Short Answer: Kiwi fruit is good for diabetes. Because it has vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants, and other beneficial nutrients and they can boost your immune system, protect your cells, prevent blood sugar spikes, reduce inflammation, and lower the risk of diabetes complications.
Diabetes is a condition that affects your blood sugar levels and how your body uses and stores glucose.
In diabetes, your body either does not produce enough insulin or does not respond well to it.
Insulin is a hormone that helps your cells take up glucose from the bloodstream and use it for energy.
This can lead to various health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney damage, nerve damage, eye problems, and infections.
One of the key factors in managing diabetes is diet.
What you consume can affect your blood sugar levels, which can impact your diabetes symptoms and overall health.
To effectively manage diabetes, you should consume fiber-rich foods like whole grains, beans, nuts, and vegetables and avoid refined carbohydrate-rich foods like white bread, pasta, rice, and sweets.
Now, kiwi fruit is a small, fuzzy, green fruit with tiny black seeds.
People usually eat it raw, peeled or unpeeled, or add it to salads, smoothies, desserts, or other dishes.
Kiwi fruit is good for diabetes because it contains vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants, and other beneficial nutrients.
Vitamin C can help boost your immune system and protect your cells from oxidative stress.
Fiber can help slow down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, which can prevent blood sugar spikes and improve blood sugar control.
Antioxidants can help reduce inflammation and lower the risk of diabetes complications.
One medium kiwi fruit can give you about 64 calories, 15 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of fiber, and 84 mg of vitamin C (140% of your daily needs).
Vitamin C can positively affect diabetes by enhancing your immune function and protecting your cells from oxidative damage.
Fiber can positively affect diabetes by slowing down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, which can prevent blood sugar spikes and improve blood sugar control.
Antioxidants can positively affect diabetes by reducing inflammation and lowering the risk of diabetes complications.
Furthermore, kiwi fruit is a low glycemic index (GI) food and low GI foods are good for diabetes.
Because, low GI foods cause a smaller and slower rise in blood sugar levels than high GI foods, which can help you manage your diabetes better.
You can eat one or two kiwi fruits per day safely.
More than that can cause digestive issues, such as bloating, gas, or diarrhea.
Also, you shouldn’t eat kiwi fruit if you are allergic to it or have a history of kidney stones to prevent an allergic reaction or kidney stone formation.
Because, kiwi fruit contains a protein called actinidin, which can trigger an allergic response in some people, and oxalates, which can increase the risk of kidney stones in susceptible individuals.
You can buy fresh kiwi fruit in your local market or can order it from online.
Always choose firm, plump, and unblemished kiwi fruit that yield slightly to pressure.
Because, ripe kiwi fruit have more flavor and sweetness than unripe ones.
You can store them in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or at room temperature for up to five days.
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Finally, remember, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet, regular exercise, stress management and essential medical care is key to managing diabetes effectively.
I always recommend my diabetes patients to follow a diabetes-friendly diet to improve their overall well-being, and enjoy a longer and healthier life.
