Fruit juice is commonly used by diabetics to treat low blood sugar because it raises blood sugar levels very quickly. Fruit juices contain simple sugars that metabolize into your blood stream within minutes. Although juices only contain a portion of the vitamins that a whole fresh fruit contains, juice is an option for adding fruit to your diet.
Low Blood Sugar Treatment
If you drink fruit juice to treat a low blood glucose reading, test again 15 minutes after drinking it. If your blood glucose level is above 70, have a light snack with a carb choice and a protein to regulate your blood glucose. If your blood sugar is 70 or lower, have another glass of juice and repeat the test in 15 minutes.
Blood Glucose Monitoring
If you are monitoring your blood glucose to determine the effect that a specific fruit juice will have, test your blood glucose one hour after after drinking it, then again after two hours. Everyone reacts differently to various forms of carbohydrates. The same type and amount of juice that increases your blood glucose by 50 points may increase your friend's blood glucose by only 20 points. Testing one hour after drinking it will tell you where your blood glucose level peaks after drinking the juice, and the two-hour test will tell you how your body is handling that increase.
Emergency Situations
Once you determine the impact a juice has on your blood sugar, select one that creates a rapid increase in your readings. Keep a serving or two of that juice on hand to treat emergency lows.
Considerations
Along with the sugar, fruit juices are often high in calories. Select a pure fruit juice for the best blood glucose impact. Fruit juice blends contain more sugar water than fruit juice, reducing the vitamins and replacing them with refined sugar.
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