Fruits are a necessary ingredient of our diet. They are rich in essential vitamins , minerals and give us a gush of antioxidants. The essence of seasonal change is beautifully incorporated in the changing availability of fruits in our market. They are a healing touch to our body, soul, and the persona.
Diabetes and Fruits-
The diabetic enigma begins with a flurry of suggestions telling us what to be or not to be eaten?. The soul of the advice gets lost in between the newly found advising, newly generated anxiety, awareness, and the wrong perceptions. Diabetics are the ones who are being controlled in a remote controlled way by their wives, relatives, and children. Social fabric in India is different from the west, it is being beautifully driven by the sense of belongingness, concern and the real worry about the coming doom. When a person gets diabetes even the maid of the house starts taking care of the ailing individual. Extra care is good, but sometimes we are stuck up in between various suggestions and thoughts of our relatives.
What to eat and what not to eat?.
The three tenets of diabetes care are to restrict carbohydrates to 40-60% , restrict fat to 20%, proteins to 20% and have plenty of dietary fibre. This is like a plate full of chaat with miscellaneous ingredients and the beauty of chaat is that the taste varies with individual to individual. You can have more of the green chutney or imli ki chutney, you can have more of sev , papdi or the never ending list of spices. The taste varies with individual and the savory tickles the taste buds of everyone. This is what life is for, it gives us pleasure and self containment.The treatment of diabetes and advice to a diabetic patient cannot be different. Advice to a diabetic should incorporate the likes and dislikes of the patient who is receiving it, life will continue even if the patient is diabetic. The ingredients for the chaat personified as life of a diabetic cannot be without choices.
Rationalisation of thoughts amongst the diabetics, relatives and friends is required, brakes to be applied when necessary.
Fruits in Diabetes –
Diabetic needs are not different from a non diabetic individual with an extra requirement of antioxidants, fiber and the balance in the three tenets. Fruits are a rich source of the recommended in diabetes.
Is there an absolute no for a particular fruit?
Myths shroud us and sometimes we are haunted by it. All fruits are good for diabetics, they should have all of them. They should know the fact that fruit sugars are not like the food sugar, it takes time in getting converted to glucose. We have learnt the fact that if a food stuff does not lead to a sudden increase in sugars i.e glucose, it is good for diabetics. The glycemic index of fruits is low.
Which fruit should be taken?
Fruits with the less glycemic index like apple, papaya, guava, pomegranate are the preferred ones. Chikoo, banana, oranges, grapes, mangoes, litchis are the ones to be taken in moderation. Preference doesn’t mean that the others should never be taken. Balance the fruits in the diet as per season, availability and the three tenets of diabetes. Fruits are the necessary content of a diabetic diet, they reduce the oxidative stress and gives us the elixir of life. An apple a day keeps diabetes away.