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Fruit: What types and how much?

uart

uart

Well-Known Member
I've been on a low carb diet for about two months now and it's going well. My BSL control has been improved and I've lost a few kg. However I'm not sure what's the best thing to do with fruit on this diet. I know that some people avoid it as much as possible, but I still like to include some in my diet. Currently I'm having some amount of fruit on most days, but I do try to limit the portion sizes and avoid the very high carb ones like bananas.

I'm just wondering what most people here do in relation to fruit. What types do you allow yourself and how much.

Thanks. :)
 
When I am low carbing I try to stick to berries (blueberries and raspberries and sometimes a small apple depending on how low is low
 
Thanks for the info guys. :)

I love blueberries, so it's good to know that they're low carb. At the moment I can get fresh strawberries and frozen blueberries, so that sounds like a plan.

Also, I've been looking up the carbs in some other fruits that I like. An orange is about 12g carbs and a peach about 10. That doesn't seem too bad either.
 
raspberries and strawberries, white, red and black currants are lowest, I think.
Then blueberries.
Then cherries.
Then apples and pears
After that they get progressively sweeter as they get more tropical.

But of course, it all depends on portion size and ripeness...

The sweeter, the carbier.

I would stick to the lower carb fruits, eat a reasonable portion and test test test, you'll quickly find what your body tolerates (and it may surprise you! ;))
 
Brunneria said:
raspberries and strawberries, white, red and black currants are lowest, I think.
Then blueberries.
Then cherries.
Then apples and pears
Click to expand...

Hi Brunneria. From my what I can gather from "googling" apples/pears have about 14/15 grams of carbs, whereas peaches have only 10 and oranges 12. That's why I'm thinking of allowing myself one of these per day.

I would stick to the lower carb fruits, eat a reasonable portion and test test test, you'll quickly find what your body tolerates (and it may surprise you! ;))
Click to expand...
Yeah I know what you mean. Before I was diagnosed as diabetic I used to love "unsweetened" fruit juices, particularly apple and grape, and thought they were good for me. Once I started managing my diabetes I quickly found they were one of the absolute worst foods possible at spiking my blood sugars! Fortunately though, whole fruits don't have anywhere near the bad effects that fruit juices did.
 
Apple vary in size hugely. I find I can tolerate a small one - those sometimes marketed at kids lunch boxes which are probably 1/2 to 1/3 the size of something like a Granny Smith.
 
uart said:
Hi Brunneria. From my what I can gather from "googling" apples/pears have about 14/15 grams of carbs, whereas peaches have only 10 and oranges 12. That's why I'm thinking of allowing myself one of these per day.

Yeah I know what you mean. Before I was diagnosed as diabetic I used to love "unsweetened" fruit juices, particularly apple and grape, and thought they were good for me. Once I started managing my diabetes I quickly found they were one of the absolute worst foods possible at spiking my blood sugars! Fortunately though, whole fruits don't have anywhere near the bad effects that fruit juices did.
Click to expand...

That's why testing is so important. And ripeness.
I can eat masses of slightly unripe pear, but when it's ripe - off the chart!
And, for me, peaches are always a no no.
 
I think it's the way the carbs behave after you've eaten them that matters as much as the amount. An apple contains fibre and you (usually|) eat the skin so the sugar spike might be longer and lower. An orange is juicier and you don't eat the skin obviously, so it's not far short of drinking juice by itself and ping! bigger spike more quickly, and I find the rebound is worse too.
Or I may be completely wrong - just going by some testing I did a while back.
 
uart said:
Thanks for the info guys. :)

I love blueberries, so it's good to know that they're low carb. At the moment I can get fresh strawberries and frozen blueberries, so that sounds like a plan.

Also, I've been looking up the carbs in some other fruits that I like. An orange is about 12g carbs and a peach about 10. That doesn't seem too bad either.
Click to expand...

Blueberries have the most carbs than other berries, and frozen ones have altered sugar content, so spike higher than fresh ones. I have 40g of strawberries or raspberries, but only 30g of blueberries (fresh) with my FF yogurt or cream. I can also manage half an apple with my full fat yogurt.
 
I don't eat fruit as I'm not a massive fan (although I might succumb to the odd bowl of berries and cream come the summer) but if you do some testing you might find, as well as which fruits suit you, that some times of day are better than others too. Eg I always struggle with my BS post-breakfast, but there are things I can eat later in the day that spike me at breakfast but that don't cause me difficulties in the evening.
 
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