5 Low Glycemic Fruits for You To Add to Your Diabetes Diet Plan

Many people seek a better diet to maintain or manage their weight. Diabetic people are no exception as they, too, are always on the lookout for healthy additions to their plate. You may have heard about a diet tool called the glycemic index — what is it? How can low glycemic fruits help with your daily diabetes diet plan?

Understanding Glycemic Index

The glycemic index is a way of categorizing food depending on how much they raise blood sugar. It is not a diet plan, but rather one of several techniques for directing meal choices, such as calorie counting or carbohydrate counting.

A glycemic index diet normally refers to the usage of the index as a reference for meal planning. 

Doctors often suggest this way of meal planning as it can be an effective method to manage one’s blood sugar level.

Nutritionists calculate glycemic index numbers by observing how healthy people’s blood sugar levels fluctuate after eating food with carbohydrates. They can establish where a food falls on a scale of 0 to 100 by analyzing future blood sugar levels and comparing them to a baseline. The number reflects how much glucose is in that food; 100 represents pure glucose and zero indicates no sugar at all.

This tool can help people lose weight and prevent obesity-related chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease.

What Do High and Low Glycemic Indexes Mean?

Food with a high glycemic index (GI) tends to break down easily into glucose, causing levels to surge. In general, food with a high GI ranges from a value of 70 and higher. 

People with diabetes refer to these sharp rises in blood sugar levels as spikes. Moreover, high GI food might cause the body to produce a spike of insulin to counteract quick-acting carbohydrates. This can result in a state of hunger within 2 to 3 hours, causing the person to seek more food.

High GI meals include white bread, sweetened drinks, biscuits, potatoes, and oranges.

Meanwhile, the body digests low GI food slowly. Because of this, they are less likely to induce a sudden rise in blood sugar levels. This makes them a better alternative for maintaining stable blood glucose levels. 

Choosing low GI food over high GI food will make you feel more satiated for a longer amount of time. You will also be less likely to feel hungry before your next meal. Furthermore, a low glycemic index diet can improve your overall health and aid in the prevention of certain diseases.

Low glycemic fruits and vegetables which range from a value of 1 to 55 are good options to consider in your diet.

5 Low Glycemic Fruits 

Low glycemic fruits have high fiber and sugar content. This is a causal link to their high quantities of fiber and fiber-related compounds like pectin that further slow digestion.

Below are some top choices to choose from:

Apples

Apples have a GI score of 39 and are also good for balancing your gut microbes. They are also rich in fiber to keep you full, and can satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time. 

Cherries

Cherries have a GI of approximately 20, which is a good number to keep your blood sugar stable. They are also high in antioxidants and immune-boosting vitamins, and a delight to snack on. 

Grapes

Grapes are rich in fiber due to their skin. They have a GI of 53 and are high in vitamin B6, which is necessary for brain function and mood stabilization.

Strawberries

Berries in general are beneficial to diabetics since they contain less sugar than other fruits and are high in fiber. Strawberries have a GI of 41 and more vitamin C than an orange. 

Strawberries can be eaten on their own, added to smoothies or salads, or used in desserts. 

Pears

Pears have a GI of 38 and contain more than 20% of your daily fiber requirements. 

While glycemic index can be helpful to consider when consuming low glycemic fruits, it also has its fair share of limitations. Measuring the glycemic index does not indicate the amount of food you consume. And eating a large amount of low glycemic index food can still significantly raise blood sugar levels.

To solve this issue, researchers devised the concept of glycemic load (GL). Like the GI, it is a numerical figure that shows the change in blood glucose levels after eating a typical serving of the item.

Learn more about diabetes here.