How to Eat Fruit and Maintain Low Blood Sugar Levels

Many people with diabetes, type 1 and type 2, think that because fruits are sweet, they will raise their blood sugar level. Actually, nearly all fruits including apples, bananas, blueberries, cherries, oranges, peaches, and many others, have a low glycemic index. The exceptions are watermelon and pineapple.
Fruits are loaded with vitamins and, of course, have no fat or cholesterol. Your best bet to fill you up and get the maximum amount of fiber is, you guessed it, fresh fruit.
Questions people with diabetes often ask about eating fruit include: will fruit juice raise my blood sugar levels more quickly than a piece of fruit? Should I avoid eating fruit in the early morning because my blood sugar level could be high then? Should I eat fruit with my meals or as a snack.
Actually the effect of fruit on your blood sugars depends on several things:
• what form the fruit is in... is it juice that you can gulp down quite quickly or is it a whole piece of fruit that will take several minutes to eat?
• will you eat the piece of fruit as part of a meal, at the end of the meal or alone as a snack
• the glycemic index or glycemic load of the fruit
Usually fruit does not raise your blood sugars faster than any other carbohydrate but some fruits can if they are eaten alone. Apples, grapefruit, prunes and peaches have a low GI but raisins, dates, watermelon and pineapple have a high GI. A good idea is to run a challenge to determine how fruit generally affects your blood sugars. Perhaps eating fruit in the morning will make it more difficult for you to keep your blood sugars on target throughout the whole day. Or maybe one fruit will affect your blood sugar levels more than another.

Although you cannot eat fruit with abandon... the aim usually is to have 2 to 4 portions spaced evenly throughout the day. As a guide, a portion is:

• one medium-sized fruit: apple, orange or pear
• one small banana (or half a medium one)
• two smaller fruits: apricots or plums
• a large slice of a larger fruit: melon or pineapple
• a cupful of strawberries, raspberries or grapes
• half a cup of fresh fruit salad
• 150ml glass of fruit juice also counts as a portion (as this contains no fiber one glass per day is suggested to be the maximum)
Here are some approaches to consider:

1. Have one portion of fruit with each meal, eg. berries at breakfast, an apple at lunch, and a fruit salad dessert after dinner.
2. Eat fruit at breakfast, then as a snack at mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
3. Have fruit for snacks at mid-morning, mid-afternoon and bedtime
The bottom line is fruit is a source of energy, vitamins, minerals and fiber not to be missed.

Would you like more information about alternative ways to handle your type 2 diabetes?
To download your free copy of my E-Book, click here now: Answers to Your Questions its based on questions many diabetics have asked me over recent months.
Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your type 2 diabetes. http://drugfreetype2diabetes.com/blog

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