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Carbs in fruit: the best and worst for blood sugar

Ranked list of common fruits by net carbs per serving and glycemic load — what to eat freely, what to portion, what to avoid.

May 28, 2026 4 min read

"Fruit is healthy" is true but incomplete. Some fruits land like dessert; others barely move the needle. Here's the working list we recommend to Carb Lens users tracking blood sugar.

Free range — eat normally

  • **Raspberries**: 7g net carbs per cup
  • **Strawberries**: 8g per cup, sliced
  • **Blackberries**: 7g per cup
  • **Avocado**: 3g net carbs per medium fruit (yes, it's a fruit)
  • **Olives**: ~1g per 10 olives

Portion mindfully

  • **Blueberries**: 17g per cup — half a cup is the sweet spot
  • **Apple, medium**: 22g net carbs
  • **Pear, medium**: 22g net carbs
  • **Orange, medium**: 12g net carbs
  • **Peach, medium**: 13g net carbs

High-impact — treat as dessert

  • **Banana, medium**: 24g, mostly fast carbs
  • **Mango, 1 cup**: 23g
  • **Grapes, 1 cup**: 26g
  • **Pineapple, 1 cup**: 20g
  • **Dried dates**: 16g per *single* medjool date

The fruit-juice trap

A glass of orange juice (240ml) has about 26g of carbs and almost no fiber. The glycemic load is roughly triple that of eating the actual orange. If you want fruit calories without the spike, eat the whole fruit and skip the juice.

Quick rule of thumb

Berries are almost always safe. Tropical fruit is almost always a treat. Everything else is a portion question. Scan with Carb Lens for an exact per-serving count.

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