The sugars contained in fruits are glucose, fructose and sucrose, of which the metabolism of fructose does not need to be regulated by insulin. Also fruits contain a lot of vitamins, fiber and minerals, which are beneficial for diabetics. However, many diabetics refuse fruit for fear of blood sugar fluctuations after eating it. Is this correct? Let’s start by looking at the latest evidence-based evidence from the Chinese themselves.
Fruits can reduce the risk of diabetes
On April 11, 2017, the prestigious international medical journal Public Library of Science-Medicine published a large prospective cohort study involving 500,000 people in China and followed up for seven years. The results showed that the proportion of people with diabetes who did not eat fruit was three times higher than that of people without diabetes. Compared to those who did not eat fresh fruit, those who ate fresh fruit daily had a 12 percent lower risk of new-onset diabetes during the seven-year follow-up period. Among those who had diabetes at the time of survey participation, fresh fruit intake also showed significant health benefits – consuming 100 grams of fresh fruit per day reduced overall mortality among people with diabetes by 17%, the risk of macrovascular complications (such as ischemic heart disease and stroke) by 13%, and small-vessel complications ( such as diabetic nephropathy and diabetic eye disease) by 28%. Therefore, researchers believe that regular consumption of fresh fruit not only significantly reduces the risk of diabetes and the resulting vascular complications in the general population, but also benefits diabetics.
How to eat fruits reasonably for diabetic patients?
1, blood sugar control to meet the standard
Diabetic patients should first make their blood sugar standard through lifestyle intervention and/or medication. Chinese type 2 diabetic patients’ blood sugar control target: fasting blood sugar target is 4.4-7.0mmol/L, non-fasting blood sugar is 10mmol/L, glycosylated hemoglobin <7%.
2.Select fruits according to their glycemic index
Research shows that low glycemic index (GI, refers to each kind of food after eating, a speed and ability to raise blood sugar) diet can reduce urinary C a peptide excretion in healthy subjects, improve the blood sugar of diabetic patients, reduce plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), LDL-C, increase HDL-C. Large-scale population cohort studies show that low GI Large-scale population-based cohort studies have shown that low-GI diets reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
In nutrition, the glycemic index of food is divided into high, medium and low categories based on GI value, and those with GI less than 55 are low GI foods, including saints, blueberries, cherries, plums, grapefruit, apples, pears, fresh peaches, mandarins, mangoes, guavas and kiwis. Fruits with medium and high glycemic index include bananas, oranges, grapes, pineapples, raisins, and dried and fresh fruit. Diabetic patients can eat a limited amount of fruits with medium and high glycemic index, and choose more fruits with low glycemic index to help keep blood sugar stable.
3.Choose according to the sugar content
Recommended: fruits with less than 10g of sugar per 100g, including orange, watermelon, grapefruit, lemon, peach, plum, apricot, strawberry, loquat, pineapple, cherry, etc. Tomatoes, cucumbers and vegetable melons contain less than 5g of sugar per 100g and are suitable for diabetic patients.
Careful selection: fruits with 11g-20g of sugar per 100g of fruit, including bananas, pomegranates, melons, oranges, pears, lychees, apples, mangoes, etc.
Not suitable: fruits containing more than 20g of sugar per 100g, including hami melon, Laiyang pear, persimmon, fat peach, rose-scented grapes, winter dates, yellow peaches, etc., especially dried and dried fruits should be prohibited.
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a 24-year follow-up study on the dietary habits of 200,000 people and found that people who love blueberries the most have a 23% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who never eat them. Those who ate at least five apples a week also had a 23 percent lower risk of developing diabetes than those who never ate apples. Because these fruits are rich in natural strong antioxidant compounds flavonoids.
4. The time to eat fruit
The best time for diabetics to eat fruit is between meals, when they are hungry or after physical activity, as an energy and nutrient supplement. Eating fruits immediately before or after meals will have a greater impact on blood sugar, and it is best to exercise moderately after eating. Each person’s specific situation is different, and the effect of each fruit on blood sugar is also different, so sugar lovers should monitor their blood sugar regularly.
5.Choose according to your own physique
On April 9, 2009, the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine officially promulgated the standard “Classification and Determination of Physique in Chinese Medicine”, which divided the population into nine basic types of physique. That is, peace, qi deficiency, yang deficiency, yin deficiency, phlegm dampness, damp heat, blood stasis, qi yu quality, special endowment. People have different constitutions, and fruits are also divided into warm and cool according to different components and qualities.
Cold fruits include: grapefruit, tangerine, orange, water chestnut, banana, pear, persimmon, watermelon, strawberry, loquat, etc. People with cold constitution should eat them carefully.
Warm fruits include: chestnut, peach, apricot, longan, lychee, cherry, pomegranate, etc. People with hot and dry constitution should eat them carefully.
Sweet and flat fruits include: plum, grape, plum, coconut, hawthorn, apple, olive, etc. These fruits are suitable for people with various body types.
Therefore, when eating fruits, diabetic patients must choose those fruits with low glycemic index and sugar content, which match with their own constitution. At the same time, the amount of fruit should not be too much, even if the carbohydrate content is small and the GI value is low, if consumed in excess, it will also raise blood sugar. Diabetic patients are also not recommended to drink fruit juice, because fruit juice is the concentration of fruit, the sugar load is higher, and the juice processing process is certainly reduced fiber components, is not conducive to blood sugar control.