Watermelon In Diabetes: That’s Good To Know

Watermelon in diabetes – low-calorie is not everything

Watermelon is mostly water. However, there are a lot of vitamins and other healthy ingredients in the refreshing pulp.
Watermelon is low in carbohydrates – something that diabetics need to look out for when it comes to food.

• However, this is not the only parameter you should keep in mind when watching your diet as a diabetic.
• The glycemic index of food also plays a certain role. This value describes how high the blood sugar level rises after eating a food and how long it remains elevated. The Glyx diet, for example, is based on this principle.
• 100 grams of watermelon only has 8 grams of carbohydrates, but it has a fairly high glycemic index (GI) of 76. If you only look at the GI, watermelon would not be recommended for diabetes.

Dietary glycemic index and glycemic load

It is not enough to look at food from just one aspect when it comes to healthy eating for diabetes.

• The few carbohydrates speak for the watermelon in diabetes, the high GI against it.
• To correctly assess a food for diabetes, carbohydrates and the GI must be viewed in relation.
• For example, 100 grams of French fries have a lower GI of 75, but the potato sticks bring significantly more carbohydrates to the plate.
• This is where the so-called glycemic load (GL) comes into play. This is calculated using a formula: Divide the GI of a food by 100 and multiply this value by the carbohydrate content.
• In the case of a watermelon, the calculation is 76:100 x 8 = 6.08.
• A value above 20 means a high glycemic load. If the value is between 11 and 19, food has a medium glycemic load. All foods with a glycemic load below 10 are classified as low.
• Since watermelons have a very low glycemic load with a value of 6.08, diabetics can confidently access them.