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Fruit good or bad for you

DannyMac

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I was suprised to read in form the other day a person adviceing someone to lay off bannana grapes and melon, the first thing the nurse told me to give up was my daily grapefruit I know fruits have there own natural sugars but surely taken daily in moderation they are better for you as an alternative to snacking I mean what else is left do we just eat veg all day. The more I read the form the more of a mine field it is becoming it seems to me that the Diabetes has taken over my life with all the do,s and don't,s and the endless Med appointments off to a Diabetes review with nurse this afternoon, first time question and new to the form hi guy,s type 2 and at present overweight
Comments would be most welcome
 
Hey @DannyMac most people stick with berries, some can have fun sized apples/bananas, and some just eat any fruit and cover it with insulin. If you are not on insulin id just stick with berries for now, and if you have a meter test to see how you react to them as everyone is different. Are you low carbing? That should help with your weight. If you are newly diagnosed you will feel like it is taking over your life, you need to change your whole life style because of it. But don't let it rule you, your in charge. I've been type 1 25 years and I'm the boss of my diabetes.. (Most of the time) lol

Abbie
 
DannyMac said:
I was suprised to read in form the other day a person adviceing someone to lay off bannana grapes and melon, the first thing the nurse told me to give up was my daily grapefruit
Click to expand...

Some people (emphasis on "some") can tolerate them but many can't. They are full of sugars. You can test to see what they do to your levels but as for me, I would stay well away. Be very wary would be my recommendation
 
@DannyMac ,
Depending on what meds you are on, grapefruit can interact with the metabolising of the meds so that could be why the nurse told you to give it up.
as for the bananas & grapes they certainly spike MY blood sugars hence my move to lower carb fruits such as raspberries. The best answer to this one(and your HCP may not want to help on this) is to test the effect on your BG by testing before & after by a BG meter.
I agree that moderate fruit intake beats snacking on crisps & sweets, but lowr carb fruit & nuts are better.
Now that I have worked out the effects of various foods on me, I lead a good and varied diet of meats, low-carb fruits & vegetables. The hardest part was finding the hidden carbs in mass produced food and once I found low carb alternatives, it was easier.
 
@DannyMac
The nurse could have told you to avoid grapefruit if you are
on any statins medication .
As grapefruit can impact on their performance to work as efficiently .
 
Hi @DannyMac,
Always remember that Carbohydrates are converted to sugar when you eat them.
If you want to lower your Blood sugar eat less carbs, this will help with weight loss as well.
a very good idea to get a meter and test to see what Carbs effect you the most, and to rather eat food that has little effect.
NHS are not likely to give you a meter as a type 2, but ask, otherwise purchase one.
We all hit this info overload when diagnosed, but ask, read articles, and you will find a way ahead, we all do
Good luck
 
Thanks for your comments just to explain not on Meds and Don, t check readings the nurse, s and doctor I deal with are against us doing self checks for some reason
 
Bananas are one of the worst fruits for many diabetics as they are crammed full of carbs and sugar. The best advice I got on here was only eat fruit that ends in "berry" as they tend to be lower in carbs

I personally would definitely advocate self testing - I have to pay for my own strips (as many T2s do) because my GP won't prescribe them but without testing I'd never have been able to find out what I could and couldn't eat and get my blood sugar under control: If my Dr told me not to test I'd politely ignore them and test anyway!
 
Anything high in sugars is not a good idea for a diabetic.
It's a matter of accepting that yes we have to make changes.
Well we don't have to but ....
 
It costs them to give you a meter and strips....... best advice anybody can give you is to get an SD Codefree meter online as they have cheap strips and test before eating and 2 hours after. It will give you a fright to see how your blood sugar peaks after food I can tell you!! But only then can you see what does what and eat accordingly.

Ali
 
DannyMac said:
Thanks for your comments just to explain not on Meds and Don, t check readings the nurse, s and doctor I deal with are against us doing self checks for some reason
Click to expand...

It is usually done due to costs and the belief that a high reading means that you cannot do much about it. What many of them fail to understand is that meters can be used as education to understand which foods raise or lower your blood sugars.

This is a cheap meter that many Type2's rely on. Even if you only test for a few months and keep a food diary then you will be able to see the way forward.
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm


With regard to fruit, people can tell you what they can and cannot eat but as we have an individual response, you have to see what fruit does for your blood sugars by testing
If you add fruit to a meal then there is less of a spike than if you eat it as a snack.
 
Fruit always sends by bg through the roof. . Berries in moderation are ok. Tried half a banana a few months ago and went from 4.5 to 13 in 30 minutes.. That was with 5 units of novorapid.
 
DannyMac said:
Thanks for your comments just to explain not on Meds and Don, t check readings the nurse, s and doctor I deal with are against us doing self checks for some reason
Click to expand...
The usual reason is that they put the short term cost of the strips (they get the meter free from the manufacturer) before the long term effects on the patient!
As others have said, if you need cheap strips, codefree is the cheapest!http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
I was "lucky" and got my strips whilst on Insulin & Gliclazide but use codefree to run the occasional test.
 
DannyMac said:
Thanks for your comments just to explain not on Meds and Don, t check readings the nurse, s and doctor I deal with are against us doing self checks for some reason
Click to expand...
My DN told me that there was no need for me to test but I ignored her advice and test anyway as it's the only way that I can understand what foods affects my BS.
 
Berries are best as others have said. I have berries every morning with my oats.

I can deal with small bananas when I am exercising. But if I don't exercise they spike me. At the moment, I'm training for a triathlon so am enjoying my bananas!!

Grapes, as much as I love them, will always spike me, regardless. But are a great hypo cure!

If you are struggling for snacks, then seeds and nuts are great.
 
I find sour cherries much the same as berries they.do not rise the BG by much.
 
As my blood test this time came back a little high my nurse and I discussed what food choices could be contributing to the raise. She did offer me a meter for educational purposes even as a type 2 and I said I would accept this offer if my result was not lower in 3 months time. I also asked her if I should cut down my fruit intake and she told me to avoid watermelon, not to eat too ripe fruit i.e banana because it's sugar content will be higher and to have a small one. To have maximum of maybe 3 pieces spread throughout the day. I love fruit and their are so many benefits I'd really hate to have to cut it out. So I am going to be more mindful of what fruit I choose and what size.
 
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