Postprandial glucose and insulin responses to dried cranberry fruit snacks in healthy subjects: A randomized, controlled, crossover study

Dried fruits are a great source of essential nutrients, fiber, and bioactive compounds. This study aimed to evaluate postprandial glucose and insulin responses after consumption of fruit snacks made from dried cranberries, raisins, and hard candy control. Six snacks were tested in a randomized controlled crossover clinical trial with 24 healthy adults. All tested snacks delivered the same total carbohydrate amount but varied sugars and fibers per serving. Snacks with reduced sugars overall had lower postprandial blood glucose and insulin changes. Compared to raisins with endogenous sugar, dried cranberry fruit snacks with similar levels of added sugar showed no significant differences in blood insulin measures and glucose iAUC and T max . Among the six snacks tested, zero-added-sugar dried cranberry snacks with allulose and low-sugar dried cranberry snacks with tagatose showed minimal postprandial glucose and insulin responses, providing alternative low-sugar snacking solutions.