One of the common misconceptions about diabetes is that patients need to avoid fruit because an overload of glucose could come from eating apples, pears, and oranges. While there are some things to be aware of when it comes to fruit and diabetes, the myth that fresh fruit should be avoided is simply not true. In fact, there are many fruits that diabetics can eat with no problems. They are listed below, along with an explanation of each.
The problem is, not everyone understands how the body breaks down food for energy. Of course, diabetics need to carefully monitor their sugar intake, but when it comes to fruit, what diabetics need to be careful of is actually carbohydrates. That’s because those carbs are converted directly into glucose for energy while certain types of whole fruits can be quite advantageous for a diabetic diet.
You do want to avoid fruit juice because that’s where your sugar will come from. Fruit juices contain a huge number of carbs in comparison to their fresh fruit siblings. The amount of fruit juice that would fit into a soda can contains as many carbs as four or five whole fruits of the same type. Let’s take a look at the fruits that it is okay for diabetics to have.
1. Berries
Most of the berries out there are perfectly okay to have. Many diabetics avoid berries because they think that they contain a lot of sugar, but with most berries that isn’t the case. You will be safe with small amounts of berries from time to time, and any raw fruit is going to give you some benefits that you wouldn’t get with other types of food. You will be safe with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and even strawberries.