Fruits And Diabetes
Can diabetes patients eat fruits?
Common understanding is - no. Almost all of the diabetes patients I know, hesitate to eat fruits. Logic is - fruits are sweet, and contain sugar. Diabetes patients already have high sugar and eating fruits will lead to increase in blood sugar. Is this right? let's see.
Does diabetes means excess sugar in blood?
No. Diabetes means excess glucose in blood, not sugar. What is the difference? difference is - all sugars are not glucose. Glucose is just one type of sugar, and the only sugar that causes diabetes. Glucose is present in many foods that we eat. It is highest in white table sugar, processed and packed foods and grains like rice, wheat.
Which kind of sugar is in fruits?
Fruits contain sugar called fructose. It is a simple sugar like glucose. Fructose acts very differently as compared to glucose. It does not mix with blood, as glucose do, and gets stored in liver. Therefore they act as stored sugar, not instant sugar like glucose.
Fruits, having fructose, do not increase blood glucose level. Because of this, fruits are not only safe for diabetic patients, they also help in lowering levels of glucose. Fruits also come packed with so many useful vitamins and minerals.
So in conclusion - diabetics must not hesitate to eat fruits, but must eat 3 different types of fruits everyday.
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