What Vegies and fruits are suitable for those having diabetes?
Written by Dr harold Gunatillake- FRCS, FICS, FIACS, AM (Sing), MBBS
Any fruit or vegetable will be the choice for most people whose insulin secretion is normal. What this means is that the blood sugar tends to remain within the normal range as measured by insulin when carbs are consumed. People having diabetes do not secrete sufficient insulin or may be due to reduced insulin sensitivity the blood sugar cannot be regulated and informed decisions are required to eat the right carbs, in different types of foods and drinks that make up a healthy diet.
In such situations you should know to select the right carbs to maintain a normal sugar level in your blood. In other words you may need to know carbs having a low glycaemic index (GI) and some knowledge about glycaemic load (GL) may be helpful.
Low sugar vegies include Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegies like broccoli, cauliflower. Other low sugar vegies are: cucumber, kale, carrots, green beans, spinach, rocket, arugula lettuce, tomatoes and radishes.
For a diabetic, fresh or frozen vegies are preferable to canned vegies because of added salt. Choose low salt canned vegies instead.
Another factor you need to look into is those complex carbs containing high fibre. Such vegies take a long time to digest, absorption is slower and blood sugar does not spike. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre found in a study that people who boosted fibre consumption from 24 to 50 grams per day showed drops in their blood sugar levels. The researchers found that, for some, changing to a high-fibre diet worked as well as some medications for diabetes.
Whole plant foods are great sources of complex carbohydrates: such as Green vegetables: whole grains and foods made from them, such as oatmeal, pasta, and whole-grain breads: starchy vegetables such as, sweet potatoes, corn, and pumpkin: Beans, lentils, and peas.
Foods that are high in carbs are: pastries, breads, rice and potatoes
Fruits which are low in sugar include all varieties of berries, mushrooms. Carambola fruit also provides amazing health benefits. It is very low in calories, only 31 in 100g, and is high in antioxidants, vitamins C and B, riboflavin, folate, niacin and minerals such as calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, and potassium. Studies have found it also control diabetes and lowers cholesterol.
Fruits that contain large amounts of sugar should be avoided. A medium sized ripe banana contains 14.4 grams of sugar almost double the amount in a ½ cup of blue berries. Now you know why blue berries don’t taste much in when added to your oats-meal breakfast. Apples though having high sugar- 18.9 grams in a medium apple are high in quercetin, a nutrient that reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease, and stabilises blood sugar levels. Raspberries have 2.7 grams of sugar per ½ cup serving. Strawberries have about 3.5 grams of sugar per half a cup. In brief, all berries have low blood sugar and you should eat much of them, also having antioxidant, flavones and other nutrients.
Fruits that have high fructose are pineapples (16 grams), Oranges (17 grams), Grapes over 20 grams, and mangoes.
Most diabetics feel that fruits are nutritious and good for diabetes and they eat with no concerns about their fructose levels, affecting their blood sugar numbers. All fruits have sugar in the form of fructose and sucrose. Too much of fructose can harm you and even linked to increase belly fat, slows metabolism and gains weight and worst can cause a non-alcohol fatty liver.
For those having no diabetes sugar in whole foods is not an issue, but it could be a health problem when it is extracted from its natural state and used in beverages and other foods. Diabetics have to be careful in consuming sugar in the natural state or when added to foods. You need to read the labels and avoid all foods having high carbs and sugars in packaged foods.
