Carbohydrates You Can Eat

An excerpt from Blood Sugar Blues by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson


Few of us can spend 20 hours a week exercising to combat insulin resistance and work off the effects of a starchy diet. That’s why we may choose to focus on high-fiber, non-starchy vegetables and low-sugar fruits as our carbohydrate choices. By doing this we minimize our bodies’ demand for insulin and lower the cells’ resistance to its effects. Luckily, there are many low-carbohydrate vegetables and fruits to enjoy.

Low-carb Vegetables

Except where noted, a 3.5 ounce (100 gram) serving contains fewer than 5 grams of carbohydrate
                       
Alfalfa sprouts                                                           
Asparagus
Avocado
Bamboo sprouts
Bean sprouts
Beet greens
Bell pepper (sweet green)
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage – all kinds
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celeriac (celery root, knob celery)
Celery
Collard greens
Cucurnber
Dandelion greens
Eggplant
Endive
Escarole
Garlic (1 clove)
Kale
Leek
Lettuce – all kinds
Mung bean sprouts
Mushroom
Mustard greens
Okra
Onion (1 oz.)
Radish
Red-leaf chicory (Arugula)
Romaine (cos)
Shallot
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Squashes – summer
String bean
Swiss chard
Tomato
Turnip greens
Watercress
Zucchini

Low-carb Fruits

Even fruits that are relatively low in carbohydrates call forth insulin to handle the sugars they contain. Since one of the goals of low-carb eading is to require as little insulin as posssible, fruit should be considered a special treat, reserved for days on which your carbohydrate intake is especially low. Fruit juices are always too high in sugars to fit with a low carbohydrate way of eating.  The following fruits contain fewer than 10 grams of carbohydrate in a half-cup serving, except where a different quantity is noted.

Apple (sliced)
Apricot (4 oz.)
Blackberry
Blueberry
Boysenberry
Cantaloupe
Cherry (sour, sweet, 10 medium)
Coconut meat (1 oz. or 1 cup shredded/grated, not packed)
Coconut milk
Currant (red, black, white)
Elderberry
Gooseberry
Grape (10 medium)
Honeydew melon
Kiwi fruit (1 medium)
Kumquat (1 medium)
Lemon/Lime (2 inch diameter)
Lemon/Lime Juice (1 oz)
Mulberry
Orange (sections, without membrane)
Peach (1 med, 4 oz.)
Persimmon (American,  Japanese, 1 medium)
Pineapple (1 oz)
Plum
Raspberry
Strawberry
Tangelo (1 medium)
Tangerine (1 medium)
Watermelon


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Last updated January 7, 2002
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