People with type 2 diabetes always have questions about fruit. Will it raise your blood sugar levels? Is it alright to have fruit in the morning? Does fruit juice raise your blood sugar levels faster than whole fruit? The truth is it depends of many factors.

The excuses for not eating enough fruit runs along the lines of those for not eating sufficient vegetables and not finding time to exercise. Actually in this fast paced world, fruit is really ideal… there’s no preparation, just wash and eat! How many times have you bought apples and just left them to rot preferring to eat those potato chips, crackers or candy?

Once your choice of fruits was small… apples, oranges, bananas and a few summer fruits. Now you can find so many exotic fruits… don’t be afraid to try something new. You can eat them in place of juice or dessert. Berries particularly freeze well which means you can always have healthy fruit-snacks in the house. Or buy out of season, frozen berries… they last a lot longer than fresh berries.

How many servings of fruit for you each day?

This may seem like a lot to you, but somewhere between three and five pieces. One serving is roughly equivalent to:

• one medium or half a large apple, pear or orange
• one cup of grapes, strawberries, raspberries or cherries
• 1/2 cup canned fruit packed with no sugar added or unsweetened fruit juice
• two smaller fruits such as plums, apricots or kiwi fruit
• 1/4 cup dried fruits

The effect of the various fruits on your blood sugar level depends on:

• the form it takes, eg. is it juice without fiber that you drink quickly, or an apple that takes several minutes to eat?
• whether you eat the fruit with your meal, or alone as a snack
• the glycemic index of that particular piece

As a rule, fruit does not raise your blood sugar level faster than many other sources of carbs. However, some when eaten alone can raise your blood sugar fast… the glycemic index ranking list will help you here. A piece of fruit eaten in the afternoon can just give you enough energy to get through until dinner.

The bottom line is fruit is a source of energy, vitamins, minerals and fiber and should not be missed. You need to eat several pieces, between three and five, every day.

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