My daughter waS dx about 3 1/2 months ago. First my endo was telling fruit was not good for my daughter since it had a lot of sugar??? But I thought it is was a natural sugar??? Then her nurse told us that fruit was healthier snack choices for her instead of goldfish and teddy grahams, or pretzels. She has 2 snacks a day at 15 grams a snack. Im so confused?? I always feel like i am always being told different things by different doctors,nurses, and dietitions... I guess this all still new to me. Im so glad there is this website where i can ask everyone questions who have been through this. Sometimes i say to myself do these doctors really know what there talking about?
Denise,
Okay, I know it is frustrating. You get a lot of professionals with a lot of information and they form their conclusions based on the bits they feel are most important. The minute you re-order the list, you get a different conclusion which means you will hear almost as many iterations as you will meet professionals. First, I want to mention that there are whole wheat goldfish which are (for me) a much friendlier solution than the regular. I recently discovered them and they are a great snack. For those who have seen some of my other posts, yes, I now have another food item over which to fight my toddler…
Where fruit is concerned I can tell you where I have ended up. It is not exactly the same as what you have already heard. I’m not a doc nor do I have a nutritional background of any sort so I offer up what has worked for me, combined with what I believe to be true. I believe fruit is good for you and it is important to have in your diet It does have a fair number of carbs and timing the dose and fitting this food group into the day can be a little harder. I believe it takes a little more time and learning to get it worked in smoothly. That said, I think it is worth learning and I think a balanced diet is an important part of caring for ourselves and keeping ourselves healthy.
I expect we’ll get a lot of different answers in here, too – I am really kinda’ excited to see how others are handling it! I know for me I do best when I can dose about 15-25 minutes ahead for whole fruit and about 30-35 for juice… YMMV (in fact, it will almost assuredly vary…)
Cheers!
A-D
A-D
Thanks for the tip on the whole wheat goldfish. I havent seen them in the stores but maybe I have passed them by. I will def try to find them. As for fruit, thats what I was thinking too. Fruit is good for you and should be part of a healthy diet. Hmmmm ... Thanks A-D your info is helpful. I love to see everyones input!
I completely agree with A-D here. I'm a nutrition major myself (a graduate coming this May... woo!) and I would never consider cutting fruit or fruit juice from my diet. The vitamins, antioxidants, and phytochemicals are all extremely nutritious. It's like doctors telling patients taking the blood thinner Coumadin that they may no longer eat leafy greens anymore. Yes, vitamin K (which is in deep leafy greens) can thin the blood even more, but it is no reason to cut it from the diet. As long as a balance is found (in both situations), then including plently of fruits and vegetables is the most responsible thing to do.
I liked A-D's advice on giving insuling shortly before eating a big portion of fruits. I'll have to start doing this. Yes, fruits are packed full of sugar, but I never eat breakfast without a couple servings. The fructose (the sugar in fruit) is good for your brain in the morning and the rest of the nutrients are good for your whole body.
PS - I was told by a nurse that I could reverse my type 1 diabetes with eating low-carb bread, exercise, and fiber pills when I was first diagnosed (Shullbit!). Back all medical advice that seems fishy up with other professionals' advice and also with evidence based research that can be found in textbooks and on the web.
ME
how about putting the the 2 pieces of advice tighether? eat fruit when you can but to get the nutrients, choose vegetables more often and when you do have fruit, choose healthier ones. or, to make the doctor happy(he probably thinks fruit is a fast acting sugar) eat fruit with protien to slow it down
Based solely on my own experiences as a diabetic, I strongly believe that a diabetic should eat a well balanced diet just as someone who is not diabetic should eat. Remember that fruits have plenty of essential vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. However, like A-D stated, it may be tricky to incorporate fruits in a diet at first because they may indeed raise your daughter’s blood sugar. It’s a trial and error method to see how certain fruits react to the body. There are certain fruits with higher sugar contents than others, but should you eat one fruit but not the other? No, just count your carbs and keep in mind the importance of timing. Also, I eat my fruits throughout the day instead of an entire fruit salad to prevent any highs were I to eat all my servings in one sitting (I eat a lot, so its possible. :P).
As for your comment about doctors not knowing anything, just remember that doctors are humans too who can’t know absolutely everything, and I assume s/he is trying their best to help you and your child. Perhaps the doctor didn’t come out as clearly as s/he would have liked, but did the doctor ever send you to a nutritionist? If not, I would make an appointment with one. They will definitely be able to answer your questions. It would be ideal if the clinic you go to had their own nutritionist too, since they will be well prepared to help someone who was recently diagnosed.
It all depends on the fruit on how many carbs it contains. Most single servings of fruit ( 1 apple, medium banana, 15 grapes) contain 15g of CHO (carbohydrate) but i can tell you that those carbs are obsorbed faster from an orange then from an apple or grapes. That has to do with the acid that is associated witht he fruits. Your child can have fruit as a snack and be just fine. A lot of older Dr.'s rely on outdated information especially if they are not an Endocrinologist. You may have to try a few different types of fruit to see which works best with your child's digestion/diabetes. some people can handle the sugar in apples over the sugar in an orange or vis versa. I have my BS in nutrition if you were wondering and am a type 1 diabetic of almost 14 years.
So many opinions, right?
Your endo was probably concerned about fruit because it is very hard to know how many carbs are actually in them. Carb counts vary quite a bit in fruit. One apple might have more carbs then another based on where it was grown, when it was picked etc.
Natural sugars are sugars and are processed as such, they need insulin. Some fruits that have higher fiber might be a good choice, berries tend to produce a slower rise in blood sugar than say the acidic juices. Maybe instead of those, you could try cheese sticks or peanut butter. They have more protein, but if she's taking insulin you have to take the slower rise into consideration.
With regards to fruit affecting blood sugar, for me, it really depends on the fruit.
There are certain fruits that I simply avoid because they make my sugar spike really badly - a great example of this for me is pineapple. I also rarely drink juice unless I'm treating a low.
Bananas, on the other hand, are quite starchy in nature, are broken down slower by the body and, therefore, don't make my sugar spike. Half a banana is a great snack - especially with some peanut butter. This is what my endocrinolgist advised me to have before gym class way back in the day when I was newly diagnosed. I find berries to be a good snack too. Since they aren't too sweet, a portion is fairly large and strawberries taste great with Cool Whip. . .mmm. Apples with peanut butter work well for me too.
I start every morning with a fruit smoothie and I don't have any problems with my sugar spiking - I usually blend 1/4 cup blueberries, 75g banana, 1/3 cup peach yogurt (sugar-free - Source brand) and 1/2 cup water. It's super tasty and healthy too!
With regards to fruit being healthier than teddy grahams or pretzels, your dietician was probably speaking to the fact that packaged snacks tend to be quite processed.
Fruit is definitely necessary in a healthy diet, but what many people here have said is also true. The kind of fruit does matter, as does its rating on the glycemic index. Cherries, for example, are not worth eating (although they are delicious :) because they are high-GI and I don't think they're really nutritious otherwise (but I don't know for sure). Citrus is a good choice because, depending on the kind, it contains many vitamins and doesn't have that many carbs (grapefruit has 13 in a half, clementines are maybe 7 each). Like Courtenay said though, vegetables are just as good and don't come with the carbs/sugar, or at least minimal amounts. So I think fruit is needed for a balanced diet, although it does have sugar and should be eaten carefully.