Many fruits are rich in micronutrients, essential vitamins , fibre content and antioxidants along with that fruits occupy more space and less in calories so makes your tummy full and gives you feeling of satiety or fullness.
Most of the fruits have high fibre content , it comes in soluble or insoluble form. both forms are indigestible. They forms a bulk & increase water content of stool making it softer and easily movable in Gastrointestinal tract. Thus prevents constipation. High fibre diet reduces cardiovascular morbidity & mortality.
Diabetic person should avoid eating fruits with high glycemic index i.e. those fruits which readily digest in stomach and raises your blood sugars more than others like Mango, Chickoo, Banana (Green), Grapes, Custard Apple, etc.
Also one should avoid drinking fruit juices as condensation process increases sugar content of juice as well as a glass of juice is roughly equivalent to eating 2-3 fruits at a time. It is always better to eat a fresh fruit instead of drinking a fruit juice added with or without preservatives.
Managing blood sugars by diabetic person is all about balancing food intake. For example suppose Person (A) who is diabetic had four bread slices at breakfast at 9.00AM and his blood suagrs measured at 11.00AM found out to be 300 mg/dl. If the same person (A) divides those breakfast into 2 halves and take 2 bread slices at 8.00AM and 2 bread slices at 10.00 AM then his blood sugar roughly remains around 130 mg/dl . In this example the food intake is not decreased but instead it is divided into small quantity and consumed frequently.
Normally we consume most of the meal in the first 20 mins of starting a meal so eating a fruit before meal delays food intake and gives feeling of fullness or satiety earlier. That eventually leads to consumption of less food at meal so less calorie intake and helps to loose weight.
Many colorful fruits like berries are rich in antioxidants ( Lycopene, Beta-carotene, etc.) . In diabetes high bloood sugar values causes damage to nerves, retina, blood vessels and other systems via specific pathways. One of them is through generating free oxygen radical species, these anti-oxidants reacts with such harmful oxygen radicals and scavenger them thus minimizes the tissue damage in diabetes.
What fruits to eat in diabetes ?
- Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries etc. all berries are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and low in carbohydrates.
- Peaches are rich in vitamin A & C , Potassium and fibre.
- Apple a day keeps doctor away. Apples are rich in fibre, vitamin C & low in carb. don’t peel the skin as it contains antioxidants.
- Oranges are great in vitamin C, low in carb, contains potassium and folate, other citrus fruits like grapefruits are also equally good to eat.
- Pears good in potassium and fibre.
- Other fruits like apricot , guava are also rich vitamin A and good to eat .
Eating Fruits before meals helps you to loose weight & control your blood sugars. Making a habit of it helps a lot to obese individuals and known diabetic people.
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Awareness is Prevention.
Dr. Nikhil Prabhu ( Diabetes Specialist )
Dr Nikhil Prabhu is a consultant Diabetologist from mumbai. he has been practicing for more than 10 years and currently over 7000 patients are under his treatment for diabetes and thyroid disorder from mumbai and navi mumbai area. | you can book his appointment for tele-consultation on 9082523295 | follow us on YouTube for more diabetes & health related tips
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Thanks doc for the healthy advice… wuld lo to hear/read more from u…