Show  The glycemic index is a scale that ranks foods containing carbohydrates by how much they raise blood sugar levels. Foods are identified as either having a high, medium or low glycemic index:
It’s important – especially for people with diabetes – to choose medium or low glycemic index foods more often than high glycemic index ones. Here are fruit options with a ‘low’ glycemic index (arranged alphabetically): Apples (glycemic index = 39)In addition to providing a satisfying crunch, there’s a reason why apples are one of Canadians’ favourite fruits. A single medium-sized apple (eaten with the peel on) provides about 20% of your daily fibre needs. Fibre helps you feel full for longer, and also helps lower blood sugar levels and improve the function of the digestive system. Additionally, apples are a great source of vitamin C. Bananas (glycemic index = 51)Bananas are one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world, for good reason. They’re an easy snack on-the-go, and they’re also rich in fibre, potassium, vitamins A and C, and magnesium. It is also believed that bananas may help lower blood pressure and reduce the risks of cancer and asthma. Here is a wonderful, healthy date and banana snack that you can take on the go! Cantaloupes are an excellent source of vitamins C and A. Vitamin A helps your eyes stay healthy and your eyesight stay sharp. Cantaloupes also contain a host of B vitamins – including B1, B3, B6 and folate. They are also good sources of vitamin K, potassium and magnesium. Cherries (glycemic index = 20)Cherries are packed with antioxidants, which help boost your immune system. They are also very high in potassium: 155 grams (one cup) of pitted cherries contains 260 milligrams. Because cherries have a short growing season, it can be difficult to find fresh cherries in the grocery store. However, canned tart cherries are an excellent substitute – and still have a low glycemic index – as long as they’re not packed in sugar. Mangos (glycemic index = 51)Besides being fairly low in calories, and very high in fibre, mangos are a great source of vitamins A, B6 and C. They also contain smaller amounts of calcium, zinc and iron. Oranges contain fibre, potassium and vitamin C, all of which support heart health. As well, they contain more than 170 different phytochemicals and more than 60 flavonoids, which have anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidant effects. Peaches (glycemic index = 42)Peaches contain lots of vitamins C and A, as well as potassium and iron. Potassium helps regulate heart rate and lower blood pressure, while iron helps carry oxygen from the lungs and throughout the body. Pears (glycemic index = 38)Pears contain vitamins C and K, as well as potassium, calcium, magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and folate. Instead of paring it, eat the entire pear – with the peel – for an extra fibre boost. This will give you 20% of your recommended daily fibre intake. Plums contain considerable amounts of vitamins A, C and K. They are also good sources of potassium, copper and manganese, and are rich in antioxidants. Strawberries (glycemic index = 41)Like many other berries, strawberries have particularly high levels of antioxidants called polyphenols, which help the body fight disease, boost insulin sensitivity and slow the rate at which the body digests and absorbs sugar. Strawberries are also rich in potassium, folic acid, fibre and vitamin C. In fact, although most people associate vitamin C with citrus fruits, 155 grams (one cup) of strawberries actually contains more vitamin C than an orange. In summary, here are 10 fruit options, listed in order of glycemic index – all a good option for your diabetes diet!
Beginning in the 1980s, researchers developed a method of testing individual foods to see how much they raised blood glucose, resulting in a scale called the glycemic index or GI. Many fruits and vegetables contain minimal to moderate amounts of carbohydrates and therefore have a low GI, but some fruits and starchy vegetables are on the high end.
The aim of the glycemic index is to provide health-conscious eaters with a tool for estimating how much impact a food will have on blood glucose levels. To do this, researchers commonly use pure glucose as the benchmark, measuring its effect on blood glucose and using that to set the bar. With this as a reference point, researchers anywhere can test a food, measure its impact on the blood glucose levels of volunteers, and then compare it to pure glucose.
A food with a GI of 55 or less is considered to be "low GI," anything from 55 to 69 is considered "moderate," and a GI of 70 or greater is considered "high." To complicate matters, produce items don't always test at the same GI level. Some varieties of a given fruit or vegetable may have more starches or sugars, and other factors such as the ripeness of the test food and the length of time it's been in storage can also affect the end result.
Because of their naturally high sugar content, some fruits have a moderate to high glycemic index. The highest GI among raw -- not dried or canned -- fruits is watermelon, with an average GI of 72 and with some samples testing as high as 80. Well-ripened cantaloupes can also have a GI of 70 in some cases. Fruits that qualify as having a moderate GI include:
The majority of vegetables have a very low GI, with high glycemic index numbers cropping up mostly among the starchy vegetables. Russet Burbank potatoes check in at a GI of 111, for example, higher than for glucose itself. Cassava and sweet potato, in some tests, have scored as high as 94. Other vegetables falling into the high and moderate GI brackets in at least some tests include:
Most fruits fall into the low GI category, despite their relatively high levels of sugar. That's due largely to their high levels of fiber and fiber-like substances, such as pectin, which slow digestion and moderate their impact on blood glucose levels. Among fresh, low GI fruits, wild blueberries have one of the highest scores at a GI of 53 in some tests. Some plums reach that level as well, while others -- paradoxically -- score among the lowest, at a GI of 24. Bananas have an all-tests average GI of 48. So fruits in the low GI category include most of your favorites, such as:
Most nonstarchy vegetables fall into the low GI category, with those at the high end including sweet and starchy root vegetables such as parsnips at a GI in some tests of 52, carrots in some tests at 49, and -- surprisingly -- new potatoes at a relatively modest GI of 47. The lowest tested vegetable in the official GI database maintained at the University of Sydney, in Australia, is raw carrots at a GI of 16. The vast majority of vegetables aren't included in the database, because their glycemic index is low enough to be negligible and therefore researchers at the University of Sydney, and sister institutions worldwide, don't bother to test them.
It's important to bear in mind that the glycemic index is only one tool used to measure the healthfulness of fruits and vegetables, and it has a number of flaws. For one thing, the amount of food used for testing purposes doesn't necessarily correspond to a portion you'd eat in real life. There's a related measure called glycemic load or GL, which makes that correction by adjusting the test results to reflect a real-world portion.
Another issue is that real-life meals typically include multiple foods eaten all at once, and the impact of a full meal on your blood glucose is hard to predict. For example , eating a mixed meal with foods that contain protein and fats can help slow your digestion and reduce the impact even of high-GI foods.
That doesn't mean the glycemic index has no value. Even the American Diabetes Association, which recommends carb-counting as a better method of controlling blood sugar, suggests that it can help fine-tune your meal choices. If most of what's on your plate is vegetables or other foods with a low GI, then the overall meal itself will probably have a moderate impact on your glucose levels.
It's important to remember as well that there's more to food and nutrition than your blood glucose. A key recommendation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to choose foods that are nutritionally dense, meaning they pack a lot of nutrients for the number of calories. Most fruits and vegetables are among the healthiest menu choices, so eating plenty of them, and the widest variety possible, should be a bigger priority than their respective GI scores. Writer BioFred Decker is a trained chef, former restaurateur and prolific freelance writer. A self-described "food-science geek," he reads academic papers for entertainment. He was educated at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. His food and nutrition articles have appeared on high-profile sites including Livestrong, Healthfully, Walgreens.com, LeafTV, GoBankingRates, Vitamix.com and many others. |
What are the lowest glycemic fruits
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