People with diabetes are advised to maintain blood sugar. Therefore they have to take special care of their eating habits. People with diabetes are advised to eat fruits and vegetables as they help maintain blood sugar. However, fruits also contain natural sugars and carbohydrates. Therefore diet should be balanced.
Watermelon is sold in abundance during the summer season. However, many people avoid eating watermelon thinking that it contains a lot of natural sugar. Should people with diabetes eat watermelon or not? Let’s find out – Every food has a glycemic index which tells how quickly that food will affect blood sugar. In simple terms, the lower the glycemic index, the lower the blood sugar. The GI scale ranges from 0 to 100.
The higher the number, the faster the sugar will enter the blood. The GI of watermelon is around 72 and generally any food with a GI of 70 or more is placed in the high glycemic index category.
But if we talk about watermelon, Diabetes Foundation says that a lot of water is found in watermelon. The glycemic index of 120 grams of watermelon is around 5, so fresh watermelon can be eaten, but drinking watermelon juice is not considered good for people with diabetes as the glycemic index of the juice can be high.
Many researchers believe that the glycemic load of anything should also be seen. Glycemic load is seen by examining the glycemic index and carbohydrate intake. Experts say that the glycemic load is an accurate estimate of how much blood sugar will increase after eating something. Eat foods that have a glycemic load less than 10. 10-19 is considered moderate and more than 19 is considered high.
People with diabetes can eat foods that are rich in healthy fats, fiber and protein, such as nuts or seeds. Eating such food will keep your stomach full for a long time and the process of sugar reaching the blood can slow down.
