In the course of diabetes reversal journey, there will always be doubts about what type of vegetables and fruits can be consumed by the patient because these are the mainstay of the diabetic diet
Before we go into the specifics of the fruits and vegetables, it is necessary to know their glycemic value. What is glycemic value? It is in two parts viz., glycemic index and glycemic load. Now glycemic index is how quickly or how fast a food item that we consume, causes our blood sugar to rise on a scale of 0-100. It is further classified into low i.e., Less than 55, medium 55-65 and high above 65.
Whereas glycemic load is how much of a person’s blood sugar level will be raised by eating a food item. This is further classified into low viz., equal to or less than 10, medium 11 to 19 and high is above 20.
Coming to vegetables, the following vegetables have glycemic index at lower level.
Drumsticks, Ridge Gourd (Turai), Cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli (these 3 cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli are not advisable for consumption by thyroid patients), Bhendi (ladies finger), Karela (Bitter Gourd), Simla Mirch (Capsicum), Tendli (Ivy gourd), padval (snake gourd), Methi (Fenugreek leaves), Palak (spinach), Lal Maat (Red Spinach), Kartuli (spiny gourd), gavar (cluster beans), French Beans, Rajma (kidney beans), Mushrooms and Dudhi (bottle gourd).
Vegetables on high glycemic index are :
Pumpkin (Lal Bhopla) whose glycemic index is 75.
The following fruits have glycemic index of less than 55. They are safe to be consumed by diabetics.
Cherries, Plums, Peaches, Apples, Oranges, All berries like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, Pears, Kiwi, Coconut, Jamun, Peru (Guava), Avocado, dragon fruit and pomegranate.
The following fruits are in the medium glycemic index range. These should be consumed in limited quantity only when you become medicine free.
Mango, Bananas, Dried Grapes, Papaya, Anjeer (Figs), Jackfruit and Grapes.
The following fruits have high glycemic index. Hence, these could be consumed in very limited quantity after clearing glucose tolerance test.
Watermelon, Sitaphal, Chickoo, Pineapple.
This by and large covers the main items of consumption of vegetable and fruits by diabetics.
