Confused by fruit

You'd probably be better off eating berries, these are lower.

There is some pretty good info here on dietdocto.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/fruits

And welcome!

I love fruit. And always ate tons of it. But unfortunately they contributed to my higher HbA1c readings etc. So I have cut fruit intake down to very low levels now. Many including bananas in particular are high in sugar and carbs. If you google the fruits individually you will see which carry the higher levels of carbs. Some like strawberries and raspberries are more acceptable unless on a very low carb diet.

It’s called nature’s candy for a reason. Fructose is metabolised exclusively by the liver. It not only increases insulin resistance, but it’s also a leptin inhibitor, thus blunting satiety and making us want more and more. Evolutionarily its purpose is to help us store energy for times of hardship (winter).

Fruit is now bred to be super sweet, and it’s also available 24/7/365. Ancestrally inappropriate in its modern guise and sheer quantity of availability Best avoided/moderated if you already have T2DM or don’t want it. Only in my considered opinion, of course. If people want to eat fruit then they will.

I absolutely loved fruit and ate a lot of it - no doubt part of my initial T2D diagnosis. I have since cut down dramatically and have berries every day with greek yoghurt, but very little other fruit. I have managed to get into remission now as well as lose approx 25% body weight so despite loving the fruit, I won't go back there........

CondorX said:

I absolutely loved fruit and ate a lot of it - no doubt part of my initial T2D diagnosis. I have since cut down dramatically and have berries every day with greek yoghurt, but very little other fruit. I have managed to get into remission now as well as lose approx 25% body weight so despite loving the fruit, I won't go back there........

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Exactly. I just have to say no to it these days.

25g of carbs sounds about right in my head for those fruits (I believe satsuma can be up to 15? I am sure that was what I found when I looked it up once!). As others have suggested, how about going for a fruit lower in carbs? Berries are a good choice.

It is harder on your liver to process fructose from fruit, so giving it a rest from too much, too often would be a good idea.

Have a think about why tennis players eat bananas between sets.

I have decided to trial eating a banana today having not eaten one since diagnosis last summer. I had it in almond flour pancakes. It'll be intriguing - but probably not surprising - when I test again.

Do you have a blood glucose monitor? You need on if not, as every food affects people in different ways.

Results.... after only half an hour bs up from 6.1 to 12.3. Will test at 2hrs.

It feels wrong to condemn fruit entirely (much better than a biscuit or a cake for example) but the effects could be mitigated by having it with a bit of fat e.g. Greek yoghurt or cheese or peanut butter.
Or eat it at the end of a meal and try and get the snacking habit down as there is no reason why any adult should need to snack although plenty of people who should know better promote it!

mouseee said:

Results.... after only half an hour bs up from 6.1 to 12.3. Will test at 2hrs.

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Surprised that's all it was.

Extracted from my nutrient notes:

PRODUCT (100g) KCAL CARB(FIBRE) PROTEIN(FAT)
// Fruits
Lemon 29 1 1
Papaya 43 9(1.7) 0.5
Grapefruit 42 11 1
Pears 47 12(4.3) 0.5
Apples 53 12(2.4) 0.3
Oranges 47 12 1
Pineapple 50 12(1.4) 0.5
Tangerines 53 13 1
Mangoes 60 15 1
Grapes green/red 70 16 1
Banana 89 23 1
Plaintain (for cooking) 122 32 1
// Berries
Raspberries 32 4.6(2.5) 1.5(0.3)
Blackberries 32 5.1(3.1) 1(0.2)
Strawberries 30 6.0(1.1) 1(0.1)
Blueberries 68 14.5(2.4) 1(0.3)

For example shows that:

Carbs for 100g banana: 23g
Carbs for 100g raspberries: 4.6g (fibre 2.5, protein 1.5, fat 0.3)
Carbs for blueberries 14.5g (3 times raspberry carbs!)

20g/day Keto-diet: raspberries, blackberries and strawberries OK

NicoleC1971 said:

It feels wrong to condemn fruit entirely (much better than a biscuit or a cake for example) but the effects could be mitigated by having it with a bit of fat e.g. Greek yoghurt or cheese or peanut butter.
Or eat it at the end of a meal and try and get the snacking habit down as there is no reason why any adult should need to snack although plenty of people who should know better promote it!

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I wouldn't recommend any newly diagnosed T2 to eat fruit, except for berries. I would say, get your numbers under control first and maybe add a little in and see how you go.

At least there are plenty of recipes for low carb cake and biccys.

NicoleC1971 said:

...much better than a biscuit or a cake for example...

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But is it really though? Glucose is glucose, and fructose is fructose, whether the source is fruit, grains or table sugar. Granted, fruit has more nutritional value than the cake or the biscuit, but from a diabetes perspective they may as well be the same thing. I do understand your sentiment, but I believe it's largely born out of social conditioning and the five-a-day mantra that most of us have been spoon-fed since childhood.

For T2DM in particular, fructose is heavy-duty kryptonite. A silent assassin. Silent because it typically doesn't cause glucose excursions, but does contribute directly to hepatic fat deposition. And hepatic fat deposition is something that already insulin resistant type 2s would do well to avoid. As always, of course, all of the above is only my humble but considered opinion. I'm not in the business of telling others not to eat fruit, but I do believe that it's misunderstood, and is erroneously represented as a health food.

Jim Lahey said:

But is it really though? Glucose is glucose, and fructose is fructose, whether the source is fruit, grains or table sugar. Granted, fruit has more nutritional value than the cake or the biscuit, but from a diabetes perspective they may as well be the same thing. I do understand your sentiment, but I believe it's largely born out of social conditioning and the five-a-day mantra that most of us been spoon-fed since childhood.

For T2DM in particular, fructose is heavy-duty kryptonite. A silent assassin. Silent because it typically doesn't cause glucose excursions, but does contribute directly to hepatic fat deposition. And hepatic fat deposition is something that already insulin resistant type 2s would do well to avoid. As always, of course, all of the above is only my humble but considered opinion. I'm not in the business of telling others not to eat fruit, but I do believe that it's misunderstood, and is erroneously represented as a health food.

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Have you seen Gary Fetke lay into it? I agree that fruit's halo is too golden. Just wary of demonising something that is more nutritious than whatever unholy combo of starch, fructose and veg oils you'll find everywhere and anywhere!

NicoleC1971 said:

Have you seen Gary Fetke lay into it? I agree that fruit's halo is too golden. Just wary of demonising something that is more nutritious than whatever unholy combo of starch, fructose and veg oils you'll find everywhere and anywhere!

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Yes I have but I'm going to watch that again anyway. Thanks for sharing.

You make a very valid point regarding the seed oils in cakes/biscuits etc. I had momentarily overlooked this factor, so thanks for the nudge. That toxic soup is hiding in plain sight on every supermarket shelf in the galaxy

But back to fruit...

xfieldok said:

I wouldn't recommend any newly diagnosed T2 to eat fruit, except for berries. I would say, get your numbers under control first and maybe add a little in and see how you go.

At least there are plenty of recipes for low carb cake and biccys.

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Fair enough and I am not type 2 but do eat low carb and found I couldn't just jump in at the deep end when I first started. Just think that maybe people can work out what their bodies can tolerate before banning something completely. Low carb baking is not usually available in Waterloo station at 6pm when my client is waiting to catch a train home surrounded by muffins and feeling hungry!

@NicoleC1971 the problems with newly dx T2 is that their numbers will be high. I was clueless about food in general let alone what was diabetic friendly.

My view is to reduce the bad stuff as soon as possible. Learn what you can and can't have. Once your levels are down to a place where you are happy, by all means start to reintroduce different foods and see how you get on.

T2 livers are working overtime as it is without chucking fructose at them. Every so often I will have a slice of apple or half a satsuma to see how I do.

I have 25g of Apple and 25g of pear, along with sugar free jelly and Greek yoghurt. My husband has the rest of the apple and pear. I seem to be ok bg wise with this amount of fruit. It’s not much, but it’s something.

I agree with what you said about being newly diagnosed and checking carbs out on stuff in the supermarket. It’s absolutely staggering and as you said, even lettuce has it. What’s that all about!!! Lol.