Contents:
- Medical Video: Preventing Pre-Diabetes
- What are the best fruits?
- To stay low in carbohydrates
- What about the glycemic index?
Medical Video: Preventing Pre-Diabetes
Want to know if you can eat fruit or not? Yes, of course! Fruit is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber like vegetables.
Fruit contains carbohydrates, so it needs to be calculated as part of your meal plan. Eating a piece of fresh fruit or fruit salad for dessert is a great way to satisfy sweetness. You can get the extra nutrients you are looking for from fruits.
What are the best fruits?
The best choices of fruit are fresh, frozen, or packaged in cans without added sugar. Choose canned fruit in light juice or syrup. Dried fruit and 100% fruit juice are also nutritious choices, but it's good to consume in small portion sizes, so it doesn't fill other needs.
To stay low in carbohydrates
A small piece of whole fruit or about ½ cup of frozen or canned fruit has around 15 grams of carbohydrates. The portion for cut fruit is ¾ - 1 cup. Fruit juices can range from ½ -½ cups to 15 grams of carbohydrates.
Only 2 tablespoons of dried fruit such as raisins or dried fruit containing 15 grams of carbohydrates, so be careful of your portion size!
What about the glycemic index?
Most fruits have a low glycemic index (GI) because of the fructose content and fiber content. Melons and pineapple have intermediate GI values as do some dried fruits such as dates, raisins, and cranberries.
