Apple?

[SuzieP64]

Hi ... is there a particular apples that you can eat or does it really matter? The other night I ate granny apple and my bg went up so high, I find that very strange as I assumed that I could eat any kind of apples. What do you think?

[princesslinda]

Suzi, everyone is different in the fruit tolerances, that's why testing after trying something new is so important.

Personally, I have no problem with any apple, as long as its small. Grapes, however, send me sky high.

It may be that you could tolerate the apple better if you added a spoonful of peanut butter or some cheese with it.

There is the chance, however, that this may not be a fruit you tolerate well and you may have to share it with a friend when you get an apple craving.

[muse]

Hi, Sue,
Adelle Davis had a great line in one of her books, "Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit" - it said "Which Apricot, Grown Where?"

Of course, size matters (despite what you may have heard) and so does whether you have eaten it with protein or not. But there really are differences in the amount of sugar in fruits. An old banana has more sugar in it than an unripe banana.

So, maybe half an apple next time, with some protein. And maybe a Winesap! And it may be that you are different from someone else, whom apples do not bother at all!

Muse

[Gary_W]

I'm type 1 so it's a little different for me. What I do know is that I need between 1.5 and 3 units of insulin for an apple depending upon its size, which means that it has between 15 and 30g of carbs. The latter are the huge, sweet Pink Lady apples. Love the things, but going without a shot for one of those is a trip into double figures for me. So I can see how one of those would be a problem for a T2 who cannot cover with insulin.

Try weighing the ones you eat and looking up the carb content per 100g on calorie king etc. to see how many G of carbs your variety has. As others have said, adding fats or proteins to go with may slow down the absorbtion. All of the carbs will get in, but if you can get them to absorb over a longer period it may be kinder on you blood glucose.

Gary

[xMenace]

I sometimes think they don't affect me at all :eek: Same with bananas. Melons and grapes hit me hard though.

[kgm0612]

I do best with Gala apples. I've also find that the riper a piece of fruit is (apple, pear, peach), I seem to always test higher. I was told it's because the fruit will contain more sugar the longer it sits.

Karen

[xMenace]

I do best with Gala apples. I've also find that the riper a piece of fruit is (apple, pear, peach), I seem to always test higher. I was told it's because the fruit will contain more sugar the longer it sits.

Karen

I'm not sure sitting on a counter will add sugar. I think it still has to be on the plant. That's partly how ice wine gets such high sugar content. They let it ripen to it's maximum sweetness then freezing fixes the water leaving a high sugar concentrate..

[Kim_in_TN]

So far I haven't seen bad results from apples or apples with a bit of peanut butter. Red grapes, however, send me high and it's a shame because I LOVE them! Of course it doesn't help that once I start on grapes, I cannot stop! I eat them nearly non-stop all day! *sighs*

[Evermont]

I'm not sure sitting on a counter will add sugar. I think it still has to be on the plant...

As California peaches, plums and nectarines ripen, several changes take place. Green color, acidity and firmness decrease as yellow color, flavor and aromas increase. As acidity decreases, the ratio of sugar to acid increases and the fruit tastes sweeter. (link (http://www.eatcaliforniafruit.com/csppn/handling-stone-fruit/steps-to-ripen-ppn.asp))

Maybe it's just the acid decreasing. Same effect?

But the wiki on does mention starches turning into sugar.

This sounds to me like: "As fuit ripens, the Glycemic Index increases"

[Evermont]

The previous post should read:

The wiki on Ripening (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripening) does mention starches turning into sugar.

[kgm0612]

Keith.......thanks for explaining it as you did. It's not just over-ripen apples I have that problem with, I also have it with pears, peaches, etc.

Karen

[Evermont]

If you'll forgive my taking another bite at the apple...

I might say it this way: Apples, and other fruit increase in glycemic index as they ripen partly due to the reduction in acid which is known to slow digestion of starches and sugars, and partly because the starches are transformed to sugars as fruit ripens. Variation in blood glucose levels resulting from consumption of fruits is not limited just to categories of fruit e.g. apples versus oranges, varieties of apples vary considerably and even an individual apple will vary with time, fresh from the tree being best to keep blood sugars lower. Then there are the biological variations of persons consuming apples, physical and emotional states (e.g. stress), and what other foods are consumed at the same time, all of which effect the outcome to some degree or another.