It is mandatory ot eat fruit, veggies etc. But you must count it.
the gycemic index has also proven to be a failure waiitng to happen.
1 apple, orange, pear etc is equal to a slice of bread. sicne its often incorporated into a diet that shoudl be followed, as all CDEs will attest to, you ahve to have them but count them.
since we go by the Pyramid you need a certain amount and its incorporated into the diet plan.

didn't they just revamp the Pyramid and all that?

What was a good thought turned out ot be a very dangerous ideea, in teh diabetes world.
Sincec we all process things differently those items that many were considered low on the gkycemic index maintained a higher BG level than previously thought.
For me, I can eat potatoes and rice and it have minimal impact. But eat just two tablespoons of plain beans( home cooked, no sugar or sauce added)..and I need at least 20 units of insulin.

What most diabetics follwo is either the food guide pyramid or the fabulous four.
In any case each diaebtci eventually finds out what elevates their BGs and what doesnt.
heres a trick. Take a fasting BG reading. EAt apiece of frruit. TAke a 30 and 45 and 60 minute blood test> See how much a piece of fruit impacts.
Thenw rite that down in a log book.

j.

Yes most fruit juices contain a lot of sugar, but people think there good for you because there made with fruit. When purchasing it, look on the label and see excatly what it's made of.

So many people think that fructose is better for you than sucrose.. but actually it is the same. My hubby had a tonsilectomy and it destroyed his taste buds. sucrose tasted awful. So we used fructose snce he could eat fruit and didnt taste funny. That kick started his taste buds.
I like the lightness of fructose. Its not as heavy as sugar and no undertaste.

My mom eats fruit everyday even though she is diabetic. It doesn't change her blood sugar much at all. My dad, on the other hand, gets a spike in his levels if he eats even half a piece of fruit. He can eat some other stuff that my mom can't, though. You just have to figure out what works for YOU.

Most fruit juices seem to be loaded with sugar and fructose corn syrup. I have many juices where the first ingredient is water and then sugar and more sugar. Be careful of these so called fruit juices.