Can Sugar Patients Eat Watermelon?
Watermelon is an amazing fruit that gives freshness and quenches the thirst in hot weather. It is sweet and juicy with a lot of health benefits. But the million-dollar question is can people with diabetes eat watermelon or not? This question comes up in the minds of many people with diabetes.
Diabetics always think about whether they can eat watermelon or not. The biggest worry is how it will impact their blood sugar levels. Today, we’ll answer this question about whether people with diabetes can eat watermelon or not.
But before we answer the question, let’s see what science says about it. We will find the facts about the sweetness in the watermelon and what other important active constituents, vitamins, and other things are in it. These things can be either helpful or harmful for people with diabetes. That is the reason to know the answer to this question: Can people with diabetes eat watermelon?
Composition of Watermelon
Watermelon is full of water, which can quickly reduce thirst. It’s made up of about 92% water. Besides water, watermelon is also a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and lycopene. The red colour of the watermelon’s pulp is due to lycopene which is very good for the heart’s health and acts like antioxidants.
Whether blood sugar patients can eat fruits without fear depends on how much the fruit affects their blood sugar levels. You should know about the glycemic index and the glycemic load of fruit before deciding to eat it. A fruit with a high glycemic index or a high glycemic load is not considered good for people with diabetes. All the fruits with a high glycemic index and high glycemic load cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly when eaten.
How To Decide: Can Blood Sugar Patients Eat Watermelon
Let me take an example to make you understand the role of glycemic load and glycemic index and how to decide if fruits can be eaten by blood sugar patients or not. The absorption rate of the glucose from the intestine into the blood after eating it. For example, if a fruit has a glycemic index of 100, it indicates that the 100% glucose in the fruit will be absorbed in 2 hours after eating it.
Similarly, if the glycemic index of a fruit is 30 it means that the 30% of total glucose available in that fruit will be absorbed in 2 hours after eating it. The simple answer is the speed of absorption of glucose into the bloodstream is called the glycemic index and accordingly, the fruit is ranked to the number between 0 to 100.
What is The Glycemic Index Of Watermelon:
The problem is that watermelon has a glycemic index of 72, which is very high and can raise blood sugar levels faster and, there is a strong chance that eating watermelon will quickly increase the blood sugar level of the person with diabetes. It clearly says that 72% of the glucose in a serving of watermelon will be absorbed in the next two hours after eating watermelon.
So, the doubt further increases if people with diabetes cannot eat watermelon at all. No, that’s not entirely true. You need to understand the glycemic load of watermelon and get the correct answer to this question.
What is The glycemic Load Of Watermelon:
The glycemic load of any food material can be calculated with the help of a simple formula as given below:
The Quantity of Glucose in One Serving of the Fruit X Glycemic Index of the Fruit / 100
A fruit with a glycemic load of less than 10 is considered safe for people with diabetes and if the glycemic load of fruit is more than 10 then it should be avoided by diabetics.
The glycemic load of watermelon is 72 and the quantity of glucose in one serving of the watermelon (100 gm) is around 8.5 grams. To calculate the glycemic load of the watermelon can be calculated below:
72 X 8.5/100 = 6.1
The glycemic load of watermelon is less than 10 which means that people with diabetes can eat watermelon but in a small and limited amount.
How much watermelon can people with diabetes eat in a day?
This also depends on your blood sugar level and the status of your disease, whether blood sugar is controlled or uncontrolled. If your diabetes is not controlled and your blood sugar levels are high, you shouldn’t eat any sweet fruit without your doctor’s advice, including watermelon.
But if your blood sugar level is controlled, whether through medication or otherwise, you can eat one to two small bowls of watermelon once a day, a total of 100 to 200 grams of watermelon per day without any hesitation.
One more piece of advice for you is to always eat watermelon on an empty stomach, preferably in the morning, and make sure to take your regular medications.
Also, on the days you eat sweet fruits like watermelon, reduce the amount of other carbohydrate-containing foods in your diet. This will help keep your blood sugar under control. I am sure you get the answer to the question can sugar patients eat watermelon?
