Most patients with diabetes have little information on the effect of fruit on their blood sugar. The advice that fruits should be consumed sparingly has been promulgated for decades. There is however evidence that fruits do not only do not necessarily raise blood sugar but paradoxically reduces complications of diabetes and actually cut down mortality.
There are currently more than 400 million patients of diabetes, with a large chunk of them in India. India is the second largest producer of fruits in the world (China being the first). India grows about 40% of the world’s mangoes and papaya, and 25% of bananas. A portion of fruit contains 15-20 g of carbohydrate, while a can of Coca Cola or a medium slice of chocolate cake has 35g of carbohydrate. The sugar in fruit however is metabolically very different from refined sugar added to a cola or cake.
A mammoth Chinese study including 5 lakh people has concluded that eating fruit reduces development of diabetes by a significant 12% in people who did not have diabetes to begin with. The investigators also report that regular consumption of fruit in patients with diabetes resulted in significant lowering of mortality and complications of diabetes. The researchers conclude that their large epidemiological study in Chinese adults demonstrates higher fresh fruit consumption was associated significantly lower risk of diabetes and among diabetic individuals lower risks of death and development of major vascular complications.