Are diabetics allowed to eat fruit and vegetables? Oh, yes! Vegetables, in particular, are ideal for diabetics because they are low in calories and fats and generally contain little glucose (simple sugars). But they are rich in vitamins, fibre and minerals. Fruit is also a good part of the diet of diabetics because of its vitamins and minerals, even if it contains more sugar than vegetables. The Glycemic Index (Glyx) and, above all, the Glycemic Load (GL) can be used to determine which fruits are particularly recommended and which have a lower sugar content.
The Glycemic Index indicates how high and how fast the sugar in the blood rises after 50 grams of carbohydrates have been eaten from a food. Thus, 50 grams of glucose result in a Glycemic Index of 100 percent. This is also the reference value.
However, there is one difficulty with the Glycemic Index. Let’s take the example of watermelon. The Glycemic Index for the low calorie fruit is 72, which is quite high. Thus the watermelon has even a higher value than white bread. How is that possible? The Glycemic Index always refers to the consumption of 50 grams of carbohydrates from food. Since watermelons contain few carbohydrates, one would have to eat 800 grams of this fruit to get to the carbohydrate amount and the Glyx of 72. And that’s rather unlikely.
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