Low Sugar Vegetables & Fruits

If you want to minimize sugar in your diet, there are a variety of vegetables and fruits that are low in sugar. The main reasons most people want to reduce the sugar in their diets is if they have candida overgrowth, diabetes or they are trying to lose weight.

Fruits and Vegetables for Weight-loss

Some weight-loss diets exclude or drastically reduce sugars even in fruits and vegetables to reduce calories and carbohydrates. However, diets that are too low in carbohydrates can lead to ketosis, a condition whereby your body starts to consume your muscles instead of carbohydrates, which is counterproductive to losing weight because muscles tend to help you burn additional calories, even when you are at rest. Plus, fruits and vegetables have a calming effect on your blood sugar levels, which helps control your appetite, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

Low Sugar Fruit and Vegetable Variety

If your goal is to eat low sugar fruits and vegetables, it can limit your selection -- especially of fruits. It's important to obtain all your needed vitamins, minerals and antioxidants -- and you can usually find them in your favorite fruits and veggies. The Center of Disease Control suggests eating a variety of colored fruits and vegetables because each color signifies a different group of vitamins that your body needs. Most Americans consume about 1.5 cups of fruits and vegetables or three 1/2 cup servings daily. If your caloric intake goals are 2,000 calories each day, Harvard School of Public Health recommends eating nine servings a day of fruits and vegetables. That totals about 4.5 cups, with 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables.

Low-sugar Fruits

Olives, avocados and tomatoes are often thought of as vegetables, but they are technically very low sugar fruits. Other low sugar fruits include lemons, limes, rhubarb, cranberries, strawberries, passion-fruit and grapefruit. Generally, the sweeter a fruit tastes, the more sugar it contains. Dates, bananas, lychees and figs are among the fruits that are considered high-sugar fruits.

Absorption and Gas

The sugar in some fruit is absorbed easily into the bloodstream, while sugar in other fruits may ferment, which can cause gas build up in the intestines. It's actually the ratio of fructose to glucose along with the amount of fiber in the fruit that affects absorption. The higher the glucose-to-fructose ratio, the better the fruit is on the intestines. Fruits least likely to cause gas include white grapes, strawberries, raspberries and oranges, while prunes, pears, peaches and apple are likely to be gassy.

Low-sugar Vegetables

Vegetables with the lowest amounts of sugar are typically types of lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, spinach, dandelion greens, turnip greens, as well as other green vegetables like broccoli, asparagus and green bell pepper. Just like fruit, generally, the sweeter tasting vegetables are higher in sugar than other vegetables. Vegetables with the most sugar include corn, peas, beets, carrots and potatoes. In many cases, cooking the vegetables will deplete some of the sugar content; however, cooking can also deplete other nutrients as well.