Noshing on this delicious fruit can help you ensure steady blood sugar levels.
Reviewed by Dietitian Maria Laura Haddad-Garcia
While all foods affect your blood sugar, those that contain carbohydrates are the ones that will impact it the most. The bloodstream carries usable energy (blood sugar) to all your body cells to be fueled. When you have diabetes, being strategic about what you eat, how much you eat and how often you eat can help your body to regulate blood sugar efficiently. And when choosing fruit with the least impact on your blood sugar levels, here’s what registered dietitians who are also certified diabetes educators recommend.
Pictured Recipe: Breakfast Lemon-Blueberry Oatmeal Cakes
Ali Redmond
Can You Eat Fruit If You Have Diabetes?
Fruits naturally have carbohydrates, but they are packed with other nutrients like fiber that help slow down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. Additionally, fruits deliver vitamins and minerals your body needs, so it’s perfectly OK to enjoy them when you have diabetes. If you count carbs as part of your meal planning, one small piece of fruit or ½ cup of fresh, frozen or canned fruit has 15 grams of carbohydrates, per the American Diabetes Association.
Working with your health care provider or a diabetes educator can help you identify how many fruits you can include daily.
The Best Fruit for Diabetes
While all fruits can be enjoyed when living with diabetes, some have fewer carbs and less naturally occurring sugar than others. When selecting our No. 1 fruit for diabetes, we chose blueberries—and here’s why.
Low in Sugar
Jocelyne Loran, RD, LDN, CDCES, a clinical dietitian specialist and diabetes educator at the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, always recommends blueberries to her patients with diabetes. She says, "When compared to some other fruits, you can get a larger serving of blueberries."
Fresh and frozen blueberries are low in sugar, with 1 cup of blueberries providing 22 grams of carbohydrates, with 15 grams of naturally occurring sugars, per USDA data.
Packed with Fiber
Blueberries are packed with fiber, meaning that the naturally occurring sugar in the berries is absorbed slowly into the bloodstream. One cup of blueberries contains almost 4 grams of fiber. Berries' high fiber content not only helps prevent sugar spikes but also promotes fullness.
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend adults consume 22 to 34 grams of fiber per day. To put this recommendation into perspective, 1 cup of blueberries provides 12% to 18% of your daily needs.
Related: What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Too Much Fiber
Rich in Antioxidants and Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients
Aside from being high in fiber and low in natural sugar, blueberries are a great source of other health-supporting nutrients. Blueberries are rich in polyphenols, a group of nutrients with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may offer health benefits. Research shows that blueberries’ polyphenols may help protect against cardiovascular diseases and improve blood pressure, per a 2023 review in Food Production, Processing and Nutrition.
Specifically, anthocyanins, a type of phytochemical that gives berries their deep blue-purple color, may also be linked to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity, according to a 2020 review published in Advances in Nutrition.
Blueberries are also good sources of other essential nutrients like vitamin C, which supports healthy skin and wound healing; vitamin K, which plays a role in blood clotting; and manganese, which helps metabolism and maintains strong bones and the immune system.
How to Enjoy Blueberries
You can enjoy blueberries in various ways—fresh, frozen and canned. When fruits are in season, they are more available and probably at a lesser cost than when they aren’t. The great thing about buying fresh blueberries is that you can freeze them to use later.
Canned blueberries are another option for enjoying this delicious fruit. However, they most likely are canned in syrup, which can add to the amount of sugar. "Look for those canned in light syrup and rinse the berries in a colander under water before consuming … to decrease the added sugar content," Loran recommends.
In addition to eating blueberries alone, pair them with some lean protein, such as low-fat cheese, Greek yogurt or healthy fats, like nuts, seeds and avocados, to help slow down the release of their natural sugars into the bloodstream. Some delicious examples include our Baked Blueberry & Banana-Nut Oatmeal Cups and Kale & Avocado Salad with Blueberries & Edamame.
Angelina Bañuelos-Gonzalez, M.S., RDN, CDCES, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator from Nudj Health, loves putting frozen blueberries into yogurt. Bañuelos-Gonzalez adds, "The night before I want to eat them, I will set up a serving of yogurt and frozen berries in a container and put it back in the fridge. By morning, the berries have thawed out, and the juice has infused the yogurt, maximizing taste and satisfying my hunger."
Catherine Howard, RDN, LD, CDCES, with RET Physical Therapy and Healthcare Specialists, shares that she loves adding blueberries to salad greens, like in our Summer Blueberry Salad with Toasted Pecans & Feta. Howard says, "The combination of fiber and carbohydrate from blueberries plus protein and fat from pecans [and feta] helps blood sugar to rise slowly and gradually."
The Bottom Line
Blueberries are one of the best fruits for diabetes. They are nutrient-packed, delicious, versatile and visually appealing. They can be conveniently included in snacks, side dishes, baked goods, meals and desserts. You can easily find fresh, frozen and canned blueberries at most grocery stores, making them pretty accessible. Be sure to check out our Healthy Blueberry Recipes to explore creative ways to incorporate these nutritious berries into your meals and snacks.
Read the original article on Eating Well.
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