
What Fruit Can You Eat If You Have Diabetes?
You may have heard at some point that you cannot eat fruit if you have diabetes. Perhaps someone even told you that watermelon and bananas are off limits because they are too sweet. Neither of these is entirely true. You can enjoy fruit, you simply need to make smart decisions about which fruits and how much you eat.
Fruits and Diabetes
Fruits have many health benefits and they can be beneficial to a diabetic diet if eaten in moderation.
The key to eating fruit is to make sure you eat the right kinds in the appropriate portions.
For instance, fruits contain fiber. Fiber can help prevent blood sugar spikes, pull cholesterol away from your heart, and help you feel full, causing you to eat less. Fruit is also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, which can help reduce your blood pressure.
On the flip side, fruit is a carbohydrate and it contains a natural sugar called fructose. Carbohydrates, whether from bread, milk, yogurt, potatoes, or fruit, get broken down and turn into sugar or glucose. For this reason, it's recommended that people who have diabetes monitor how many carbohydrates they eat, including fruit servings.
When choosing fruit you'll want to take a few tips into consideration.
Avoid Dried Fruit and Fruit Juices
Dried fruit, especially if it is sweetened, is higher in carbohydrates per serving than natural whole fruit.
It also contains more sugar because sugars are added to flavor it and can be lower in fiber if the skin has been removed. Just two tablespoons of raisins (1 ounce) will cost you: 100 calories, 23 grams carbohydrate, and 18
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