Is Canned Fruit Healthy for People With Diabetes?

Many people with diabetes assume they should avoid fruit due to its high sugar content, but the American Diabetes Association recommends eating fruit because it provides plenty of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Canned fruit is on the American Diabetes Association’s list of healthy foods for people with diabetes, but some types of canned fruit are better than others.

People with diabetes must control the amount of carbohydrates they eat, as carbohydrates can raise blood glucose levels after the body breaks them down into glucose. Fruit contains carbohydrates, so you need to count fruit as carbohydrates in your meal plan.

According to Diabetes UK, most fruits have a low or medium glycemic index, which is a measurement of how much a particular food raises blood sugar.

Because fruit contains fructose, a natural sugar, having fruit as a snack or for dessert is a good way to satisfy your sweet tooth and get beneficial nutrients without spiking your blood sugar excessively.

Fresh fruit is usually a better choice for people with diabetes than canned fruit. Canned fruit packed in heavy syrup has added sugar that can quickly raise your glucose levels. The best kinds of fruit are fresh, frozen, or canned without added sugars.

Some canned fruits are packed in their own juice or in water. Unlike fruit juice, such as orange juice, canned fruit and fresh fruit have plenty of fiber.

A fiber-rich diet is essential for people with diabetes because the digestive system doesn’t break fiber down, meaning that it doesn’t spike blood sugar like other carbs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fiber in the diet is also associated with a healthy weight, which can help manage diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association recommends eating only canned fruits packed in their own juices or water. Look for phrases on the label including:

• “Packed in its own juices”
• “No added sugar”
• “Unsweetened”

If you count carbs, a ½ cup of canned fruit without added sugar has about 15 g of carbohydrates, which is the same as the amount of carbohydrates in a small piece of whole fresh fruit.

Elisa Zied, RD, author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, suggests the following tips for picking or using canned fruit in a diabetes-friendly diet:

• Drain canned fruit packed in juice or water for a parfait dessert
• Add a ½ cup to low-fat yogurt for a nutritious treat
• Use pears, apricots, peaches, berries, and apples because they’re particularly high in fiber
• Check the ingredients list on the label before buying canned fruit
• Avoid canned fruit with high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, sorghum, or inverted sugar as the first ingredients, as these indicate a high amount of added sugar.

Zied notes buying diabetes-friendly canned fruits is a safe choice because they’re typically packed in water.