Is Avocado Good For Diabetes?

Medically reviewed by Regina Victoria Boyles, MD · Pediatrics

Written by Lorraine Bunag, R.N. · Updated Sep 20, 2022

When you have diabetes, you tend to choose your fruits carefully. Trying to avoid blood sugar spikes means selecting fruits that are not that sweet. One such fruit is avocado. However, avocados are usually high in calories and even fat. For this reason, many ask: is avocado good for diabetes? Find out here.

What’s in an Avocado?

Are avocados really high in calories and fat? The answer is, yes.

Reports say half an avocado already boasts 150 kcal. For comparison, the same quantity of broccoli or an orange only gives about 20kcal. This fruit also has around 20 to 25 grams of fat, but the good news is that of that, 15 grams is monounsaturated (healthy fats).

Considering these things, is avocado good for diabetes?

Is Avocado Good for Diabetes?

Generally, avocado is good for diabetes. That is as long as you take into account the other foods in your diet.

Primarily, there are three reasons why avocado is an excellent food for people with diabetes:

One, like most fruits, it’s a good source of many vitamins and minerals.

Secondly, it has low carbohydrate content compared to some of the more common fruits.

Lastly, it might even help with blood sugar spikes just as it has low sugar content.

For comparison, 100 grams of raw avocado contains 8.64 grams of carbohydrates without about 6.8 grams of fiber. Its total sugar is only at 0.3 grams.

A banana (100 grams), on the other hand, has 22.8 grams of carbohydrates with only about 2.6 grams of fiber. Moreover, its total sugar content is at 12.2 grams.

Additional Benefits of Avocado for People With Diabetes

Is avocado good for diabetes? It turns out that it is, especially if you consider these additional benefits:

1. It can boost heart health

Monounsaturated fats are known to protect the heart against heart diseases. The fact that avocado is also high in fiber also helps. High fiber can reduce the levels of low density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol. Avocados are also high in potassium, which can help regulate blood pressure.

2. It can help manage your weight

Since avocados are low in carbohydrates, they can help with weight management, a crucial aspect of diabetes care. In fact, some reports say avocados can even help manage obesity. Moreover, avocados are very filling, so you are less likely to snack on unhealthy foods if you eat a serving of avocado.

3. It is versatile

People with diabetes often worry about what to eat next since they believe their options are limited. With avocados, they can have multiple options as it’s versatile.

You can eat it on its own as a healthy snack or mix it in a salad, soup, and other dishes.

Reminders When Eating Avocados

Is avocado good for diabetes? As explained in the earlier sections, it is. However, please note that when it comes to your health, what counts is your overall diet regimen.

Hence, the best approach is still to eat a variety of foods based on the meal plan you and your doctor discussed.

Below are some helpful tips when eating avocados:

Avocados are best served ripe.

Be careful with the food items you eat together with avocado. For instance, if you’re preparing avocado smoothies, adding milk and sweetener may trigger blood sugar spikes.

Be careful with the serving size. Some experts say ½ of the fruit is okay, but, of course, that depends on what you’re eating the avocado with. You need to make sure that you’re not going beyond your target calories or carbohydrates.

Key Takeaways

Is avocado good for diabetes? Experts say it is – as long as it’s a part of a healthy, well-planned diet. It may be high in calories, but it’s also rich in monounsaturated fats and fiber. Furthermore, it’s also low on carbs and sugar.

Learn more about Diabetes here.

Disclaimer

Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Sources

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Medically reviewed by

Regina Victoria Boyles, MD

Pediatrics