How to eat longan to avoid high blood sugar in diabetics

1. Should diabetics eat longan?

Many people think that the natural sugar in fruit is also harmful for diabetics, so many people do not dare to eat fruit. However, fruits and vegetables are a very necessary food group, which can help control blood sugar levels better than many other foods containing added sugar or refined grains such as white rice, white bread, etc.

Longan is a fruit that contains many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In particular, the high vitamin C content in longan plays a very important role in the health of the skin, blood vessels and bones.

Longan has a delicious natural sweetness, making it a favorite fruit of many people. Diabetics can also enjoy longan properly as part of a balanced and controlled diet.

According to nutritional composition research, 100g of longan contains about:

Calories: 60

Carbs: 15.14g

Protein: 1.31g

Fiber: 1.10g

Fat: 0.10g

Vitamin C: 84mg (140% Daily Value - DV)

Potassium: 266mg (7.6% DV)

Phosphorus: 21mg (2.1% DV)

Copper: 0.17mg (8.5% DV)

Manganese: 0.05mg (2.6% DV)

Iron: 0.13mg

However, compared to fresh longan, dried longan has a higher calorie and carb content. Consuming about 28g of dried longan can provide up to 80 calories and 21 carbs.

2. How much should you eat?

According to MSc. Dr. Nguyen Thu Yen, specializing in Endocrinology - Diabetes, eating fruit is the best way to supplement many vitamins and minerals necessary for the body. This food group is also a rich source of fiber, which is very good for the digestive system and helps stabilize blood sugar.

However, most fruits provide a large amount of sugar. Some fruits contain a lot of sugar, which affects blood sugar balance. Therefore, people with diabetes need to understand the effects of fruits and how to eat them properly.

Diabetics should choose fruits with a low glycemic index (GI of 55 or less) to help blood sugar increase slowly. Limit eating fruits with a high glycemic index (GI of 70 or more), which cause blood sugar to increase rapidly when eaten.

You should eat a variety of fruits to get a variety of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

Diabetics can eat fruit 2-3 times a day and eat the following amounts: 1/2 large orange/meal; 2 grapefruit segments/meal; 1 medium ripe banana/meal; ¼ medium dragon fruit/meal; 1 triangle of watermelon/meal... For sweeter fruits such as longan, lychee, jackfruit... eat more sparingly. Specifically, with longan, you should only eat 10 fruits at a time.

3. Tips for eating longan to avoid high blood sugar

Longan has a medium GI. However, because longan is a small fruit and tastes delicious, many people tend to eat it without control, leading to consuming a lot at once. This can cause blood sugar to rise.

Therefore, diabetics should pay attention to only eat longan in moderation as recommended by their doctors. They should eat fresh longan and limit eating dried longan such as longan because dried longan contains higher sugar content.

You can also mix longan pulp with unsweetened yogurt or Greek yogurt to slow down the absorption of sugar.

In addition, you should not only choose to eat longan but should change to fruits with a lower glycemic index. This not only achieves the purpose of providing a variety of vitamins and minerals to the body, but also helps stabilize blood sugar. Fruits with a low glycemic index that are good for people with diabetes are: grapefruit, orange, apple, guava, pear, avocado, banana, dragon fruit...

You can eat fruit right after a meal or 2 hours before a main meal, depending on your habits and blood sugar level. If your blood sugar level increases after a main meal, you should eat fruit 2 hours after the main meal.