Carbs in fruit; not all fruit is created equal!

Prime fruit-eating season has arrived!  For many of us, one of the best things about the warm weather is the variety of delicious fresh fruits (and veggies, but I'm more fond of fruit).  Fruits can be filled with vitamins and antioxidants, and are often low in calories, and can help satisfy a craving for something sweet, but they also CAN be high in carbs.  Not all fruits are created equal in terms of calorie and sugar/carb content.  I try to limit the amount of the higher sugar/carb fruits I eat but indulge pretty freely in the lower ones.... so I thought it might be useful to give people a very general idea of where various fruits fall across the spectrum.  (I know some people go by the glycemic index... I'll let them chime in for themselves.)

Very Low
- raspberries
- blackberries
- cranberries

Medium
- strawberries
- melons (honeydew, cantaloupe, AND watermelon (contrary to what you may have heard!))
- plums
- kiwi
- papaya
- grapefruit
- oranges
- apples
- cherries
- pineapple

High
- blueberries
- grapes
- pears
- bananas
- dried fruits (e.g., raisins, prunes)

Lora

I"m not real big on fruit but do eat it occassionally.  Apples with peanut butter, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, cherries are my favorites. 

My boys love melon especially watermelon.  Although I use to eat it since surgery it just doesn't excite me the same way.  Cataloupe is much better for me in the melon family.

Lora... you are so so right...
At the end however is our own body reaction to different fruits.
And it can be weird.  i.e I can eat grapefruits just fine, but melons or even oranges... may mess me up.  Banana - "kills me", but can eat unlimited amount of strawberries without any issue (so far)
Give me 2 small peaches - (I can't eat just one) and 1 hr later - I will get a mild dumping... 

   



 

Thank you so much for posting this because this was on my mind and i was going to ask my nutritionist for this kind of list  even though  my date is next week and i will not be able to eat this for a while anyway  it is always good to learn this habits and keep them firmly in mind to help with weight loss  because i want the most success as possible because this is the final straw for me  in my opinion at 409 i never want to come down this road again

your surgery is only a week away!  Yay.  I know this week you are probably experiencing all kinds of emotion ranging from joy to start terror at what you have decided to do.  Those feelings are normal and just let them flow and experience all of the emotions going through you.  You are on the road to an amazing new healthy life and you will not believe the You you will be in 6 months.  I'm 7 months out now and I still catch my breath when I think of all I am doing that I didn't do before.

 Thanks for posting this. Before surgery, I almost never ate fruit. I had never really cared for it. Now, I crave it like mad. It is strange. I do worry about the sugar content of it, so your list will be helpful!

I couldn't survive without my 1/2 banana in my morning protein shake.. I think as long as you are pairing it with protein its  best!! Just bought some blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries.. yummers!

Thanks so much for posting this Lora.  I think you may have inadvertantly (sp?) explained why I have a moderate dumping reaction when I put blueberries in my vanilla protein shake.  I couldn't figure it out for the life of me.  I knew fruit had sugars, but never stopped to think that different fruits had different amounts. 

Thankfully, except for the blueberries, all of the ones I really like are in that middle category - but at least now I know.=)

Very interesting! I am pre-op, and diabetic. I can't eat fruit without my blood sugar spiking. The only fruit I can eat without that happening is cantaloupe. I can eat a ton of that with no effect at all on my blood sugar.

I am actually looking forward to a time after surgery when I can have a little fruit now and again. :)

Amanda :)

In case anyone needs the breakdown by the numbers (I am an obsessive nutritional counter...you should see my food logs...) based on USDA values and ordered by net carbs (the amount of total carbohydrates minus the amount of fiber in the food...or the amount of sugar and starches in a food):

Cranberries - 1/2 cup raw  - 6 grams carbs - 2 grams fiber - Net carbs 4 grams
Avocado - 1/2 small (3 oz.)  - 7.4 grams carbs - 2.5 grams fiber - Net carbs 4.9 grams (Warning - higher in fat than most fruits)
Guava - 1 small (2 oz.)  - 8 grams carbs - 3 grams fiber - Net carbs 5 grams
Papaya - 1/2 cup  - 7 grams carbs - 1.6 grams fiber - Net carbs 5.4 grams
Raspberries - 1 cup  - 14.2 grams carbs - 6 grams fiber - Net carbs 8.2 grams
Pineapple - 1/2 cup  - 9.6 grams carbs - 1 grams fiber - Net carbs 8.6 grams
Grapefruit - 1/2 small (4 oz.)  - 9.5 grams carbs - .7 grams fiber - Net carbs 8.8 grams
Apricots (Fresh) - 3 small (12 oz.) -  11.8 grams carbs - 3 grams fiber - Net carbs 8.8 grams
Kiwi - 1 small (2.5 oz.)  - 11 grams carbs - 2 grams fiber - Net carbs 9 grams
Orange - 1 small (3.5 oz.)  - 11 grams carbs - 2 grams fiber - Net carbs 9 grams
Strawberries - 1 cup halves  - 12 grams carbs - 3 grams fiber - Net carbs 9 grams
Casaba Melon - 1 cup diced - 11 grams carbs - 1.9 grams fiber - Net carbs 9.1 grams
Tangerine - 1 small (2.5 oz.)  - 10.1 grams carbs - 1 gram fiber - Net carbs 9.1 grams
Watermelon - 1 cup diced  - 11.4 grams carbs - .9 grams fiber - Net carbs 10.5 grams
Peach - 1 small  (4.5 oz.) - 13 grams carbs - 2 grams fiber - Net carbs 11 grams
Blackberries - 1 cup  - 18.4 grams carbs - 7.2 grams fiber - Net carbs 11.2 grams
Cantaloupe - 1 cup cubed  - 13.4 grams carbs - 1.3 grams fiber - Net carbs 12.1 grams
Mango - 1/2 cup  - 14 grams carbs - 1.7 grams fiber - Net carbs 12.3 grams
Nectarine - 1 small (5 oz.)  - 16 grams carbs - 2.2 grams fiber - Net carbs 13.8 grams
Honeydew Melon - 1 cup diced - 16 grams carbs - 1.3 grams fiber - Net carbs 14.7 grams
Grapes - 1 cup  - 15.5 grams carbs - .6 grams fiber - Net carbs 14.9 grams
Banana - 1 small (3 oz.) - 19 grams carbs - 1.9 grams fiber - Net carbs 17.1 grams
Blueberries - 1 cup  - 20.5 grams carbs - 3.3 grams fiber - Net carbs 17.2 grams
Apple - Small (5 oz.) - 21.1 grams carbs - 3 grams fiber - Net carbs 18.1 grams
Cherries - 1 cup (with pits) - 22 grams carbs - 3.2 grams fiber - Net carbs 18.8 grams
Pear - 1 small (6 oz.)  - 25.1 grams carbs - 4.3 grams fiber - Net carbs 20.8 grams


Specific values change based on the actual weight of the amount of fruit you eat (I adore my food scale) but those are the approximate numbers for what a "typical" serving is. These are values for fresh or frozen fruit - not dried or canned.