Benefits of Pears for Diabetes
Diabetes increases your risk for developing many other chronic diseases, including heart disease. Your chances worsen if your blood glucose is not in control. Everything you eat contributes to your blood glucose, so choose your foods carefully. Fruit, especially the high-fiber pear, is a good food for diabetics to eat.
Diabetes increases your risk for developing many other chronic diseases, including heart disease. Your chances worsen if your blood glucose is not in control. Everything you eat contributes to your blood glucose, so choose your foods carefully. Fruit, especially the high-fiber pear, is a good food for diabetics to eat.
Healthy Snack Option
Pears offer a person with diabetes a very healthy snack. They are low in carbohydrates and calories. One medium-size pear contains just 100 calories and only 26 grams of carbohydrates. The key to picking a good snack for diabetics is both calorie and carb control, and pears offer both.
Vitamins and Minerals
The best way to get the vitamins and minerals your body needs is to eat them through food. Pears offer a vast assortment of vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy, which is important for anyone, but especially diabetics. Pears contain the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium, and the vitamins C, E, K, folate, beta-carotene, lutein, choline and retinol.
Fiber
Pears, especially with the skin left on, are considered a high fiber food. One medium pear contains 5 g of fiber. Fiber is a very important part of a healthy diet for a diabetic. Dietary fiber helps reduce cholesterol and control body weight and blood sugar. A meal or snack with fiber slows the absorption of carbs into the bloodstream. This makes for a more sustained and slower rise in blood glucose over a longer period of time, reducing the chance of a spike in blood glucose.
Satisfy Your Sweet Craving
A craving for a sweet food can set a diabetic up for poor blood glucose control. Pears are a sweet treat that can help calm your sweet tooth without sacrificing control over your disease. Eat a pear for dessert or as a sweet snack. You can even combine pear slices with some sugar-free, fat-free whipped cream for a satisfying and healthy dessert.