A study conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), showed that fruits’ slow glucose release when taken in, helped keep its sugar from affecting the sugar level of a person.
Diabetics need not worry about what fruits to eat as even the sweetest of them would not affect a person’s sugar level if taken in right amount, FNRI said, debunking belief that some sweet fruits may be bad for patients afflicted with diabetes.
Nine fruits were used as test foods in the study and the following are: Pakwan (water melon), melon (cantaloupe), langka (jack fruit), peras (Chinese pears), lakatan (banana), mangga kalabaw hinog (ripe mango), papaya (papaya), mansanas (apple) and Pinya (pineapple).
Fruits are important sources of energy and other dietary essentials like vitamins, minerals and fibers. They are very nutritious since they contain good amounts of beta carotene, vitamin C and vitamin B complex.
These vitamins protect the eyesight, keep the skin smooth and clean, prevent the occurrence of some bleeding gums and easily bruised skin and increase body resistance against infection.
In the study, it has been found that despite equal carbohydrates portions of the fruits tested, they differed in their glycemic indices , which remained low to affect a person’s blood sugar. With the study, it was proven that sugars from fruits are not easily converted to glucose.
Other studies showed that some fruits contain more fructose than glucose and may have fructo-oligosaccharides or other complex carbohydrates which are safe for diabetics.
