Strawberries, cranberries and raspberries in diabetes mellitus

There are two types of strawberries: cultivated and wild. The latter can be found in fields, near river banks, in forests. Wild and wild berries are considered not only more aromatic, but also incredibly useful for diabetes, because in terms of the content of useful substances, it surpasses its cultivated relative, which combines the characteristics of strawberries and wild strawberries.

It is recommended to eat the aromatic berry fresh, because heat treatment destroys most of the useful substances it contains. This is an excellent remedy for fighting morning hunger, helping to replace high-calorie food. And strawberry leaves are considered excellent raw materials for making healing tea (3 g of leaves are brewed with 400 g of boiling water, infused and drunk 3-4 times a day).

Lingonberry is a berry that is not only allowed for diabetes, but also extremely useful. After all, it is a product with a high content of biologically active substances.

Raspberries are an incredibly tasty and tender berry, which is often ignored by patients with diabetes due to its noticeable sweetness, believing that its consumption can negatively affect blood sugar levels. This is one of the biggest misconceptions, because 100 g of raspberries contain only 5.5 g of carbohydrates, a large amount of water and plant fibers that prevent the rapid absorption of sugars.

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Benefits

Raspberries are considered to be an extremely vitamin-rich product with a high content of flavonoids. They contain 5 B vitamins, including choline (B4), vitamins A, C, E, K, P (bioflavonoids). In addition, raspberries contain almost all the microelements useful for diabetes, and even selenium, which increases the sensitivity of the heart muscle to insulin and is considered a preventive measure for complications of diabetes from the heart and blood vessels.

For diabetes types 1 and 2, raspberries can be eaten fresh, made into delicious juices and purees, added to cocktails, used as a healing raw material for teas that are effective at the first signs of a cold and an increase in body temperature. Drinks in which the healing component is raspberry leaves and shoots, which have all the same properties as the fruit, will also be useful.

Endocrinologists recommend eating lingonberries during the day and evening as a tasty dessert or snack. The low GI of the berries and the high fiber content allow you to eat 1 glass of the fruit per day. But it is better to do this in 2-3 doses.

The fruits of the plant contain various vitamins (beta-carotene, vitamins C and B), minerals (berries are rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium, enriched with iron and phosphorus), natural acids. Glucose and fructose in the fruits are distributed in approximately equal quantities, but their rapid absorption is hindered by the significant content of plant dietary fiber.

Juice, which can be made from fresh berries, helps remove harmful substances from the blood, stimulates the immune system, tones the body and saturates it with vitamins. But an infusion and decoction of lingonberry leaves or berries (1 teaspoon of crushed dry leaves or 1 tablespoon of berries per 1 glass of water) is considered healing for kidney pathologies (due to the diuretic effect) and diabetes (helps reduce blood sugar levels).

Strawberries are considered another tasty and aromatic berry that is rich in ascorbic acid.

Along with vitamin C, it contains several B vitamins, beta-carotene (aka provitamin A) and tocopherol (the scientific name for vitamin E). The mineral composition of the berry is also very diverse. The fruits and leaves of the plant are high in potassium and calcium, magnesium and sodium, and contain minerals useful for diabetes, such as phosphorus, iron, and copper. The berry also contains other important minerals, such as zinc and manganese.

Zinc is beneficial for diabetes because it increases the activity of the hormone insulin and reduces blood glucose levels, participates in hematopoiesis, helps maintain normal fat balance, helping to maintain normal weight, prevents cholesterol deposits on the walls of blood vessels, and helps heal wounds. Manganese and phosphorus are considered beneficial for women's health, which often collapses with diabetes.

The calorie content of strawberries is even lower than that of wild strawberries, and the carbohydrate content in 100 g of the product is no more than 11 g. So eating 200-300 g of this aromatic and very appetizing berry will not harm diabetics.

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Contraindications

Strawberries. This tasty and aromatic berry is an even bigger allergen than strawberries. In allergy sufferers, its consumption can provoke itching and rashes on the skin, its redness, vomiting, dizziness, which is very undesirable even for a generally healthy person. Allergic reactions are especially dangerous for children and expectant mothers.

Strawberry consumption may also be dangerous for people with gastrointestinal pathologies. Thus, with increased secretion of gastric juice, the berry may provoke the development or exacerbation of gastritis with increased stomach pain. If there is a risk of liver and intestinal colic, as well as a negative impact on the kidneys. Strawberries should not be consumed with inflamed appendicitis.

Lingonberry. The sweet and sour-tasting berry with a pleasant bitterness is also not an absolutely safe delicacy, especially for those diabetics whose blood pressure is below normal (there is a risk of a sudden decrease in blood pressure), urate stones are found in the bladder and kidneys, or cholecystitis is diagnosed. In general, caution should be exercised in any kidney disease, so you should first check with your doctor whether you can eat fresh berries or other lingonberry dishes in this situation.

It is believed that the maximum benefit and minimum side effects from lingonberry can be expected if you consume it before meals, i.e. on an empty stomach. But such treatment can cause irreparable harm to the gastrointestinal mucosa if a diabetic has gastritis or a stomach ulcer. Lingonberry treatment is especially dangerous for high stomach acidity, when any sour berries become a risk factor for the development of an inflammatory-erosive process in the organ.

Raspberry. This berry, along with the leaves and shoots of the plant, is a unique natural remedy for fever and colds, as well as one of the most delicious desserts for diabetes, when the consumption of sweet treats is limited due to high blood sugar. But eating such a dessert will not be beneficial to everyone. For example, some people may have an allergy to raspberries and this will be an obstacle to eating berries and compositions based on the leaves of the plant.

Consuming raspberries may not have the best effect on the kidneys in cases of nephritis, kidney stones and other inflammatory pathologies of this organ. Despite the fact that fresh berries do not have a pronounced sour taste, their consumption during exacerbations of inflammatory and ulcerative diseases of the gastrointestinal tract is considered undesirable (however, tea from raspberry shoots will not harm in this case).

Pregnant women should also be careful when consuming berries and teas made from raspberry leaves, as they have an increased risk of premature birth due to increased uterine tone.

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