Dried Mango Had Sugar Added on Top of Its Own

Last date in the bag.

This week I put dates, raisins, sweetened dried mango and fresh grapes on my glucose monitor.

Sweetened dried mango raised my blood sugar 59 points. Fresh grapes raised it 28.

So here is what I would tell my wife over coffee this morning.

📌 This Week's Rules

✓	Pair dried fruit with nuts, nut butter or cheese. Fat and protein slow how fast sugar reaches your blood.

✓	Set out a quarter cup before you start eating. Straight from the bag, it is easy to eat three times that.

✓	Read the ingredients before you buy. When sugar appears in the first three, the fruit is sweetened.

✓	Eat dried fruit at the end of a meal, not on an empty stomach. The meal's protein and fat blunt the rise.

✓	Choose dates or raisins over sweetened dried mango. At the same portion, dates and raisins raised my blood sugar about 15 to 17 points less.

● The Scoreboard

A meta-analysis published this week pooled 11 randomized controlled trials and 1,209 people and found that low-GI eating patterns lowered both fasting and after-meal blood sugar in patients with gestational diabetes (Zhang et al., Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity, October 13, 2026).

In other words, picking foods that raise blood sugar slowly makes a measurable difference.

Here is how this week's dried fruits ranked, all tested at 40 grams on an empty stomach, with fresh grapes for comparison.

🥭 Sweetened dried mango (40g)

+59

🍇 Raisins (40g)

+44

🌴 Dates (40g)

+42

🍏 Fresh grapes (1 cup)

+28

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

Dates and raisins were close.

And the dried mango, which had sugar added on top of its own, raised my blood sugar more than both.

● Reader Mail

Question

Are dates better for my blood sugar than table sugar?

My Response

Dates score about 54 on the glycemic index. Table sugar scores about 65 in the University of Sydney's database. So the rise from dates is slower. But three Medjool dates have about 48 grams of sugar, which is more than a can of Coke. Lower GI helps, but the portion still matters.

Question

Can I eat dried fruit every day if I pair it with nuts?

My Response

A 12-week trial gave people with type 2 diabetes about 60 grams of dates or raisins daily and found no worsening of blood sugar control. The American Diabetes Association says dried fruit in moderation is fine. Harvard Health recommends no more than half as much dried fruit as you would fresh fruit. Pairing with nuts helps, but it does not erase the sugar.

Question

Is fresh fruit always better than dried?

My Response

Fresh grapes raised my blood sugar 28 points. Raisins, which are just dried grapes, raised it 44 at a smaller weight. Drying removes water and concentrates sugar, so you eat more sugar faster. But dried fruit is portable, shelf-stable, and most unsweetened varieties score low to moderate on the glycemic index. Fresh is gentler on blood sugar. Dried is fine in small portions with some protein or fat alongside.

● Next Week

Next week I am putting the post-meal walk to the test. Same meal, one day sitting on the couch, another day walking ten minutes right after.

No food swaps. Just shoes… and a sidewalk.

🔬

Mon

Sit vs walk after the same meal

🛠

Tue

The 10-minute post-meal walk

🧠

Wed

Walk/stand/sit: which lowers most?

🔄

Thu

Meal+sitting vs Meal+10-min walk

Stay steady

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