Low Glycemic Fruits List (With GI Values)

Most whole fruits are low glycemic, with a GI of 55 or less. In the international GI tables, apples average 36, dates 42, oranges 43, and bananas and mangoes 51; pineapple (59) is medium and watermelon (76) is the one high GI fruit in the summary list, yet a cup of watermelon still has a low glycemic load because it holds little carbohydrate. Whole fruit is a better choice than juice, and dried fruit packs far more carbohydrate into each bite.

This is the fruit-only companion to our glycemic index table. Here you will find a fruit GI chart with glycemic load per real serving, what ripeness, juicing and drying do, how to eat fruit with diabetes, the Ayurvedic view and a simple low GI fruit bowl.

What makes a fruit low glycemic?

The glycemic index (GI) compares how much a carbohydrate food raises blood sugar against pure glucose, set at 100. Harvard’s Nutrition Source classes 55 or less as low, 56 to 69 as medium and 70 or more as high.

GI has a blind spot: it is measured with a fixed amount of carbohydrate, not with the portion you actually eat. That is why the glycemic load (GL) is more useful for fruit. GL is the GI multiplied by the grams of available carbohydrate in a serving, divided by 100. A GL of 10 or less is low, 11 to 19 medium and 20 or more high.

Whole fruit tends to land low on both scales. Harvard notes that high-fibre foods contain less digestible carbohydrate and slow the rate of digestion, while ripeness pushes GI up.

Low glycemic fruits list: GI values and glycemic load per serving

The GI values below are the mean values from Table 1 of the international GI tables (Atkinson and colleagues, 2008). We calculated glycemic load for a common serving using carbohydrate data from USDA FoodData Central: available carbohydrate is total carbohydrate minus fibre.

Fruit	GI	GI category	Serving	Available carbs	GL per serving
Apple, raw	36	Low	1 medium (182 g)	21 g	7 (low)
Dates, raw	42	Low	2 Medjool dates (48 g)	33 g	14 (medium)
Orange, raw	43	Low	1 fruit (131 g)	12 g	5 (low)
Peaches, canned	43	Low	Depends on juice or syrup	Varies	Not calculated
Banana, raw	51	Low	1 medium (118 g)	24 g	12 (medium)
Mango, raw	51	Low	1 cup pieces (165 g)	22 g	11 (medium)
Pineapple, raw	59	Medium	1 cup chunks (165 g)	19 g	11 (medium)
Watermelon, raw	76	High	1 cup diced (152 g)	11 g	8 (low)
Apple juice	41	Low	1 cup (248 g)	28 g	11 (medium)
Orange juice	50	Low	1 cup (248 g)	25 g	13 (medium)

Source: GI values from Atkinson FS, Foster-Powell K, Brand-Miller JC, International Tables of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values: 2008, Diabetes Care 2008;31(12), Table 1 (glucose = 100). Serving weights and carbohydrate from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy. GL = GI x available carbohydrate / 100, calculated by Nutriveda and rounded.

Two patterns stand out. First, GI and GL can disagree: watermelon is the highest GI fruit in the list but has a lower glycemic load per cup than a banana. Second, the lowest glycemic load comes from fresh, whole, crunchy fruit such as an orange or a crisp apple like Granny Smith. The full 2008 tables list many more fruit tests in an online appendix; the summary values above are a good starting point because several of them, including apple, orange, banana and mango, average all available data.

Which fruits have a high glycemic index?

Among the fruits in the summary table, only watermelon is high GI (76), and pineapple is medium (59). Neither needs to be off limits. A cup of watermelon carries about 11 g of available carbohydrate, so its glycemic load stays low. The fruits that push blood sugar most are the ones you eat in large amounts or in concentrated form: big glasses of juice and handfuls of dried fruit.

Does ripeness change a fruit’s glycemic index?

Yes. Harvard’s Nutrition Source notes that ripe fruits tend to have a higher GI than unripe ones. By that rule, a firm, slightly green banana should score lower than a soft, spotty overripe banana. The banana value of 51 in the table is an average across tests, so the banana on your counter may land above or below it.

Is fruit juice worse than whole fruit for blood sugar?

On GI alone, juice looks fine: apple juice averages 41 and orange juice 50, both low. The difference shows up in the portion. A cup of orange juice carries about twice the available carbohydrate of a whole orange, with almost no fibre, so its glycemic load per serving (13) is more than double the fruit’s (5).

Health agencies treat the two differently too. The WHO counts sugars naturally present in fruit juices as free sugars, the kind it advises keeping below 10 percent of daily energy, while sugars in whole fresh fruit are not counted. In three large US cohorts following more than 187,000 adults, three servings a week of whole fruit was linked with a slightly lower risk of type 2 diabetes, while the same amount of fruit juice was linked with an 8 percent higher risk. Swapping juice for whole fruit was associated with lower risk. These are observational findings, not proof of cause. If you like juice, keep it to a small glass and drink it with a meal. Our list of “healthy” foods that are actually unhealthy covers other similar traps.

Do dried fruits have a high glycemic index?

Not necessarily, but they have a high glycemic load per handful. Dates are a good example: their GI of 42 is low, yet two Medjool dates carry about 33 g of available carbohydrate, which gives a medium GL of 14. Drying removes water, so the same sugar fits into a much smaller bite. A small 43 g box of raisins holds about 32 g of available carbohydrate according to USDA, more than a whole medium apple.

So treat dried fruit as a sweetener-sized food. Use two or three dates to sweeten our energy balls with oats and dates, or a few chopped apricots in porridge, rather than eating dried fruit by the bag. Our healthy desserts without sugar show how to get sweetness from whole fruit instead.

Which fruits are best for diabetics?

There is no forbidden fruit list. For people with diabetes or prediabetes, the portion and total carbohydrate matter as much as the GI number, which is exactly what glycemic load captures. A few practical rules:

• Choose whole fruit over juice and dried fruit. One piece or one cup at a time.
• Favour low GL servings: apples, oranges and a cup of melon all land at 10 or under in the table above.
• Pair fruit with protein or fat. Harvard notes that meals with fat or acid are converted to sugar more slowly. An apple with a handful of pumpkin seeds or a bowl of yogurt is steadier than fruit alone.
• Mix your fruits. In the US cohort study, blueberries, grapes and apples showed the strongest links with lower diabetes risk, and the authors noted the differences were not explained by GI or GL values.

What does Ayurveda say about eating fruit?

Ayurveda has no glycemic index, but it has firm opinions about fruit. In the traditional view, fruit is light and quick to digest, so it is best eaten on its own, as a snack or before a meal, rather than piled on top of a heavy one. Combining fruit with milk, banana with milk in particular, is listed among incompatible food combinations (viruddha ahara) said to burden agni, the digestive fire.

Fruits are also matched to the doshas. Sweet, juicy, ripe fruits such as mango and sweet grapes are said to calm Vata and Pitta. Astringent fruits such as apples, pears and pomegranate are traditionally favoured for Kapha, the heavy and slow dosha that Ayurveda links with sweet excess. Sour, unripe fruit is said to aggravate Pitta. Seasonal, local fruit is preferred. These are traditional guidelines, not tested claims.

How do you build a low glycemic fruit snack?

Combine whole fruit with protein, fat and acid, which slow the glycemic effect.

Low GI apple and orange bowl (1 serving)

• 1 medium apple
• 1 orange
• 150 g plain unsweetened yogurt
• 1 tablespoon citrouille graines
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a squeeze of lemon juice

1. Core the apple and cut it into small cubes, leaving the skin on for fibre.
2. Peel the orange, separate the segments and halve them.
3. Toss the fruit with the lemon juice so the apple does not brown.
4. Spoon the yogurt into a bowl and top with the fruit.
5. Scatter the pumpkin seeds, walnuts and cinnamon on top and eat straight away.

Who should be careful with fruit and blood sugar?

• People on insulin or glucose-lowering medicines. Changing how much fruit or juice you eat changes your carbohydrate intake, and doses may need adjusting. Plan it with your diabetes team.
• Anyone treating a low blood sugar. If you use juice or glucose for a hypo, follow your medical plan rather than low GI advice.
• People on potassium-restricted diets. Bananas, dried fruit and juices can add up; ask your renal team which fruits and portions suit you.
• Children and anyone with a history of disordered eating. Rigid number-based fruit rules rarely help. Regular meals with whole fruit do.

Related reading: our guide to foods high in potassium and magnesium.

FAQ

Is watermelon a high glycemic fruit?

Yes by GI: it averages 76 in the international tables. But a cup has only about 11 g of available carbohydrate, so its glycemic load is low, around 8.

Is a banana a low glycemic fruit?

Yes. A raw banana averages a GI of 51, which is low, but a medium one has a medium glycemic load of about 12. Greener bananas tend to score lower than very ripe ones.

Which fruit has the lowest glycemic index?

Among the fruits in the 2008 summary table, the apple is lowest at 36, followed by dates (42) and oranges and canned peaches (43). The full appendix lists many more fruit tests.

Is fruit juice low GI?

Apple juice (41) and orange juice (50) are low GI, but a glass contains about twice the carbohydrate of a whole orange and little fibre. The WHO counts juice sugars as free sugars, so whole fruit is the better choice.

Sources

1. Atkinson FS, Foster-Powell K, Brand-Miller JC. International Tables of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values: 2008. Diabetes Care, 2008;31(12):2281-2283. PMC2584181
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, SR Legacy: apples (171688), oranges (169097), bananas (173944), mangos (169910), pineapple (169124), watermelon (167765), Medjool dates (168191), orange juice (169098), apple juice (173933), raisins (168165). fdc.nal.usda.gov
3. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source. Carbohydrates and Blood Sugar. Updated 2025. nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu
4. Muraki I, Imamura F, Manson JE, Hu FB, Willett WC, van Dam RM, Sun Q. Fruit consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from three prospective longitudinal cohort studies. BMJ, 2013;347:f5001. bmj.com
5. World Health Organization. WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children. 2015. who.int

This article is for information only and is not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before changing your diet or starting a supplement.