In this video Dennis Pollock takes you through the landmines and the treasures that are found in your local grocery store. How you shop and the things that you buy or leave at the store can mean success or failure in your struggle with runaway blood sugar. You can beat diabetes!
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I think I want to start with those fruits we should avoid and end this video on a happy not today.
Among fresh fruit, there are only a handful that fall above the low level of glycemic load. They are:
Banana 11
Grapes 11
Figs 16
Dried Dates 18
Raisins 28
And the last 2 on the list aren’t actually fresh fruit. Dried fruit is a food we really should avoid as one with diabetes. They just compact all the sugars into a small package and really bump up the impact they can have on your blood sugar.
Another fruit we need to avoid is any canned fruit packed in heavy syrup. Heavy syrup is honestly just another way to say “SUGAR.” It truly is a can of sugar waiting to elevate your blood sugar.
Fruits canned in heavy syrup, on average, will add 40 to 50 grams of sugar per serving! So we should avoid those at all costs. If you need to get canned fruit, get those canned in water or in the fruits own juices, that is a much better substitute.
While talking about fruit, we also must be sure we stay away from fruit-like foods like fruit roll ups, fruit chews and the like. Some may say made with real fruit juice and they are, but they are also made with real sugar.
Also while speaking of fruit, fruit juices are something you need to be leery of as well. Many of the fruit juices have added sugar and even if not, the juice has little if any dietary fiber which helps to off set some of the sugar’s effect on your blood sugar levels.
When thinking about the best fruits to eat, pick those that you like. I think choosing fruits that have edible skin is always good because of the dietary fiber they bring with them. Apples, pears, tomatoes (yes a tomato is a fruit) are all good choices. Berries are good choices for the same reason. Strawberries and blueberries bring a ton of antioxidants and Vitamin C to the table and their skin has a bit of fiber as well.
As a matter of fact, apples and strawberries have the lowest GL among the most common fruits enjoyed by humans.
Other great fruits are melons. For years, those of us with diabetes were told we couldn’t have melons because they were too high in sugars. The glycemic index of most melons is quite high. But when the glycemic load scale came to light, we saw that even though melons have a high GI, they really have little effect on our blood sugar at all. Watermelon is a wonderful example. Depending on what type, the GI of watermelon can be from 75 to 95. Now there is no way a person with diabetes would have even considered it OK to eat a food with a glycemic index that high, but the glycemic load of watermelon is only about 5, a perfectly fine food to eat.
Citrus fruits are another great food. Oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes all have a low GL in the 1-4 ranges. Each of these fruits bring all important Vitamin C to our bodies which helps our immune system tremendously.
Other fruits that are awesome are peaches, mangos, nectarines, cherries, I mean I could really just go on and on. Fresh fruit is a wonderful choice.
Also, consider frozen fruit. Most frozen fruit is great as well. Just be sure to get frozen from the field, or without additives. Sometimes those additives are sugar or some other form of unhealthy carb.
How do we incorporate fruits into our daily mean plan? Hey, they are great as one of your snacks through the day. Many fruits are also a great addition to things such as greek yogurt, oatmeal, sugar free jello. Many frozen fruits are just ready for a smoothie or a bowl of milk. Cut up a peach or put some frozen peaches in a bowl with some milk and a little sucralose and you will thank me tomorrow.
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