Fruits

[Brax]

Do any fruits have a too high sugar content that would be of risk to diabetics? And if so, what fruits have are better for diabetics?

Thanks.

[DeusXM]

Eating fruit is fine, and indeed to be encouraged. Although indeed fruits do contain sugar, generally it is in the form of fructose which has much lesser effect on bg than either sucrose or glucose. Therefore the net effect on bg of eating a piece of fruit is minimal and certainly nothing to worry about - you definitely won't be able to bolus for a piece of fruit because you'd need about 1/8th of a unit.

There appears to be some sort of belief that bananas are higher in sugar because I think people of a certain age believe that you have to treat hypos with bananas. However I've never noticed any significant rise from bananas or indeed any other fruit, and being someone who habitually grazes on dried fruit all day I'd like to think I have fairly good understanding as to fruit sugar content.

So eat lots of fruit, because it's really good for you. You're supposed to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, and it's pretty hard to do that without fruit.

[zookeeper671]

Grapes of which I love to, and do, devour send my bgl to the moon. Of course, it could be the amount I eat (big bunch). lol I eat a huge variety of fruit daily without a prob. I know how it affects me, so I know how to treat it... now. Took me a while to figure it out. lol

[Jamie]

I also eat plenty of fruit. Honeydew melon makes my levels go up. Grapes don't seem to affect me much

[archimeech]

I find that the fiber content in a Granny Smith Apple helps counter the carbs. Likewise, I love grapes, honeydew, watermelon, you name it; except for grapefruit. All of wich will raise your sugar if you eat too much, too often, without countering with an adequate amount of insulin.

[LauRa Lu]

There appears to be some sort of belief that bananas are higher in sugar because I think people of a certain age believe that you have to treat hypos with bananas. However I've never noticed any significant rise from bananas or indeed any other fruit, and being someone who habitually grazes on dried fruit all day I'd like to think I have fairly good understanding as to fruit sugar content.


Deus, I hate to disagree with ya but I'm going to have to :p
Bananas rocket my blood sugar and I certainly could treat a hypo with a banana and have done in the past.

I also eat loads of fruit (maybe too much perhaps), I eat it all day long every day. I have to bolus for apples, peaches, nectarines, melon (sometimes), pineapple, raspberries, and passionfruit. Things I don't bolus for are strawberries and plums and thats it. Grapes make me go high too but I don't eat those anymore. I can't remember what effect grapefruit has coz I don't like them, way to sour for me.

For me strawberries are the best, they dont affect my blood sugar one tiny bit.

[MarkMunday]

The extent to which fruit will affect your blood sugar depends on the quantity you eat and the glycemic index. Grapes conain about 1gram of carbs each. So 15 grapes contains a similar amount of carbs as a slice of bread. But bread has a GI of about 70 while the GI of grapes is 46.

Here are the GI values for fruits :

# Apple GI is 38
# Banana GI is 55
# Cantaloupe GI is 65
# Cherries GI is 22
# Grapefruit GI is 25
# Grapes GI is 46
# Kiwi GI is 52
# Mango GI is 55
# Orange GI is 44
# Papaya GI is 58
# Pear GI is 38
# Pineapple GI is 66
# Plum GI is 39
# Watermelon GI is 103

Watermelon has a very high GI. But it contains very little sugar. So It doesn't affect blood sugar much. I eat a lot of apples. But I don't bolus for them. I use more basal insulin that I otherwise would.

Cheers,

Mark

[mark-TN]

I stay away from sweet fruit. I do eat fruit although society for the most part calls these vegetables. The fruits I eat most (and these are all technically and biological fruits, and they contain all the nutritional value, if not more, of the sweet fruit, just not all the sugar) are: avocados, summer squash, zucchini, peppers, eggplant and pumpkin and in small quantities tomato, and cucumber. I only eat these at meal times and I eat an amble serving of them and do calculate them into my meal bolus. These “fruits” have about the same GI and carbohydrate content as non-starchy vegetables and I eat them in place of my vegetable serving at meal time. It is true that we should all eat fruit for the nutritional value, but it does not need to be sweet fruit to get the same amount of vital vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Here is an informative site on what is actually a fruit: http://www.thefruitpages.com/tomatoes.shtml

Mark

[am1977]

I do bolus for most fruits (even berries), b/c they are carbohydrates and I find they do raise my blood sugar (though some more than others). I would keep an eye on how it affects your blood sugar levels-everyone is different, and then make adjustments if need be. I don't think you would need to cut fruits out completely, b/c they are healthy...not to mention tasty :)

[Belinda]

I am with Amy...different fruits have different effects on my BS...don't understand why but hey...,..I have figured out what to bolus for them

[Brax]

Thanks a lot for the insight, everyone.

My Aunt has diabetes and she went pretty high a couple days ago. Had to call the paramedics. Since she couldn't see a dietition yet, I went online to get info in order to help her with choosing her foods. She doesn't know how to surf the net and this is all pretty confusing to me. Anyway, the paramedic said the rise might have had something to do with the fruit she ate the previous night. She ate a bunch of grapes.

[rzrbks]

I bolus for fruit carbs exactly the way I do for "Regular" carbs----1:15 ratio and I get along fine.

From all my research, like everything else with Diabetes, it depends on the individual as to how you must deal with fruit carbs.

Some folks can't eat any fruti without going "Through the roof" while others can eat up certain amounts withouot having to bolus.

[DeusXM]

How many grapes did your aunt eat? A bg rise that would require paramedical attention would be astronomical (we're talking a raise of at least 25mmol/l here), so I would summarise that either your aunt was already running rather high when she ate the grapes, or she ate a heck of a lot of grapes.

[HypnoToad]

i think everyone reacts different to different fruits, like banannas are killer for me but i can eat lots of apples and strawberries will little to no effect

[Starlight]

bananas? really? I had a hypo few weeks ago and ate some surgary lollies and then a banana and manderine so the low wouldnt re-occur. Funny, half an hour later im low again. Bananas and fruit never stabilise me. They always make me low if i dont eat them along with anything else. Normally bread does it for me when i have a low.

[Erin]

I have to bolus for fruit (unless I just eat a few grapes or a few berries, but that rarely happens, if I'm eating it I'm *eating it*) and I bolus just about the same as I do for other carb containing foods.

(and I have found that banana's have about 40 grams of carbs in 'em compared to about 30 in an apple or orange) <----- this obviously changes if you eat a really small or gigantic piece of fruit.

When I was on a less exact insulin regimen (NPH and R instead of Lantus and Humalog) I could get away with eating fruit without bolusing, depending on what time of day it was, because lots of the time I was heading for a hypo. (never remembered those silly snacks!)

[Starlight]

I did a test the other night..before bed i was 6.6 ate a nashi pear (sp?) 15 mins to half an hour later i was 8.5 then close to an hour later it dropped back down to 4.5. This is really annoying. it means i have to eat extra just so my BGLs dont drop down :mad:

[KickStart101]

My Hubby just bought us 4 lbs. of strawberries and 4 lbs. of cherries
so I'm Happy again for a while. They don't affect my bsl's much. I love
most fruit often. Some are anti-oxidents as you know plus fiber plus they are just plain good for ya and a joy to eat in moderate amounts.

[rzrbks]

a joy to eat in moderate amounts. = 2 Kg at a time-- LOL

[Middle Aged Man]

Going back to the original post, just remember that eating the whole, fresh fruit is the best way to go. You add fiber and keep any added sugars out. Going the dried, canned, or juiced way just begs trouble.

[Elaine Hutchins]

bananas? really? I had a hypo few weeks ago and ate some surgary lollies and then a banana and manderine so the low wouldnt re-occur. Funny, half an hour later im low again. Bananas and fruit never stabilise me. They always make me low if i dont eat them along with anything else. Normally bread does it for me when i have a low.
>>>>>
I just found these forums today and am afraid I don't know what you folks are talking about. What do you mean by "bolus"? My son says I need to take nutritional classes and learn about exchanges, etc. Does a doctor have to prescribe them?

[duck]

>>>>>
I just found these forums today and am afraid I don't know what you folks are talking about. What do you mean by "bolus"? My son says I need to take nutritional classes and learn about exchanges, etc. Does a doctor have to prescribe them?

A "bolus" is basically the same as a shot...For example, if I said I was taking my meal "bolus", you can interchange that word with "shot" or "injection": "I am taking my meal shot"...

There is another term, "basal" which you will hear us Type-1 pumpers talking about, and the Type-1 MDI's (Multiple Daily Injection-people). Most people don't realize it, but your body produces "sugar" in the form of glucose in varying amounts all day long. A Type-1 diabetic is basically someone who cannot produce insulin...If they took no insulin at all and ate nothing at all either, their blood sugars would still go up because of the bodies natural processes...Therefore they need a "basal" insulin to keep that part in check. And then when they eat, they...bolus to cover the meal.

Confused yet? Just take a deep breath and relax. You won't understand it all in one day. :D

[Middle Aged Man]

>>>>>
I just found these forums today and am afraid I don't know what you folks are talking about. What do you mean by "bolus"? My son says I need to take nutritional classes and learn about exchanges, etc. Does a doctor have to prescribe them?

Exchanges are supposed to be an easy way to track your carb intake. No major mystery to it. I prefer to use raw numbers, but it is less labor intensive to just think in exchanges.

This site may help you for starters. If nothing else, it will help you know what to search for.


http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/aha_exchlisa_crs.htm

[Starlight]

A "bolus" is basically the same as a shot...For example, if I said I was taking my meal "bolus", you can interchange that word with "shot" or "injection": "I am taking my meal shot"...

There is another term, "basal" which you will hear us Type-1 pumpers talking about, and the Type-1 MDI's (Multiple Daily Injection-people). Most people don't realize it, but your body produces "sugar" in the form of glucose in varying amounts all day long. A Type-1 diabetic is basically someone who cannot produce insulin...If they took no insulin at all and ate nothing at all either, their blood sugars would still go up because of the bodies natural processes...Therefore they need a "basal" insulin to keep that part in check. And then when they eat, they...bolus to cover the meal.

Confused yet? Just take a deep breath and relax. You won't understand it all in one day. :D
i understand now..i've got a better grasp on it. Thanks duck! :hello: