Banana, Unripe (green)

Fruits in our ancestral homeland were much less sugary and less watery than most of the fruits we have today. Flowever, most berries (raspberries, blueberries, redcurrants, strawberries, etc.) are low-glycemic; grapefruit, apples, bananas, and many other fruits are also okay. But we have to go easy on sweet, sugary fruits like pineapple, mango, and melons.

More recently, with the immense growth in global shipping during the age of Euro­pean exploration, many tropical fruits became popular. The most common is the banana, originally from the jungles of Malaya, along with the pineapple from the Caribbean, the mango from India, and the papaya from Central America.

Glycemic index scores present a few surprises. Starchy foods like bread (even whole-wheat) and breakfast cereal (corn flakes) are "bad" carbohydrates. Fruits are all over the place: pineapple is "bad," banana is "borderline," and raspberries are "favorable." Unsurprisingly, non-starchy, non-sugary foods like most nuts, salads, and vegetables fit into the "favorable" category