Do you know apple juice has more sugar than coca cola? That can be the problem with fruit – the sugar content.
However, not all fruit is off the table on the Defeat Diabetes Program, it’s just about making smarter choices.
Dr Peter Brukner and Dr Paul Mason explain the downside of fruit, and well as the ones we do like when it comes to low carb diets and type 2 diabetes.
Dr Peter Burkner: So Paul, what about fruit on the Defeat Diabetes Program?
Dr Paul Mason: Well you've heard the term "fruit sugar" I'm sure, Peter, that refers to something called fructose. And fructose is particularly problematic when it comes to our metabolism. It's much more potent causing fatty liver disease and insulin resistance than is the much more common glucose. And the other problem with fruit is just that it's loaded with sugar full stop. A lot of people don't realise that apple juice can have more sugar per 100 mills than Coca Cola.
Dr Peter Brukner: So there are some low sugar fruits?
Dr Paul Mason: Well, yeah. You can make smarter choices when it comes to fruit. And my go-to is generally the berries - but there is one caveat, and that's it excludes blueberries. So while strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries have about 6% sugar, blueberries actually have about 12% sugar. So in general, if I want a sweet treat but not too much, I'll generally go for strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries.
Dr Peter Brukner: So we want to avoid fruit juice, dried fruits, which are also high in sugar?
Dr Paul Mason: Well, that's actually a massive key. So two things there: don't ever drink your fruit. And when it comes to dried fruits, because you take all the volume and moisture out, you actually increase the sugar percentage. So sultanas can actually have 69% sugar.
Dr Peter Brukner: So we'll just stick to berries.
Dr Paul Mason: Just not blueberries.
Dr Peter Brukner: Okay.
