Fruits and vegetables, good choices for anyone cutting down calories, still contain sugars. According to The Fruit Pages, mangoes and oranges are high in sugar, and among vegetables, the sweet potato is, too. However, a few examples can help you identify low-sugar fruits and vegetables and make them a part of your daily diet.
Sugar in Fruits and Vegetables
All sugars are carbohydrates, but not all carbs are sugars. Fiber is a carbohydrate, too, so foods high in carbs from fiber can still be low in carbs from sugar. Similarly, calories are not always good indicators of sugar content; a medium-size potato has five times more calories than a tomato but only half the sugar, according to values from the USDA and The Fruit Pages. Most important is the size of the portion served, and the key is sugar grams per portion.
Fruits Very Low in Sugar
The USDA provides a wealth of information regarding sugar. It shows very low sugar levels for olives, limes, rhubarb, lemons, cranberries and avocados. One large olive has 0 g. Lemons and limes range between 1.13 g and 2.10 g sugar each. Rhubarb, which the Centers for Disease Control identifies as a vegetable, has 1.34 g sugar per cup. Cranberries and pureed avocados have 4.04 g and 5.57 g per cup, respectively.
Fruits Moderately Low in Sugar
Many fruits rank slightly higher, ranging from 6.62 g to 18.91 g sugar per serving. One kiwi fruit has 6.62 g. One cup of strawberries, at 8.12 g sugar, approximates half a white grapefruit, at 8.63 g. Watermelon, which the CDC states is actually a member of the cucumber family, has 9.42 g sugar per cup, whereas cantaloupe contains 12.58 g. One medium banana and a cup of blueberries average about 14.5 g per serving. One medium apple tips the scales at 18.91 g sugar, the upper limit of moderation.
Vegetables Very Low in Sugar
The lowest-sugar vegetables taste, naturally, un-sweet. Parsley has only 0.51 g sugar per cup, and a cup of white mushrooms averages the same amount as one artichoke: 1.3 g. Chopped broccoli and celery each have between 1.55 g and 1.85 g per cup, and 1 cup of cauliflower has 2.04 g. One medium white potato has only 2.11 g sugar, just beating out radishes, at 2.16 g per cup. Cabbage has only 2.24 g per cup, shredded.
Vegetables Moderately Low in Sugar
The CDC lists tomatoes as fruits, but as honorary vegetables they contain 3.23 g sugar each, approximately 1 g lower than an onion, at 4.66 g, or a cup of cubed turnips, at 4.94 g. One 8-in. cucumber contains only 5.03 g sugar, ranking it between a cup of cranberries and a cup of pureed avocado. Many more fruits and vegetables can be searched in the USDA database, and elsewhere. If you pay attention to each food's grams of sugar per portion, you will discover your true sugar intake.
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