111 | Can You Have a Lot of Fruit When Eating Plant-Based With Diabetes? [Summer Series]

Are you worried about…fruit? Growing up, you’ve always loved fruits like apples, peaches and berries and now you see so many delicious summertime fruits available. But you also have diabetes and want to eat plant-based to better your health. How is this all going to affect you? Maybe you’re also wondering, “Will eating too much fruit be bad for a person like me with diabetes?”

 

If these are your questions, let’s talk about them on today. In this episode, we’ll look at this question of fruit and diabetes, whether you can eat it, and if eating too much fruit will be bad for your blood sugars. I’m excited to delve into this topic with you in this second episode of the Summer Series. Listen in!

 

 

Related Episode:

Ep. 80: Should You Limit or Avoid Fruit if You Are Eating Plant-Based with Diabetes?

https://www.plantnourished.com/blog/80-should-you-limit-or-avoid-fruit-if-you-are-eating-plant-based-with-diabetes

 

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Join -> Plant-Powered Life Transformation Course: www.plantnourished.com/ppltcourse

Connect with Community -> www.facebook.com/groups/beginnerplantbaseddietsuccess

Get Free 15-Minute Strategy Call -> www.plantnourished.com/strategycall

Free Resource -> Quick Start Grocery Guide for Plant-Based Essentials: www.plantnourished.com/groceryguide

 

 

Have a question about plant-based diets that you would like answered on the Plant Based Eating Made Easy Podcast? Send it by email ([e-mail]) or submit it by a voice message here: www.speakpipe.com/plantnourished

 

 

 

[Plant Based, Blood Sugars, Plantbased Diet, Glucose, Plant Based Nutrition, Prediabetes, Diabetes, Blood Glucose Control, Fruits, Berries, Transition Tips, Carbs, Carbohydrates, Nutrition]

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Are you worried about fruit?
Growing up, you've always lovedfruits like apples, peaches, and
berries, and now you see so manydelicious summertime fruits available.
But you also have diabetes and want toeat plant-based to better your health.
How is this all going to affect you?
Maybe you're also wondering, willeating too much fruit be bad for

(00:25):
a person like me with diabetes?
If these are your questions, let'stalk about them on today's podcast.
In this episode, we'll look at thisquestion of fruit and diabetes, whether
you can eat it and if eating too muchfruit will be bad for your blood sugars.
I'm so excited to delve into thistopic with you in this second

(00:46):
episode of the Summer Series.
Ready to Learn More?
Let's go!
Welcome to the Plant BasedEating Made Easy Podcast.
I'm your host, Anna Tseng, plant-basedRegistered Dietitian and Transition Coach.
Hi Friend, do you want to regain yourhealth with plant-based eating but feel

(01:06):
overwhelmed and lost about how to do it?
Do you feel it'll be hard to changeyour meat-heavy diet and impossible
with working, running the home,or chasing after the grandkids?
If so, you're in the right place.
Here you'll find simple strategies,clear nutrition guidance and
practical tips to help you thriveplant-powered with more energy.

(01:28):
So, if you're ready to ditchthe guesswork and transform
your health the stress-free way.
Cozy up now with a hot cup of tea orlisten while you walk and let me show
you how doable plant-based eating can be.
Let's do this!
Hi, Friend, in case you missed the news,we're currently in the middle of a special

(01:49):
Summer Series I've put together for you.
In this Series, we're looking at someselected questions my Community members
have brought up to me about plant-basedeating, and I've decided to spotlight them
here because I want more people, insideand outside my Community, to benefit.
These are questions coming from mypodcast, email and Facebook communities.

(02:14):
So if you enjoy this episode, make sureto continue to tune in so you can benefit
from all the episodes in this Series.
And, if you have a different questionabout plant-based eating, you would
like answered on this podcast as well,send it to [e-mail]
or leave me a SpeakPipe message usingthe contact options in the show notes.

(02:39):
I always love hearing from you.
Now, let's move into today's topic.
Sometime ago I received this email inmy inbox from a member of my Community.
She wrote, " I have a questionabout how fruit may affect a person
that is pre-diabetic or diabetic.
I know fruit has natural sugars,and it's not the same as white

(03:02):
sugar or artificial sugars.
But will eating too much fruit affecta person with pre-diabetes or a
person who is a type two diabetic?"
This is a great question and one I'msure many may have, because so many of us
now either have diabetes, pre-diabetes,or know a friend or loved one who does.

(03:24):
I myself have had gestational diabetesfor all my pregnancies, and I remember
the anxiety I had during that timeabout high blood sugar levels and the
worry I had about eating certain foodslike bread, pasta, rice, and fruits.
These were foods traditionallybranded by doctors and diabetes
educators as being carb containingand which needed to be monitored.

(03:48):
That's why I felt today's topic neededto be addressed on this podcast.
Now, there's a lot I could talk aboutwhen it comes to diabetes, fruits, carbs,
and plant-based foods, because it is atruly complex area with quite a number
of factors involved, that can all have animpact on a person's blood sugar level.

(04:10):
But in this episode, I want to focus on afew key important points you need to know.
First of all, I agree that eating fruitis completely different from that of
eating white sugar and artificial sugars.
When you eat a piece of fruit comparedto a tablespoon of white sugar or
honey, the effect will be differenton your body and your blood sugars.

(04:33):
Though fruits do contain smallamounts of simple carbohydrates
like glucose and fructose, theyalso come packed with so much more.
These include water, vitamins, minerals,antioxidants, and phytonutrients.
That's why eating them is morebeneficial for your body than
drinking just a tablespoon ofhoney or eating a piece of candy.

(04:56):
In fact, many people don't realize justhow much water is contained in fruit.
For example, a piece of watermelon,which tastes super sweet and is a
favorite of my children's, containsmore than 90% water by weight.
So a hundred grams of watermelonwill give you a completely different
amount of carbohydrates than ahundred grams of white sugar because

(05:21):
most of the watermelon is water.
The kind of carbohydrates found infruit are also largely different
from that in white sugar.
For example, fruit often containscomplex carbohydrates like starch
and fiber, in addition to a smallquantity of glucose and fructose.
One avocado for instance,contains about 13.5 grams of

(05:45):
fiber and 0.2 grams of starch.
White sugar, on the other hand, isnearly a hundred percent sucrose,
which is made up of two simple sugarunits, a glucose molecule and a
fructose molecule joined together.
So yes, fruits can and shouldbe eaten as part of the diet for

(06:06):
someone who has pre-diabetes ordiabetes, especially if that person
is looking to eat more plant-based.
Besides the beneficial nutrients, fruitsprovide to nourish our bodies, there can
be other health impacts from eating fruit.
Research, for example, is showing thatcertain fruits, such as blueberries, can

(06:26):
actually help with blood sugar control.
If you would like to learn moreabout this, listen to episode 80
after listening to this episode.
I will link that foryou in the show notes.
Now, on the second part of this member'squestion: will eating too much fruit
affect a person with pre-diabetes ora person who is a type two diabetic?

(06:50):
And the answer is this.
In general, if this person is on afull whole food, plant-based diet, it
shouldn't as much, but the impact offruit consumption really depends on
each person's individual circumstance.
Some key areas that need to beexplored would be the level of
insulin resistance the person has andwhat their diet is currently like.

(07:15):
It would also be important to knowwhere a person is in his or her
plant-based diet transition journey.
The actual kinds of plant-basedfoods eaten, and his or her current
amount of daily fat intake interms of oils and saturated fats.
But there are so many other factorsthat need to be explored as well, such

(07:36):
as how long a person has had diabetes,how severe the diabetes condition is,
what diabetes medications he or she iscurrently taking, if any, and even that
person's exercise and activity levels.
What many people don't realize toois that the form of fruit you're
eating can also impact a person'sblood sugars sometimes in a big way.

(08:01):
That's because differentforms of fruit have different
effects on one's blood sugar.
The clearest example of this wouldbe eating a whole pear versus
drinking half a cup of pear juice.
The whole pear will cause a slower risein blood sugar levels than the pear juice.
A key reason for this is that the wholepiece of fruit will take longer for

(08:22):
your digestive system to break down anddigest compared to the pear juice, which
has already been processed quite a bit.
It would have had important componentslike the fiber and much of the pulp
already strained out and removed.
So the resulting pair of juice will bemuch more quickly digested by your body.
So going back to this member's question,eating fruit in the form of juices

(08:46):
will definitely impact a person withdiabetes or pre-diabetes more than
eating a whole piece of fruit instead.
So today we looked at the benefitsof consuming fruit and how
different fruit consumption iscompared to foods like white sugar.
We also looked at different factorsthat can affect how much fruit a person

(09:07):
with diabetes or pre-diabetes can have,including the form of fruit to be eaten.
The good news is that in general,for a person with improved insulin
sensitivity after a period of eating afull whole food plant-based diet, he or
she should be able to enjoy a lot morefresh or frozen whole fruits without it

(09:28):
impacting his or her blood sugar levelsas much as expected, or needing as much
insulin or diabetes medication coverage.
In all cases though, a person movingto a whole food plant-based diet
should continue to monitor his or herglucose level closely and make changes
to diabetes medications only with thedoctor's approval for safety reasons.

(09:52):
I hope you see the complexitiesof answering today's question and
that it's not as straightforwardas one would immediately think.
There are many factorsthat need to be considered.
This is one reason why it can bereally helpful to work with a dietitian
experienced in plant-based diets to helpyou improve your blood glucose control

(10:12):
over time as you move into a whole foodplant-based diet for optimal health.
If you would like my support inhelping you reach better health and
lower blood sugar levels, send me anemail at [e-mail]
or reach out to me using the contactoptions listed in the show notes.

(10:32):
I would love to connect with youand see how we can work together to
help you build the best health soyou'll have more energy and precious
time to spend with loved ones.
Thank you so much for listening.
If this podcast has inspired,encouraged, or helped you in some
way to transform your health,I would love to hear about it.

(10:55):
Please take 30 seconds to rateand leave a written review on
Apple Podcasts to let me know.
It will encourage me so much tohear how this podcast has positively
impacted and made a differencein your journey towards wellness.
And share about this podcast witha friend or loved one so we can
all thrive in the best health.
Remember, plant-based eatingcan be easy and doable.

(11:19):
See you in the next episode, my Friend.