Diabetes is a life-long disease that occurs when the body's tissues are unable to absorb glucose, or blood sugar, from the bloodstream. This allows glucose -- the body's main source of energy -- to remain in the bloodstream, where it can cause damage leading to additional health conditions. Diabetics must therefore monitor their blood glucose levels by taking medications and eating a healthy diet that controls their intake of carbohydrates, which the body breaks down into glucose. Because fruits contain natural sugars classified as carbohydrates, many diabetics fear they must refrain from enjoying them. The American Diabetes Association, however, recommends making fruit a part of a diabetic-healthy diet.
Counting Carbohydrates
Maintaining your blood sugar levels requires careful diet management. Because carbohydrates provide the largest amount of glucose, keeping track of your carb intake can help ensure your glucose levels remain steady. Carbs include starches, sugars and fiber. Fruits are classified as carbs because they contain natural sugars and fiber that the body breaks down into glucose. However, because the American Diabetes Association instructs diabetics to pay attention to total carbohydrate intake instead of the type of carbohydrate eaten, fruits can remain a part of your healthy eating plan.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index provides a measure of how quickly a carb-containing food raises blood sugar levels. A food with a high glycemic index raises blood sugar faster than a food with a low glycemic number, leading to glucose spikes in the blood. Diabetics can use the glycemic index to help maintain steady blood sugar levels. Although fruits contain sugar, because of their fiber content, they generally measure low on the glycemic index. The ripeness of the fruit affects the glycemic number -- the more ripe, the less fiber it contains, so the higher the number. Processing also affects the glycemic number. Therefore, fruit juice has a higher glycemic index than its related whole fruit.
Diabetes Management
Managing your diabetes through careful diet planning can help reduce the onset of diabetes-related complications. Keeping track of your total carb intake makes the most impact on your blood glucose levels, according to the American Diabetes Association, but adding in the glycemic index can help when choosing one fruit type over another.
Fruit Choices
When choosing what fruits to include in your diet, opt for fresh or frozen fruits without any added sugar. You can also eat canned fruits, but choose the ones in light syrup instead of heavy syrup. To determine equivalent serving sizes, a small piece of whole fruit generally equals approximately one-half cup of frozen or canned fruit. You can also enjoy fruit juices as a fruit, but the serving size for the same number of carbohydrates is generally small, about one-third to half a cup. Fruits high in fiber, including raspberries, pears, apples and strawberries, make good choices because they provide a variety of additional vitamins and minerals. In addition, because the body digests fiber differently from other types of carbohydrates, some portion of the fiber can be deducted from the total carbohydrate count, as indicated by the American Diabetes Association.
