How Pineapple Affects Our Blood Sugar

Having diabetes requires tracking the type of food we consume, and regulating the blood sugar levels. But, we also need to keep in mind that we should consider our intake of carbs. Particular fruits that have fiber, minerals, and vitamins can be good for our usual diet. However, they can have carbs that may affect blood sugar, and that is why the key is moderation. Here are some tips on how to balance our diet and break down the cons and pros of consuming pineapple.

Useful Tips to Balance Our Diet

It is essential to have a healthy diet in order to manage our blood sugar levels. We should be aware of our daily intake of carbs and we should have a healthy meal plan. Also, we need to consume foods that are abundant in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. We can find that in legumes, fruits, whole grains, and vegetables. Bear in mind to avoid food abundant in fat, sweets, and highly processed foods. A doctor or nutritionist can help us make a balanced diet that can help us to control our blood glucose.

Count Carbs

A lot of people count their carbs intake on a daily basis. This is necessary because carbs can raise our blood sugar levels.  As an alternative, we can use a meal plan that will count the carbs we consume at each meal. In this way, we can effectively manage our levels of blood sugar. The number of carbs we can consume at each snack and meal depends on different factors. Those factors are:

• Goals for blood glucose readings
• Medications
• Weight
• Activity

There is one rule when it comes to carbs counting, and that is from 15 to 20 g per snack and from 45 to 60 g of carbs per meal.

Monitoring of Glycemic Index

Besides the carbs counting, we should bear in mind our glycemic index. Why? Because the GI can measure the carbs we consume and whether they raise the blood sugar. Certain foods can raise our blood sugar faster in comparison to others.

Factors That Contribute to GI in Foods

• Variety
• Fat
• Cooking Method
• Fiber
• Ripeness
• Processing

It is actually simple,  foods that have high GI can raise our blood sugar levels rapidly. But we can still consume these foods - we just need to balance them with those foods that have a low GI.

Pineapple

Our main topic here is pineapple. Let's take a closer look at this fruit.

The Pros

• The pineapple is low in sodium, and it is rich in vitamin C.
• Frozen or fresh pineapple is low in carbs.

The Cons

• Pineapple juice contains a lot of sugar.
• The pineapple is known as a fruit with medium GI.

We should eat pineapple in moderation and in small portions. In fact, one cup of fresh pineapple contains 56 GI. If we want to use pineapple in our meals, we could combine it with foods that are registered as medium or low GI. In that way, we will avoid sugar spikes.

Foods to Combine with Pineapple

• Whole wheat bread
• Pasta
• Legumes
• Converted rice
• Steel-cut or rolled oatmeal
• Bulgur
• Barley

Foods with High GI

• Instant oatmeal
• White bread
• Russet potatoes
• Pretzels
• Saltine crackers

In general, frozen or fresh pineapple has the lowest amount of carbs per serving. The dried pineapple and pineapple juice contain more sugar in comparison to the fresh pineapple. That is why if we are managing our carbs, the serving sizes from dried pineapple and pineapple juice should be small. We can consume canned pineapple, but we should be careful because it is made with sugary syrup. This sugary syrup serves to preserve the pineapple.

Conclusion

We can consume pineapple even if we have diabetes, as long as we consume it in moderation. We should focus on balancing the consumption of pineapple with other foods. In case we are consuming pineapple for the first time since we got diagnosed with the disease, we should be careful and monitor if there are any changes in our blood sugar levels. And, if the pineapple we consume leads to low or high blood sugar levels, we should not consume it. It's best to consult a doctor. Sources Health Line | Mayo Clinic | Medical News Today | ADA | Cleveland Clinic