Another look at fruits.

Another interesting point raised by Adnan from Phoenix. He mentions that citrus fruits and berries have not been harmful to his blood sugar control. And that freshly squeezed orange juice is much better than the ready-to-serve OJ found in supermarkets.

This is an interesting point because it illustrates one very important truth: No two diabetics are alike and what works for one may not work for another.

I used to have freshly squeezed grapefruit juice every day in the morning before my Type 2 diagnosis. I also used to have blueberries every day because of their antioxidants. I owned a juicer that got a lot of mileage in those days. In fact, we still have it.

I mentioned in an earlier post that based on its low glycemic index, I had made strawberries a staple for my breakfast hoping that I would get the benefits of this very healthy fruit without any impact on my blood sugar.

But I was wrong. It definitely affected my A1C reading. Now granted there may have been other factors, because there are so many variables in this blood sugar equation that it is difficult to isolate one variable or its effects. The cold fact for me was that when I stopped the daily consumption of strawberries my A1C went down by 0.3. Again, its hard to say because this reduction could be the result of inherent variability in the laboratory's testing method. Or it could have been due to some improvement in my metabolism. Who knows.

I did not want to take a chance. Also, what remained stuck in my mind was what I had read about fructose, the sugar found in fruits, that it stays bound to blood cells longer than other forms of sugar and thereby raises the A1C.

Sure I'll have the occasional strawberries for dessert but not daily anymore.