Three bowls on my counter.

One held dates. One held raisins. One held dried mango.

Each bowl had about 40 grams, a small handful. That works out to roughly 30 grams of carbs in every bowl, give or take a few.

So the carbs were close. The question was which handful would raise my blood sugar the most.

Here's why I'm asking this week. Researchers at the University of Manitoba started a new trial this spring. They want to know if eating whole dried fruit every day helps people with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes keep their blood sugar steadier.

The results aren't expected until the 2030s.

I didn't want to wait that long.

Dates get called nature's candy. Raisins live in every lunchbox. Dried mango is the one my kids fight over.

So, pop quiz. Before you scroll, pick the one you think raised my blood sugar the most…

● The Reveal

Dried mango won. Or lost, depending on how you look at it.

The bag I bought was sweetened. I didn't read the label until after the test. The ingredients were mango, sugar, and citric acid.

That label explains a lot. One store-brand bag I looked at lists 11 grams of added sugar in a five-piece serving. And just 1 gram of fiber.

In other words, you're eating fruit plus almost three teaspoons of extra sugar, with very little fiber to slow your body down.

Here's the thing. I couldn't find a solid lab-tested glycemic index number for dried mango. Fresh mango sits around 51 to 56 on that scale. Dried mango with sugar added is a different food.

This is one person's experiment, not medical advice. Everyone's body responds differently.

Now the surprise. Dates raised my blood sugar the least.

Dates taste like caramel. So how?

Fiber is a big part of it. Gram for gram, dates have about twice the fiber of raisins. Fiber slows down how fast your body absorbs the sugar in the fruit.

But dates vary a lot. Published glycemic index numbers for dates jump around depending on the variety and how ripe they are. Your dates may not behave like mine.

Raisins came in the middle. That fits the research. A 2018 study out of Toronto, published in Nutrition & Diabetes, measured raisins at a glycemic index of about 55. White bread scored 71 in the same study.

That study was small, just ten people, and dried fruit industry groups helped fund it. Still, it points the same way as my glucose monitor.

● The Scoreboard

● The Swap

So what do we do with this? We don't have to give up dried fruit.

Here's my swap. Before you buy dried mango, flip the bag over. Look for one word in the ingredients: sugar. If you see it, pick the unsweetened bag, or grab a couple of dates instead.

And pair it. A few walnuts or a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt adds protein and fat. Protein and fat slow down how fast the sugar from the fruit reaches your blood.

My wife now keeps a jar of dates and almonds next to the coffee maker. The kids still hunt for the mango…

Portion matters too. Dried fruit is fruit with the water taken out. So a small handful of raisins holds about as much sugar as a big bunch of grapes.

I don't know if dates will come out on top for everyone. Bodies differ. But checking the label takes five seconds.

Stay steady