Type 2 diabetes needs careful management of blood sugar levels to avoid serious health complications. While individuals with type 2 diabetes are not barred from eating fruit, it's important to be mindful of the sugar content in fruits to prevent excessive rises in blood sugar levels.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas fails to produce sufficient insulin or when the body's cells become resistant to insulin. Insulin is crucial for controlling blood sugar levels, and without proper regulation, these levels can spike to dangerous heights.
The UK Government recommends that everyone should consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables daily. However, diabetes.co.uk cautions that "fruit is naturally quite high in sugars and fruit will typically have more carbohydrate than non-starchy vegetables".
The site also notes that "Some fruits are more sugary than others."
Highlighting common culprits, the charity identifies bananas and oranges as "examples of more sugary fruits", while pointing out that "Berries are examples of less sugary fruits."
For those fruits higher in sugar, the advice given is: "You may find therefore that you need to choose smaller portions of certain fruits depending on your blood glucose levels. Fruit juices and smoothies typically contain a lot of fruit sugar so exercise caution with how much fruit juice you consume."
Health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables
Consuming fruit and vegetables is crucial for our health. Increasing intake of fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods like nuts and legumes can lower the risk of chronic diseases, heart disease, and cancer.
These foods are rich in fibre, essential for our health and gut microbiome, as well as vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols.
Diabetes.co.uk emphasises: "Everyone should be eating more fruit and vegetables. You're probably aware of the five-a-day minimum target, and this is equally important if you're living with diabetes or if you're not. They can also help people living with diabetes manage their blood pressure and blood cholesterol."
While some might worry about the sugar content in fruits and certain vegetables, the website clarifies: "You might think that the sugar content of fruit, and some vegetables, means that you can't eat them. But the sugar in whole fruit and veg does not count towards free sugars, so it is not this type of sugar we need to cut down on. This is different to the free sugar in drinks, chocolate, cakes and biscuits, as well as in fruit and vegetable juices and honey."
So, which fruits have the highest and lowest carbohydrate and sugar content?
According to diabetes.co.uk, dates top the list with 69g of carbohydrates (and 66g of sugar) per 100g, followed by bananas with 20g of carbs (12g of sugar) per 100g. Pomegranates contain around 14g of carbs (14g of sugar), and grapes have 16g (and 16g of sugar).
However, this doesn't mean you should avoid these fruits, but rather be mindful of portion sizes. For instance, diabetes.co.uk suggests that one large Medjool date is probably sufficient.
Diabetes.co.uk highlights certain foods that sit at the lower end of the glycaemic index scale.
At the lower end of the scale, says Diabetes.co.uk, are
- Raspberries: 5.5g of carbs per 100g (4.4g of sugar)
- Grapefruit: 9.4g (7g)
- Peach: 8g (8g)
- Blackberries: 5g (5g)
But the website cautions: "It is better to reduce your intake of high-sugar, high-fat snacks and drinks such as chocolate, fizzy drinks, cakes and crisps, rather than whole fruit or veg when trying to restrict your carb intake to help manage your blood glucose levels and overall health."
There are particular beverages, such as juices and smoothies, that Diabetes.co.uk suggests should be consumed with caution, or even avoided entirely. The site warns that "juices and smoothies... ideally need to be avoided or at least cut down on".
It reasons that since these drinks have most of their fibrous content removed or already broken down, the sugars become free and easy to digest, allowing one to consume large amounts quickly which results in extra calories and carbohydrates.
How to spot high blood sugar symptoms
Identifying symptoms of high blood sugar is crucial in recognising Type 2 diabetes. Although they may not immediately impact your health, lookout for frequency in urination (especially at night), an incessant feeling of thirst, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, genital itching or episodes of thrush, wounds that heal slowly, and vision becoming less clear.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes
According to the NHS, the most common symptoms of type 2 diabetes are:
- feeling very tired
- peeing more than usual
- feeling thirsty all the time
- losing weight without trying to
Other symptoms can include:
- blurred vision
- cuts or wounds taking longer to heal
- itching around your penis or vagina, or you keep getting thrush
