often, as I tend to eat pretty low carb. I have found that the green apples (granny smith) have very little effect on my blood sugars. Also, I can have a slice or two of cantaloupe or 1/2 a pear....more than this, and I may as well have some bread. Berries are supposed to be a good fruit choice...i'm not a big berry fan. One of my higher readings lately was after eating approx 8 grapes and a few cubes of cheese...so grapes are out for me (I eat cheese regularly).

Like the previous poster(s) mentioned, test before and again 2 hrs after your first bite of fruit, just as you would any new food, and see how it affects YOU, as we're all so different this way.

[kgm0612]

As a type 1 pumper, I'm not a big fruit eater. Over the last month or two, I've been trying to incorporate more fruit into my diet. I do well with pears & apples.

Karen

[KritterMom]

I eat a lot of fruit, and do quite well. But, I know there are others that don't do well with fruit and it spikes their blood sugars. But, I do fine with fruit. I mainly eat bananas, oranges, and apples.

[DonnaB]

I try to get a bit of fruit in my morning protein shake...either 1/4 banana and a handful of frozen blueberries, or two slices of frozen peaches and 1/4 banana. My numbers are pretty consistent after my protein/fruit shake. I'm having the hardest time controlling my after lunch numbers.

[murphysl]

I do fine with raw coconut meat, lemons, limes, and a few goji berries. I was concerned about coconut being somewhat unhealthy due to its saturated fat content, but a book called "The Coconut Oil Miracle" by bruce fife, changed my mind.

[kate]

My Diatitian and Diabetic Nurse both suggest to eat five servings of fruit a day.

Five different coloured fruits a day too :)

However, fruit juices I am to avoid because of the amount of fruit it takes to make a glass and thus the added natural sugars etc in that.


Dates actually don't have much "sugar" in them dried or not.

A date square is actually relatively low in sugar and as a dessert more recommended a choice than Apple pie say with most of the sugar content being added to the topping.

I don't cut anything out of my diet really except for fruit juice and as much sugar as possible, choosing items that are lower.

I drink vegetable juice instead for instance.

If you cannot have fruit in your diet be sure your getting a vitamin c source.

I'm not an expert but you have to have vitamin c in your diet.

So, Happy Mother's Day to those Wonderful Mom's out there.

[Kate H]

Berries, Berries, Berries

strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black berries...... all have a low glycemic index to them, and are full of nutrients for the body and especially the eyes (see blueberries)

bananas i have to eat with a meal to slow them down, and only 1/2 a banana at a time (unless i eat 1/2 banana for a hypo), apples seem to be easier on the bg, but only 1/2 of one at a time, 6 large grapes is a serving size.... that's torture, not enjoying grapes, so, again, i have to bury them in a meal and cut back on other carbs in that meal so that i don't spike

play around, and use your meter to test, test, test those fruits to see what you can eat

The Glycemic Index (http://www.glycemicindex.com) gives a list of fruits that you can search from their data base

oh, tart cherries are also good for nutrients and being low glycemic index

[owlyn]

I sometimes use a pear or an apple to combat hypos, and they work about as fast as glucose tablets. An average pear or apple has about 25 grams of carb.

[xMenace]

I buy those bags of frozen fruits. Not only is there a mixture which seems good for BGs, it tastes good, and it's easy to weigh/measure. And they don't go bad sitting on the counter like fresh fruit tends to, demanding that you eat it up.

[spirosway]

Yea...all fruits are ok but you must control BG ok!!

[labob]

I have half of a small-to-medium banana plus a handful of berries (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry or raspberry) on my carefully measured serving of cereal every morning.

For other servings of fruit throughout the day, it depends on my mood, the season, and my activity level. Citrus generally seems easier on my glucose levels than other fruits, so I will have a small orange or tangerine from time to time without much thought. (I haven't tried grapefruit since my diagnosis, though.) Since apricots are small and I like them a lot, I might also have one without feeling like the only other thing I can eat to balance the meal is fat on a stick.

For most other fruits, though, I do worry about portion size, so I don't indulge in as much as I would usually like (especially in the glorious days of summer and early fall), especially not without a lot of measuring and testing. But since I'd be hard pressed to come up with a fruit that I don't like, it's worth the measuring and testing (and sometimes the occasional extra walk) to have those extra bites of melon or apple or cherries.

In addition to grapes (which, oddly enough, seem to be the one fruit I can take or leave, even though I love wine), I seem to have to be extra careful with watermelon, mangos and pineapple, and even pears and peaches can be challenging (peaches can be bigger than you think!).