Fruits provide health-supportive vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber. Men ages 19 to 50 and women ages 19 to 30 should eat at least 2 cups of fruit a day, while women 31 to 50 years old need at least 1 1/2 cups of fruit daily, the U.S. Department of Agriculture advises. All fruit contains some natural sugar, including fructose, glucose and sucrose, and fruits vary widely in their exact sugar content.
Glucose in Fruit
Fructose, or fruit sugar, is the main type of natural sugar in fruit. Fruit also contains smaller amounts of glucose, or grape sugar. Ounce for ounce, fresh fruit and canned fruit packed in its own juices contain less glucose and other sugars than dried fruit, fruit canned in syrup and fruit juices. Because glucose helps your body absorb fructose, fruits with a high glucose content relative to their fructose content are easier to digest and less likely to produce gas, according to AskDrSears.com.
Low-glucose Fruits
Avocados are very low in sugar, with 1 cup of pureed California avocado containing just 0.18 g of glucose, according to the USDA's National Nutrient Database. Cantaloupe isn't far behind, with 2.46 g of glucose in 1 cup of cantaloupe cubes. Citrus fruits are typically low in glucose. A cup of fresh pineapple chunks contains 2.85 g of glucose, and 1 cup of fresh navel orange sections contains 3.25 g of glucose. Apples and pears have little glucose but are higher in fructose. One cup of chopped apples provides 3.04 g of glucose and 7.38 g of fructose, while 1 cup of pear slices gives you 3.86 g of glucose and 8.72 g of fructose. For low-glucose berries, try fresh strawberries, which contain 2.29 g of glucose per cup, or fresh raspberries, which contain 3 g of glucose per cup.
High-glucose Fruits
A single 24-g medjool date contains 8 g of glucose, making it among the fruits richest in this sugar. Grapes are also high in sugar, with 10.87 g of glucose in 1 cup of European-type grapes, such as Thompson seedless. A 1-cup serving of sliced kiwis gives you 9.67 g of glucose, while 1 cup of sweet cherries provides 9 g of glucose. From 1 cup of sliced plums, you'll get 8.37 g of glucose. Bananas and blueberries, popular as cereal toppings, are also high in sugar. One cup of banana slices contains 7.47 g of glucose, and 1 cup of blueberries contains 7.22 g of glucose.
Fruit and Blood Glucose
As with all glucose, the glucose in fruit can raise your blood sugar, so you'll need to limit fruit in your diet if you have diabetes. Choosing low-sugar fruit lets you enjoy greater quantities of fruit without excessively increasing your blood sugar. For example, if you use the Exchange List Method to track your food portions, for one fruit exchange you can eat 1 cup of fresh cantaloupe, which is low in sugar, but only 12 cherries, which are high in sugar, MayoClinic.com explains. Fiber slows the rate at which your blood sugar rises. This makes whole, fresh fruit, which is rich in fiber, a better choice than fruit juices, which contain little to no fiber.
