How much fruit?

[Lynne888]

Hello. I'm new here. Hope you are able to help me with a query. My husband is a type 2 diabetic and has been for over 10 years. He eats a lot of fruit. If he's at work and needs food he is more likely to eat an apple that have a biscuit. I read on this website that fruit is very good for a diabetic and it didn't say anything about restricting the amount as far as I could tell. The past couple of times hubby has seen the chiropodist and the GP practice nurse, they have told him to only have a couple of pieces of fruit a day and that diabetics shouldn't eat much fruit due to the natural sugar. Has anyone else been told this? My husband's blood sugar is under control, it's usually around 6. He is quite gutted about it as he would normally have a banana with his breakfast and then probably another 4 pieces throughout the day. Even though I read the piece on this website about fruit out to him last night I noticed he hasn't taken any with him to work this morning so it seems he has taken the information from the chiropodist yesterday to heart. I would appreciate some help on this!! Thanks so much!!

 

[DeusXM]

There's no such thing as something is either 'bad' or 'good' for people with diabetes across the board. It is all entirely dependent on the individual.

What matters is not what the dietician or the doctor or the chiropodist says. The only thing that matters is what the meter says.

If your husband can eat a lot of fruit and keep his BG under 8 at all times, then there is no reason for him to necessarily limit his fruit consumption. However, it is worth remembering that fructose increases insulin resistance and is extremely fattening, so he should not be eating more that what would be suitable for someone without diabetes.

 

[David H]

Take a look at this site - click on link below:

What I need to know about eating and Diabetes.

 

[Lynne888]

Thanks for the informed reply. My husband has lost 3 stone over the years so I think the fruit has helped a great deal rather than caused any issues. My concern is that sometimes practice nurses are not always "up" on everything diabetic. I remember a previous GP giving Mark (hubby) some really conflicting information and when he spoke to the specialist at hospital he was quite concerned by some information diabetics were given. As you say, if everything is OK with the readings I guess he is fine to continue as he is. He mainly sticks to 5 pieces a day but he can have more so I guess he might be wise to reduce it slightly. He was told not to have bananas at all but he feels that eating one in the morning keeps him going until lunch time without having to worry about his blood sugar dropping low.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Lynne, welcome to the forum 🙂 As has been said, if your husband's levels are well-controlled then he can happily eat fruit. Some fruits are better than others - berries are probably the best and grapes at the other end of the spectrum. Dried fruit should probably be avoided because they are high sugar.

Bananas are fine as long as they are not too ripe i.e. turning black - this indicates an increase in the sugars that will raise his levels quickly, so I see no reason why he should specifically avoid bananas.

And whatever fruit he chooses, they are all better than biscuits! 🙂 How about nuts? They will have very little impact on his levels and can satisfy hunger pangs quite well - walnuts are the best, because they offer extra nutritional benefits, but peanuts/cashews etc. are also fine.

 

[Lynne888]

Hi Northerner! Yep he eats nuts too. I will tell him about the walnuts - not sure he is a great lover of those but I usually buy mixed bags. Perhaps he should take a small bag to work with him in future! Thanks for your advice!

 

[Allan93]

Hi Lynne

I ate lots of fruit before my diagnosis. I found that this was a major source of my sugar intake when trying to sort my diet.

As others have pointed it's difficult to say how different foods affect different people. I stopped all fruit initially and went on a fresh veg based diet.
I ate carrots as a snack instead of fruit and then slowly introduced different fruit and checked the effects with my meter. I tested over a period of time after eating different portion sizes to get an idea of how high and how quick the sugar levels went and how quick they came back to normal.

As a rough guide for me - big sweet apples send my sugar sky high, smaller more sour apples like Russets or Cox's are better. I found similar with pears.

Berries are OK in very small handful measures.

Citrus fruits by and large are too sugary. So are grapes, peaches, nectarines.
Other stone fruit is usually OK as they're smaller.

Bananas are brilliant when I'm out on the bike or other strenuous exercise but I found them best avoided on rest days.

Most of the time now I'll have a few small apples during the day as snacks between meals, bananas when exercising and occasionally berries as a treat but not as a regular food.

 

[hophead]

I avoid fruit juice but have small amounts of cut apple, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and tangerines.

 

[ade77]

They tell you to eat fruit yet mostly people are saying not to eat it I couldnt go all day just eating vegetables I would at least have too have a couple of apples especially doing a physical job.

 

[trophywench]

Well exactly, if you are doing something physical then you burn it off quicker than someone sitting at a desk BUT with any food the only thing to go by is your meter and what it tells you an hour, 90 mins, 2 hours after eating it.

The standard for all of us is shown here

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Monitoring/Blood_glucose/Blood_glucose_targets/

And if you ain't achieving that - then it's perfectly simple! - you need to change what you eat or when you eat it.

Incidentally protein actually fills you up and lasts you longer than any carbohydrate known to man. (except when taking very strenuous exercise/job because you need slower release carbs with additional fast-release carbs dripped in at the point of necessity)