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Type 2 Diabetes: Overview
We naturally have sugar in the bloodstream that provides energy to every body cell. Healthy levels of this sugar, glucose, are maintained by insulin, a hormone secreted when blood sugar rises too high. Type 2 diabetes happens when your body doesn&#;t make enough insulin or your body&#;s cells don&#;t respond normally to insulin, called insulin resistance. This causes high blood sugar and immediately starts to starve cells of energy. Over time, high blood sugar damages sensitive tissues, such as those in the extremities, eyes, and kidneys.
What Should I Eat?
Following a regular meal plan, being active, taking medications, and tracking your blood sugar levels will help you manage your diabetes. Indeed, you may be able to control your diabetes just by eating healthfully and exercising regularly. Most people benefit from 3 meals plus 2 to 3 snacks every day. For easy snacking ideas, click here.
What are Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates provide energy, and every cell needs energy. Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and dairy and come in three forms, sugars, starches, and fiber. Sugars are the simplest, most easily absorbed carbohydrates and include glucose needed to sustain energy. Starches are longer chains of sugars. Fiber is the indigestible part of a plant. While it is generally not digested, it may offer cardiovascular and digestive benefits.
Why Pears?
Everyone&#;s digestive system needs carbohydrates, and it is best to balance them with fiber, protein, or fat at every meal. Balancing carbohydrates decreases the rate of absorption of glucose, so your blood sugar won&#;t spike as dramatically. Good carbohydrate choices are those that already contain these nutrients, such as fiber-rich fruits and vegetables.
Pears pack a nutritional punch! Each medium pear contains 6g of fiber, 21% of the recommended daily value, and they contain vitamin C. Eating two pears every day meets your fruit needs as outlined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. What could be sweeter?
But Doesn&#;t Fruit Contain Sugar?
Sometimes people think that since fruit naturally contains sugar, eating fruit is not appropriate for managing diabetes. This is not true! Fruit is full of vitamins, minerals, water, and fiber &#; all important nutrients &#; and most fruits are considered low GI foods. Indeed, foods high in fiber, such as pears, taste sweet without having the deleterious effect of spiking blood sugar.
For those counting carbohydrates, a small piece of fruit contains about 15g, or one serving, of carbohydrates.
For more information on including fruit in your diet, visit the American Diabetes Association website.
The Glycemic Index:
Many practitioners suggest following the glycemic index (GI). The GI is a scale from 1 to 100 that ranks how foods affect blood sugar. Foods that contain carbohydrate naturally increase blood sugar; the lower a food is on the GI, the less that food increases blood sugar. According to Diabetes Care, a medium-sized pear ranks 38 on the glycemic index and is considered a low glycemic food. [1]
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Low GI Foods: <55
Pears and most fresh fruits, non-starchy vegetables, sweet potatoes, rolled oats, quinoa, beans, nuts, seeds, milk
Medium GI Foods: 56 -69
Whole wheat bread, brown rice, quick oats
High GI Foods: >70
White bread, sugary cereals, white potatoes, pretzels, candy, cookies, pineapple, melons
When you're in search of a diabetes-friendly treat that won't knock your blood sugar out of healthy range, look no farther than the produce drawer of your refrigerator or the fruit bowl on your kitchen table.
Believe it or not, the notion that fruit is not safe when you need to watch your A1C is a popular diabetes myth that has been debunked again and again. A study published in PLoS One in April even found that high amounts of fresh fruit were associated with a lower diabetes risk, as well as fewer complications for people who already had diabetes. Meanwhile, people who eat a diet rich in whole fruits may be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes in the first place, according to a study in the October Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) notes that many types of fruit are loaded with vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber &#; a powerful nutrient that can regulate blood sugar levels and decrease your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, per the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Fiber &#; which can also be found in some of the best vegetables for diabetes and in whole grains &#; can further benefit your health by promoting feelings of fullness and curbing cravings and overeating, advises the Mayo Clinic. Healthy weight maintenance supports insulin sensitivity and helps with diabetes management, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
So, how do you pick the best fruits for diabetes? Some forms of fruit, like juice, can be bad for diabetes. Past research, for example, showed that while whole fruits were associated with a lower risk of diabetes, fruit juice consumption was actually associated with a higher risk.
Whole fruits like berries, citrus, apricots, and yes, even apples &#; can be a healthy way to satisfy your sweet tooth, notes the ADA, and score important vitamins and minerals.
But as with any food in your diabetes diet, you have to be smart about counting carbohydrates and tracking what you eat. Portion size is key: According to the Mayo Clinic, one serving of fruit shouldn&#;t have more than 15 grams (g) of carbohydrates.
Consume fruit in its whole, natural form, and avoid fruit in syrups or any processed fruits with added sugar, which have the tendency to spike your blood sugar, per the Cleveland Clinic. Stick to the produce aisle and the freezer section of your grocery store. If you're using the glycemic index (GI) or glycemic load to make dietary decisions, most whole fruits are a good choice because they tend to lie low on these rankings, the ADA also notes. According to Harvard Health Publishing, glycemic index is a scale used to determine how quickly a food is expected to raise your blood sugar. Meanwhile, according to the University of Sydney, glycemic load takes both glycemic index and carbohydrates per serving into account, offering a more precise idea of how a specific portion size might affect blood sugar. In the case of fruit, glycemic load can be helpful because larger portions can indeed spike blood sugar.
Armed with this knowledge, you can eat fresh, whole fruit, and keep your blood sugar within a healthy range, thereby lowering your risk of diabetes complications such neuropathy or nerve damage, kidney disease, eyesight issues like glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy, and life-threatening illnesses like heart disease and stroke, per the CDC.
Next time you have a hankering for something sweet, consider reaching for one of the following naturally sweet and juicy treats, courtesy of Mother Nature &#; slice some up at home and add to your breakfast bowl, or keep it simple and throw a piece in your bag to munch on when you're on the go.
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