Diabetes from fruit

Mitch sat in my office, looking much the same as he had on prior visits.

At 5 ft 7 inches, he weighed a comfortable 159 lb, though he did have a small visible “paunch” above his beltline.

I had been seeing Mitch for his heart scan score of 1157 caused by low HDL of 38 mg/dl, severe small LDL (87% of total LDL), and lipoprotein (a).

Part of Mitch’s therapeutic program was elimination of wheat, cornstarch, and sugars, the three most flagrant triggers of small LDL particles, and weighing his diet in favor of oils and fats to reduce Lp(a). However, Mitch somehow failed to follow our restriction on fruit, which we limit to no more than two 4 oz servings per day, preferably berries. He thought we said “Eat all the fruit you want.” And so he did.

Mitch had a banana, orange, and blueberries for breakfast. For lunch, along with some tuna or soup, he’d typically have half a melon, a pear, and red grapes. For snacks, he’d have an apple or nectarine. After dinner, it wasn’t unusual for Mitch to have another piece of fruit for dessert.

Up until Mitch’s last visit, he’d had blood glucose levels of 100-112 mg/dl, above normal and reflecting mild insulin resistance and pre-diabetes. Today, on his unlimited fruit diet, his blood sugar: 166 mg/dl–well into diabetes territory.

I helped Mitch understand the principles of our diet better and advised him to reduce his fruit intake to no more than the 2 small servings per day, as well as sticking to our “no wheat, no cornstarch, no sugar” principles.

While fruit is certainly better than, say, a half-cup of gummy bears (84.06 g carbohydrates, 50.12 g sugars), fruit is unavoidably high in carbohydrates and sugars.

Take a look at the carbohydrate content of some common fruits:

Apple, 1 medium (2-3/4″ dia)
19.06 g carbohydrate (14.34 g sugar)

Banana, 1 medium (7″ to 7-7/8″ long)
26.95 g carbohydrate (14.43 g sugar)

Grapes, 1 cup
27.33 g carbohydrate (23.37 g sugar)

Pear, 1 medium
25.66 g carbohydrate (16.27 g sugar)

Source: USDA Food and Nutrient Database

Fruit has many healthy components, of course, such as fiber, flavonoids, and vitamin C. But it also comes with plenty of sugar. This is especially true of modern fruit, the sort that has been cultivated, hybridized, fertilized, gassed, etc. for size and sugar content.

When you hear such conventional advice like “eat plenty of fruits and vegetables,” you should hear instead: “eat plenty of vegetables. Eat a small quantity of fruit.”



Change your life in 60 seconds


This entry was posted in Blood glucose, Blood sugar, Diabetes. Bookmark the permalink.

38 Responses to Diabetes from fruit

  1. Anonymous says:

    People who follow Doug Graham's 80-10-10 (carbs-fat-protein) predominantly fruitarian diet claim it's an ideal diet and that all that sugar isn't a problem as long as fat intake is very low. Is there any science to back that up?

  2. Mike Hussey says:

    Diabetic retinopathy could be associated with poorer memory and diminished brain power in people with Type 2 diabetes, according to a new research.

  3. Anonymous says:

    While it's interesting to read various point's of view of the percieved 'dangers of fruit' I also am noticing that there is very little in this article and it's associated comments that is anything more than opinion or worse yet, other people's opinions.

    If you were stuck on a deserted island, you would be eating whatever you could get your hands BUT you would be eating foods as nature intended them. Coconut, seafood, wild game, and if you were lucky enough fruits, berries etc.

    Keep it natural. If you can't find it nature, don't eat it. Most people frown on fruit while still consuming a diet high in refined white flours, sugars, salts and more recently soy foods. It is these foods that are destabilising your body's response to insulin spikes.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Mitch did not have the problems because of the fruit, but because of the fat in the diet.
    Fat blocks insulin from working. If you eat diet high in sugars, as most of us do, you have to limit your fat to less than 10% of your calorie intake.

    I believe the answers are so simple, but we are not seeing. Just look at the animals – they are either meat eaters or plant eaters. If there is any "cross over", it is very limited, e.g. eating an insect with a plant.

    We are really not supposed to mix these foods a lot, but we all do.

  5. HI FAT IS THE REASON says:

    When you hear such conventional advice like "eat plenty of fruits and vegetables," you should hear instead: "eat plenty of vegetables. Eat a small quantity of fruit." AND IN "IF YOU STILL EAT >10% FAT". By now you know its the fat that makes you insulin resistant. If you eat low fat and you still have issues, it ain't dietary diabetes. Please get the facts correct.

  6. buy jeans says:

    Mitch had a banana, orange, and blueberries for breakfast. For lunch, along with some tuna or soup, he'd typically have half a melon, a pear, and red grapes. For snacks, he'd have an apple or nectarine. After dinner, it wasn't unusual for Mitch to have another piece of fruit for dessert.

  7. roberto cavali says:

    It sounds like you're creating problems yourself by trying to solve this issue instead of looking at why their is a problem in the first place.

  8. Documentaries says:

    the fruits i dont belive they are a cause for diabetes , dependes on how many we eat , excess in everything that brings benefits to the body can cause harm by excessing with it

  9. Today News says:

    University of New York, Buffalo, revealed that sleep duration of less than six hours a night increases the risk three times as diabetes and heart disease.

  10. online viagra says:

    I am regular reader of this blog thanks a lot for this great information.

    Smith ALan

  11. florist says:

    Wow… I can't believe it that fruit can make a diabetes disease. Hmmm..thanks for the nice info.. :)

  12. buy viagra says:

    It is important in relationship to trust and express clearly our tastes and fears about sexuality, that fosters love and conjugal union

    http://buyonline-rx.com/Generic-Viagra-100-mg.html

  13. Anonymous says:

    Does anyone have an idea how much fruit or sugar that a caveman ate per year?
    Thanks.

  14. breast reconstruction surgery Los Angeles says:

    The diabetic patients are always wary of eating fruits as they contain sugar.They are always avoiding them…how sad that they can not derive the benefits of vitamins which they need ion the body.

  15. Alex Ford says:

    People with diabetes can eat any kind of fruit, regardless of the sugar content. Everyone is encouraged to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. Spreading the fruit you eat through the day will avoid a sudden rise in blood glucose levels.Generic Actos is the right cure if one is suffering from diabetes.
    All fruit and vegetables are extremely good for you. They are high in fibre, low in fat and packed with vitamins and minerals. Research has shown that eating more can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, some cancers and some gut problems. So i think don't avoid fruits, and if you blame fruits then you must have to blame the rest of your diet. Well is a coke is good for your health then?lols.. What you say?

  16. Exfoliating Gloves says:

    The odd thing about fructose is that it does NOT increase blood sugar like glucose, sucrose, or more "complex" carbohydrates, but exerts a substantial delayed effect on insulin resistance, increased triglycerides, and postprandial abnormalities.

  17. blah blah says:

    Would some of you commenters like to go to the vegan “all fruit diet” boards and kindly comment? You seem way more informed about the medical / dietary science behind fruit than those folks. They”re under the impression that the reason blood sugars rise from eating fruit is b/c you”re combining it with protein/fat meals. They say … fat clogs insulin receptors (I”m not making this up) … so, eating fruit with fat just causes blood sugar levels to rise and requires more insulin to get produced to get it under control. There”s a current trend for vegans to try this Hippocrates diet or 80-10-10 diet, 80% carbs, 10% prot, 10% fat. Eating raw is good, if it”s raw veggies, +fish proteins and fat. But, most vegans don”t do the strict healthy stuff, instead opting for the tastiest stuff: fruit. So, some go on these nothing-but-fruit diets, eg: 30 bananas a day. They binge eat on fruit until they”re bloated, then wash-rinse-repeat several times a day. Some folks have high insulin sensitivity, so they can get away with it. But, others don”t seem to understand that just b/c it works for someone else doesn”t mean it”ll work for you. All the sugars get burned up, then they get moody when they have a crash and have to force-feed more fruit into their system. I just get a kick out of reading their forums, where folks seem to have this bizarre pseudo-science mentality vs. folks here that seem to have actually read and understood actual science about diet & nutrition.

  18. Pingback: Eating for Optimal Health (Part 3 of 4) | Crack Your Health Code

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*


*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>