It is a pity that avocados have garnered a bad reputation before (and maybe even now) because of its calorie laden nature. This is one of the reasons why most people, even people who do not even have diabetes, stay far away from this fruit. Luckily for everyone, the avocado has many health benefits and the presence of fat and calories are not necessarily a bad thing.

So, do avocados & diabetes go well together? Absolutely! No one sees a reason for it not to be so. In fact, you wouldn’t even find avocados under the “do not eat” list for diabetics.

I need my blood sugar levels done, will this spike my blood sugar level?

It is true that an avocado has carbohydrates, but that is not enough to spike your blood sugar level. In fact, the glycemic index rating of an avocado is less than 15 (100 being the highest, the higher the more it raises blood sugar). This no doubt proves that an avocado is safe to have within your diabetic meal plan. In fact, doctors and nutritionist alike recommend diabetics to include this fruit in their meal plans.

“Avocados are one of the best sources of monounsaturated fat, the fat known to lower artery-clogging LDL cholesterol and raise heart-healthy HDL cholesterol. This is especially important for people with diabetes as they are at greater risk for heart disease.”
–Robyn Webb, M.S., ADA author and nutritionist

Avocados and Monounsaturated Fat

The American Diabetes Association or ADA recommends a diet high in monounsaturated fat. And avocado is a great source of monounsaturated fat, plus it’s rich in fiber. Monounsaturated fat’s main benefit is to aid in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is unfortunately more common in diabetics. So any attempt to lessen the risk is already a tremendous benefit in itself. It is also believed that it can improve glycemic control.

Fruits to avoid for diabetics

Majority of the fruits have low glycemic index and are safe to be part of a diabetic’s diet. However, there are still a few of them that should be avoided that are too high on sugar. When it comes to fresh fruits, those with high GI rating should be avoided. Below is a list of some of the fruits diabetics should avoid along with their GI rating:

1. Dates – 103 (yikes!)
2. Watermelon – 72
3. Melon / Cantaloupe – 65
4. Pineapple – 66

Aside from these fresh fruits, you should also avoid canned fruits since most of them have been sweetened. There may also be dried fruits that need avoiding, one of which is sweetened dried cranberries. If you are in doubt, there are various books and articles that would help you set up a proper meal/diet plan. As a basic rule of thumb, diabetics are recommended to stay away from food that have a GI rating of 56 and above.

Also remember that when eating fruits you should also take note of when and how much fruit you eat. Eating fruits after a high-fat meal is of course different from eating one with an empty stomach. The serving size of the fruit should also be noted and as a quick rule of thumb, any amount that would not fit on the palm of your hand is too large of a serving.

How many calories in an avocado?

The amount of calories in avocado varies according to serving size. The following lists down the serving sizes and the corresponding amount of calories contained in each of them:

• For 100 grams , there are 160 calories in avocado.
• For 1 cup of avocado, in cubes, that weighs 150 grams, there are 240 calories.
• For 1 cup of pureed avocado that weighs 230 grams, there are 368 calories.
• For 1 cup of sliced avocado that weighs 146 grams, there are 234 calories.

1 cup of sliced avocados contain an average of 240 calories. Of these 240 calories, 75 percent comes from Total Fat, 19% of the calories comes from Total Carbs, while 4% of the calories comes from protein.

In order to burn the 234 calories in avocado contained in 1 cup, you could opt for any of the following exercises: 65 minutes of walking, 36 minutes of cycling, 27 minutes of jogging, or 19 minutes of swimming.

Calories found in avocado is also in fact higher as compared to the calorie content of other fruits and vegetables. The following list compares the calorie content of avocado vis-à-vis other fruits of the same serving size.

• 160 calories in avocado for every 100 grams.
• 18 calories for every 100 grams of tomatoes.
• 29 calories for every 100 grams of lemon.
• 30 calories for every 100 grams of watermelon.
• 30 calories for every 100 grams of lime.
• 31 calories for every 100 grams of starfruit.
• 32 calories for every 100 grams of strawberry.
• 33 calories for every 100 grams of grapefruit.
• 34 calories for every 100 grams of melon.
• 39 calories for every 100 grams of peach.
• 43 calories for every 100 grams of blackberries.
• 43 calories for every 100 grams of papaya.
• 47 calories for every 100 grams of orange.
• 48 calories for every 100 grams of apricot.
• 50 calories for every 100 grams of pineapple.
• 52 calories for every 100 grams of raspberries.
• 52 calories for every 100 grams of apples.
• 57 calories for every 100 grams of blueberries.
• 58 calories for every 100 grams of pear.
• 60 calories for every 100 grams of mango.
• 63 calories for every 100 grams of cherries.
• 66 calories for every 100 grams of lychees.
• 69 calories for every 100 grams of grapes.
• 89 calories for every 100 grams of banana.
• 95 calories for every 100 grams of jackfruit.

The calories in avocado appear high should I avoid avocado?

The calorie content of avocado may appear rather high. However, if you are asking whether you should avoid avocado. The answer is NO. In spite of the high calorie content, avocado has immense health benefits that could be beneficial for you. Avocado, for instance, has a high content of monounsaturated fat, or good fat. This could be used as a substitute for other bad fatty food that you may be craving for. In addition to this, other numerous avocado health benefits include fighting fatigue and depression, helping kill cancer cells, and helping lower cholesterol outweighs the seemingly high calories in avocado.