Fruit

[borderter]

I have always loved fruit and so wonder if anyone can tell me which fruit is least likely to give me glucose spikes ,found melon very much a no no huge rise in bgs

 

[sugarless sue]

Try the berries, strawberry, raspberry,blueberry etc.

Test after 2 hours and see how they affect you. I can manage them in small portions, even a bit of fresh pineapple but you have to test to see how you tolerate them.

 

[noblehead]

Blueberries are lovely on your cereal, but the trouble is they are so expensive!. Sometimes they are on offer at Asda and I will stock up, but the trouble is they don't keep well. Tried the frozen ones and didn't think much of them, but they are around half the price of fresh ones.

Nigel

 

[Synonym]

Treat yourself to a couple of bushes and plant them in pots of ericaceous compost, making sure that you keep them moist so that you can harvest your own in the autumn. Freeze them and you can use them sparingly all year round.

You could also plant up a strawberry pot with strawberry plants and grow a blackberry plant along a wall. Raspberries are also prolific once you get them established.

I know it is 'jam tomorrow' but there are two certain things - diabetes is not going to go away and fruit is not going to get any cheaper!

 

[Ardbeg]

I try and eat an apple a day, but I've never tested myself to see what it does to my BG.

 

[brill]

I found I have to avoid pineapple, also grapes, but in the latter case mainly becuase I find them so more-ish..... Citrus fruit are supposed to be good and seem not to affect my BG too much - I have been eating 2 satsumas a day in the last few months with no ill-effect.

Brill

 

[Ardbeg]

I try and eat an apple a day, but I've never tested myself to see what it does to my BG.

I ate two apples earlier then tested myself. BG went from 6.9 to 8.8. A jump of almost 2 points. :shock:

 

[hanadr]

Statin users are not meant to eat citrus. Can't remember why. I grow currants, strawberries and blueberries in pots and my hedge is mainly blackberries. Great crop of delicious berries every year AND keep the local hooligans away.
Hana

 

[catherinecherub]

It is grapefruit that statin users should be wary of. This article explains why.

http://cholesterol.about.com/od/statind ... itstat.htm

 

[wallycorker]

I have always loved fruit and so wonder if anyone can tell me which fruit is least likely to give me glucose spikes ,found melon very much a no no huge rise in bgs

Hi borderter,

I too love fruit and have shown below what it has on me from some tests that I carried out recently.

I'm a non-insulin dependent Type 2 on metformin. I seem to be quite different to many others on these diabetes forums with regard to the effect that fruit has on my blood glucose levels. It seems to do hardly anything to me and I eat loads of it - in particular as snacks between meals. Moreover, I like fruit and I believe from what I have read that it is beneficial to general health.

Anyway, here are some of my recent testings on different types of fruit:

6.7 - Before eating
Grapes - 125g
5.9 - 30 mins after finishing eating
6.8 - one hour after finishing eating
5.5 - 90 mins after finishing eating

4.7 - Before eating
Apple - 225g - i.e. large
6.8 - one hour after finishing eating

Figs - 100g - four small figs
5.8 - one hour after finishing eating

5.4 - Before eating
Satsuma - 80g - i.e. small
5.1 - one hour after finishing eating

4.6 - Before eating
Apple - 125g - i.e. small/medium
5.5 - one hour after finishing eating

Satsuma - 80g - i.e. small
5.7 - one hour after finishing eating

Apple - 150g - i.e. medium
4.9 - one hour after finishing eating

Satsuma - 80g - i.e. small
4.6 - one hour after finishing eating

Apple - 190g - i.e. large
3.6 - one hour after finishing eating

Satsuma - 80g - i.e. small
3.8 - one hour after finishing eating

3.9 - before eating
Apple - 360g - i.e. absolutely massive - possibly the biggest apple I have ever eaten
6.6 - one hour after finishing eating

Banana - 100g - i.e. small
5.1 - one hour after finishing eating

Quite remarkable results it would seem compared with what I read about how fruit affects others. My advice would be for others to test it out for themselves.

Best wishes - John

 

[cugila]

Mmmmmh........? Are you really a Diabetic John..... :wink:
I guess you are just one of the lucky ones.....I wish !

All looks quite impressive doesn't it. However I note you hardly ever give any two hour results ?
I used to get very similar results as you at the one hour mark, however, testing at 2, sometimes even 3 or 4 hrs showed a vastly different set of numbers. They were always on the way UP !

Numbers that convinced me to test frequently when eating Fruit. Because of the fibre content some are absorbed much more slowly, meaning the highest reading was later than one hour. So I quickly learned never to assume anything at all. Had to be backed up with facts every time. Of course I realised that this worked ONLY for me. We are all different in our reactions to certain foods.

Great if you can do it, but please all you newbies, test test test. Do not assume because one person can manage lots of fruit we all can.....it don't always work that way.

 

[wallycorker]

Mmmmmh........? Are you really a Diabetic John..... :wink:
I guess you are just one of the lucky ones.....I wish !

All looks quite impressive doesn't it. However I note you hardly ever give any two hour results ?
I used to get very similar results as you at the one hour mark, however, testing at 2, sometimes even 3 or 4 hrs showed a vastly different set of numbers. They were always on the way UP !

Numbers that convinced me to test frequently when eating Fruit. Because of the fibre content some are absorbed much more slowly, meaning the highest reading was later than one hour. So I quickly learned never to assume anything at all. Had to be backed up with facts every time. Of course I realised that this worked ONLY for me. We are all different in our reactions to certain foods.

Great if you can do it, but please all you newbies, test test test. Do not assume because one person can manage lots of fruit we all can.....it don't always work that way.

Hi Ken,

Quite simply, I hardly ever test at two hours because whenever I do I'm nearly always on the way down and it's the waste of a good test strip - it tells me nothing. In fact, a lot of the tests that I quote above were done after eating pieces of fruit at one hour intervals - i.e. the next one hour test is often the two hour test for the earlier piece of fruit. Hope that isn't too confusing. The thing that surprises me most is that even by eating fruit at one hour intervals that isn't enough to maintain my level above and the level keeps dropping and sometimes below 4.

I agree with you, I too sometimes wonder whether I am any longer diabetic. That would be nice wouldn't it? If only!!! I'll tell you a story, I've been away travelling in Europe for nearly three weeks and here are my results through that period - i.e. eating and drinking in restaurants and hotels or on the road in airports and railway stations - eating with others and largely eating and drinking the same as those non-diabetics did. Certainly, eating differently and drinking more than when I'm at home:

Mainly Spain (13 days) - and 4 days in France - with one day in transit in Switzerland
On rising results - 3.8 to 5.4 (14 readings) - Ave 4.6
Before eating results - 3.8 to 3.8 (2 readings) - Ave 3.8
One hour after finishing eating - 4.8 to 5.4 (4 readings) - Ave 5.2
90 mins after finishing eating - 5.1 to 6.1 (5 readings) - Ave 5.5
Two hours after eating - 5.1 to 5.8 (2 readings) - Ave 5.5
Before Bed - 4.8 (1 reading) - Ave 4.8

Not much signs of diabetes there one might think. Apart from one meal I had at Geneva Airport that is! I wasn't even that certain as to what I'd ordered. What I got was basically slices of roast beef on a pile of mashed potato with gravy with a bread roll - washed down with a small beer and half a bottle of red wine. My results for that meal?

One hour - 7.7
90 mins - 8.6
2 hours - 9.2
150 mins - 8.6

Very different to the rest of my results and certainly the worst thing I've done for quite a long time now! As usual, my message is keep clear of the starchy carbohydrates - in particular cereals, bread and potatoes.

Best wishes - John

 

[borderter]

Hey Iam going travelling if thats what it does for you

 

[noblehead]

Hi John (wallycorker)

Those readings are indeed very impressive!

I too love fruit, eat at least 2-3 portions a day. I tend to eat mine as a desert after my main meal, or berries on my cereal, otherwise I would have to use a small dose of insulin to cover any other time. Always told my children to eat fruit everyday when they were younger, sometimes it was a impossible task, now that they are older, thankfully they don't need to be told now and reach for the fruit bowl every day.

Regards

Nigel

 

[cugila]

In fact, a lot of the tests that I quote above were done after eating pieces of fruit at one hour intervals - i.e. the next one hour test is often the two hour test for the earlier piece of fruit. Hope that isn't too confusing.

John. I'm slightly confused here. Am I to understand that you eat a piece of fruit, test, then eat another piece of fruit, test and so on......That seems totally illogical to me ?? You are just adding more glucose from the fruit to your system all the time in this manner, yet your numbers don't go high ?

Have you had an Insulin Test or a C-Peptide Test to determine how much Insulin your Pancreas is producing. Your numbers do seem very low. I would certainly ask for one of them if I was you.

 

[wallycorker]

.....................Have you had an Insulin Test or a C-Peptide Test to determine how much Insulin your Pancreas is producing. Your numbers do seem very low. I would certainly ask for one of them if I was you...........

No I haven't ever had anything like that as far as I am aware. Please explain why you think that I should ask for such a test - what would such a test tell me?

 

[sugarless sue]

Errrr......think the answer was in Cugila's comment, actually!! :?

 

[wallycorker]

Errrr......think the answer was in Cugila's comment, actually!! :?

Hi Sue - Perhaps you could explain what that means too?

Ken didn't seem to make a comment - he asked a series of questions. Perhaps it's just me who is thick!

John

 

[Jim H]

This has been a useful thread, thank you.

I have been told different things by people. My diabetic nurse and people on the DESMOND course said they you can eat fruit between meals if you want, they are better than a chocolate bar or similar. However I was told by a dietician that because of the natual sugurs in fruit you should not eat it as a snack, only after a meal.

So what is the definitive answer? Can I eat an apple as a snack or not? Does it depend on the individual? I don't use a meter to check my BG.

 

[cugila]

So what is the definitive answer? Can I eat an apple as a snack or not? Does it depend on the individual? I don't use a meter to check my BG.

I eat apples, no problems. However for YOU, only YOU can tell. Get yourself a meter and test !

Only way to get a definitive answer to YOUR question.