fruits

Fruits contain valuable minerals, vitamins, fiber and enzymes. The natural sugars make them an ideal substitute for foods containing refined or chemical sweeteners.

• Most fruits are alkalizing, cleansing and cooling.
• The alkaline element in fruit combines with acids that stimulate the liver and pancreas, giving a natural laxative effect.
• In contrast, certain fruits like pineapple, sour plums and blackberries can treat diarrhea.
• Fruits are easy to digest and take a break from foods rich in protein and fats that are more difficult to digest.
• If fruits are not tree or vine ripened, particularly citrus fruit, they contain some harmful amounts of acids and they don't ripen with the same healthful benefits as the sun ripened variety. When unripe the fruits should be allowed to ripen at room temperature.
• Nowadays fruits are heavily sprayed with pesticides and thus their nutrition value undermined,. Even that the sprays are not put inside the fruit, they eventually work their way trough the whole plant. Whenever possible get organically grown fruits.
• Add few drops of citrus seed extract to water to soak your produce in order to remove parasites and pesticides.
• Fruit juices are not as good as the whole fruit.
• Fruits are rich in anti-oxidants.
• Citrus are rich in vitamin C, as well as kiwi, papaya, strawberry, raspberry and watermelon.
• Brightly colored fruits are rich in beta-carotene and lycopene.
• Many fruits are rich in potassium, an element responsible for keeping the body fluids in balance and reduce the risk of high blood pressure.

Almost all the nutrients found in fruits are present in vegetables and with a substantially less impact on blood sugar.If you suffer from diabetes it doesn't mean you should stop eating fruits altogether, just don't eat them in excess.

The Glycemic Index and the Glycemic Load.

GI (Glycemic Index) measures the effect of a standard amount  of carbohydrate (50gr).
GL (glycemic Load) takes into consideration not only the type of carbohydrates in the food, but also the amount of carbs you would eat in a standard serving.
The higher the GL the grater the incidence  obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. You find the GL by multiplying the GI by the amount of carbs in one serving. A low GL should be 10 or less.