Can Diabetics Eat Nuts & Raisins?

For people having diabetes, it becomes essential to wisely select the foods they will consume & also the amounts of such foods. The diet can have a direct effect on the blood sugar levels that can increase risk during diabetes. Also, one must know an appropriate combination of foods to consume to maintain the required balance to keep risks at bay. In this article, we will focus primarily on how nuts like almonds, cashews, etc., and raisins can affect diabetics.

Let us try to understand what nuts & raisins contain, so we can understand their consumption better.

• Almonds contain vitamin E, copper, magnesium, potassium &carbohydrates in form of fiber & sugar, also proteins.
• Cashews contain more of carbohydrates than other essential nutrients like minerals, fiber, etc.
• Pistachios have healthy content of protein and relatively high amounts of thiamin, vitamin B6, copper, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron.
• Other nuts like walnut, hazelnut, etc., contain fat, minerals, proteins, etc., which are good for the eyes, brain, skin & other functions of the body.
• Raisins contain approximately 72% sugar in their weight & rest weight is contributed by other nutrients like fiber, vitamin C & anti-oxidants.

The key risk for diabetes affected person arises from abnormal blood sugar levels which can cause several complications even leading to death. It is a well-known fact that sugar content can potentially contribute to blood sugar. Foods with high carbohydrate content by weight or consistency must be kept at bay.

Diabetics, in that case, can eat nuts like almond, walnut, hazelnut, pistachio. Pointing to cashews, it is advisable to restrict the consumption of cashews as they have considerably higher carbohydrate content. An ounce of cashews has about 9 grams of carbohydrates and about 1 gram of fiber, which corresponds to approximately 8 grams of available carbohydrates or about half a slice of bread. A full cup of cashews provides about 45 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, which corresponds to 41 grams of available carbohydrates or close to three slices of bread. Cashews can affect your blood sugar levels more compared to other nuts, but the rise in your blood sugar levels will depend on the amounts you have at a time.

Besides cashews, raisins are another food that can be consumed as low as possible or maybe even avoided totally. Raisins can raise blood sugar levels significantly depending on the amount of intake at a time.

Nuts & raisins can be beneficial to any person who does not have diabetes. However, for people with diabetes, it becomes essential to have a check on which nuts they consume & in what form. Cashews and raisins can be consumed as low as possible, as they have high sugar content & may increase the risk, while nuts like almonds & pistachios can be consumed wisely considering how much other sugar is present in the overall diet that is eaten along with these nuts.