Can diabetics eat dried fruit?

Fruits are sweets of nature – naturally sweet, but also full of important fibers and nutrients. With so many flavors and varieties, it is an excellent choice to satisfy your sweet tooth while maintaining a healthy diet. If you have diabetes, you have probably been told to limit candies and sugar and replace a piece of fruit instead. Fresh fruits are always a good option to include in your meal plan, but where are dried fruit if you limit carbohydrates or sugar?
Dried fruits can be part of a healthy diet even if you suffer from diabetes, as long as you choose lower sugar fruits and monitor the size of your portion.
Dried fruit and sugar contents
Regarding their macronutrient composition, fresh and dried fruits are almost 100% carbohydrates, most of which are in the form of fructose or fruit sugar. Some fruits are higher in sugar than others. Because dried fruits are dehydrated, its natural fruit sugar is more concentrated compared to fresh fruit. Carbohydrates in all types of fruits will lead to an increase in your blood sugar, but because it is packed with fibers, a portion of fruit generally does not increase your highly high as some other carbohydrates.
Pay attention to portions
If you count the carbohydrates to manage your diabetes or if you try to follow a lower carbohydrate diet, it is important to keep your portions of all the fruits on the small side and try to choose the best types of dried fruits for diabetics. According to the American Diabetes Association, a portion or a portion of fruit has about 15 grams of carbohydrates. A typical portion is a small room or about half a cup of whole fruit. However, the portions of dried fruits are much smaller due to their more concentrated fruit sugar.
Most dried fruits, such as raisins, dates or figs, have about 15 grams of carbohydrates in just 2 tablespoons. Others, like apricots, are lower sugar fruits, so that the size of your portion can be a little greater. The USDA reports that a portion of a quarter of dried apricots has 18 grams of carbohydrates. This means that if you try to monitor your carbohydrates and stay between 45 and 60 grams of carbohydrates per meal, you can still enjoy dried fruit.
Carbohydrates and glycemic index
Regarding diabetes, blood sugar and dried fruits, there are more in history than simple carbohydrates. It is also useful to know what the glycemic index of a fruit is. The glycemic index classifies carbohydrates on a 0-100 scale, depending on how they affect your blood sugar. Very quickly digested food cause a big peak in your blood sugar and have a higher glycemic index (more than 75). Compared to candies, cookies or other sweet foods, the fruits are digested more slowly, so they have less impact on blood sugar and a lower glycemic index.
On the scale of the glycemic index, low glycemic foods are those which have a glycemic index less than 55. For example, the glycemic index of the dried apricot is 30. Although you still need to take care of the size of your portion, the low blood sugar fruits like the dried sugar can be consumed by diabetics, without fear that they make your sugar increase.
Learn more: List of good carbohydrates to eat
Best fruits for diabetics
Because dried apricots are a low glycemic fruit, they are one of the best fruits for diabetics. However, you don’t have to limit yourself to these. According to an April 2017 article published in the International Journal of Medical Research and Health Sciences, other good fruits for diabetics include dried apples, which have a glycemic clue of 29, prunes, which have a glycemic index of 38 and dried peaches with a glycemic index of 35.
Dry fruits that have a higher sugar content and a higher glycemic index include dates, figs and grapes. Each of them has a glycemic index of about 60 years or more. This does not mean that you cannot eat them, but you should be very prudent to have only a small portion because they will have more effect on your blood sugar.
Watch out for added sugar
When you are looking for the best fruits for diabetics, keep in mind that many dried fruits have an additional sugar added to them. This even increases the sugar content and the glycemic index. Dried cranberries, pineapple, strawberries and mangos are commonly prepared with added sugar. Always check the ingredient label and avoid dried fruit with added sugar.
Learn more **: ** A diet of unpublished sugars
Combine dried fruits with fat
One way to reduce the glycemic index of a carbohydrate and its effect on your blood sugar is to associate it with healthy fats. Food fats slow down your digestion, so the sugar in the fruits is digested and absorbed even more slowly. Dry fruits go particularly well with foods rich in fat such as cheese, nuts, seeds or unsweetened coconut. If you take a portion of dried fruit with a low sugar content, such as apricots, and associate with an ounce of cheese or a handful of nuts and seeds, you will have an easy healthy snack for your blood sugar.
Take advantage of health benefits
Dried fruits provide the same nutrients as fresh fruit but in a smaller set. All dried fruits are excellent sources of fiber, vitamins, minerals such as potassium and iron and phytochemicals favorable to health. Certain fruits such as apricots and peaches are particularly high in antioxidant beta-carotene. Like grapes, raisins are very high in polyphenol resveratrol.
Find out more: Benefits for dried fruit health
In a July 2017 review on the beneficial effects of dried fruits and nuts on type 2 diabetes published in the review Nutrients, researchers from Spain identified fruit (and nuts) as a superior food source of antioxidants. Researchers suggest that antioxidants and phytochemicals in dried fruits can help those with diabetes by reducing insulin resistance, and also protecting cells from inflammation.
Another interesting discovery on dried fruits, and especially apricots, is only when consumed with higher glycemic foods, they can change glucose levels after the meal. The results of a December 2018 study published in Nutrition & Diabetes showed that consumption of a low glycemic fruit such as apricots as well as a high glycemic index of white bread reduced the pic of glucose normally observed from white bread.
Overall, dried fruits are good for you, and they can be an excellent addition to your diet even if you suffer from diabetes. As long as you agree with the smallest size of dried fruit, you can safely eat lower sugar fruit such as apricots, prunes or dried apple slices and enjoy their many health benefits.