Ans: First we should understand the concept of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load. Glycemic Index is how fast the food item we eat gets converted into glucose or sugar in the body. Glycemic Load is how much of it gets converted to glucose or sugar. A combination of both will give us an idea which vegetable to eat or which fruit to eat or not to eat.
These vegetables and fruits have fiber content. The fiber content is something which the body cannot digest and hence it keeps the stomach filled most of the time. You must have observed this after eating fruits and drinking smoothie. Whereas the vitamins and minerals in these vegetables and fruits get digested slowly. That is why eating these items slows down your blood sugar level.
Some of the daily vegetables we normally eat with low glycemic index are:
Drumsticks, Turai, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Broccoli (Cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli are not advised to Thyroid patients), Bhindi, Karela, Shimla Mirch, Tendli, Methi, Palak, Lal Maat, Padval, Kartuli, Gavar, French Beans, Rajma, Mushrooms and Dudhi. Vegetables like Lal Bhopla are not advised for diabetics whose sugar level is not under control.
Fruits also have glucose called sucrose. Sucrose is further divided into glucose and fructose. Some of the fruits are not recommended for diabetics because their glycemic index is high which means the fructose content is high. As a result, these fruits will increase the blood sugar level faster.
Cherries, Plums, Peaches, Apples, Oranges, Berries (blueberry, blackberry, strawberry), pears, kiwi, coconut, jamun, guava (peru), Avocado, dragon fruit and pomegranate.
Mango, Bananas, Dried Grapes, Papaya, Figs (Anjeer), Jackfruit, Grapes. These fruits are not recommended in the first and second phase of DFF protocol.
Watermelon, Dates, Sitaphal, Chickoo and Pineapple. These fruits are not recommended till you reach the GTT stage and become sugar free.
This information is based on my study from various sources. This is only for information purposes. Please follow the guidelines provided by DFF and the Panel Doctor.
