For many people from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia or Vietnam, durian is more than a fruit. It is a season, a family outing, a box opened on newspaper and shared by everyone. So after a diabetes diagnosis, the question comes up quickly: what about durian?

Most diabetes advice in English never mentions durian at all. This article puts together what is known. The short version is that durian carries a lot of carbohydrate in a cup, and that there is very little research on durian and diabetes. We will say plainly where the evidence runs out.

What a cup of durian holds

Here is durian at one cup, chopped, as USDA FoodData Central measures it, next to a cup of fresh mango for comparison:

Compare the carbohydrate on the two cards. A cup of durian holds much more than a cup of mango, and it is several carb choices, not one. If "carb choice" is a new term, our article What is a carb choice? explains it.

The food page also offers USDA's measure for a whole fruit, which shows how much a single durian adds up to when it is shared, or not shared.

Why the sugars line says "No data"

Open the durian food page and you will see that total sugars read "No data". That is not a mistake. USDA's record for durian does not include a figure for sugars, so we do not show one. We never fill a gap with an estimate.

Total carbohydrate is there, and that is the number carb counting uses. Fiber is there too.

The research on durian and blood glucose is thin

We found only three studies that measured blood glucose after people ate durian. All three are small. Only one included people with diabetes.

  • Roongpisuthipong and colleagues (1991), in Bangkok, gave 10 women with type 2 diabetes five tropical fruits, each portion holding the same amount of carbohydrate. In that study, the rise in blood glucose after durian was larger than after mango or banana. Durian also produced the largest insulin response of the five fruits.
  • Robert and colleagues (2008), in Malaysia, measured the glycemic index of durian in 10 healthy volunteers and found it fell in the low range. The authors note that their result depends on the accuracy of the food tables used to set the portion size.
  • Ling and colleagues (2025), in Singapore, gave 16 healthy young adults durian and banana in portions with the same calories. Durian contains fewer carbohydrates than banana in that comparison, yet it raised blood glucose by about as much as banana did. Durian also raised blood fats (triglycerides) over the next three hours, while banana did not.

What these studies can and cannot tell you

These studies point in different directions. One found a low glycemic index in healthy people. One found durian raised glucose more than mango or banana in people with diabetes. One found a rise similar to banana in healthy people, even with less carbohydrate.

Each study had 16 people or fewer. Only one included people with diabetes, and that was more than thirty years ago. None of them followed people for weeks or months. That is far too little to say how durian affects your blood glucose. The honest answer is that this is not known.

We have chosen not to quote the glycemic index figure as if it settled anything. A single small test in healthy volunteers says little about a person with diabetes eating durian at the end of a meal.

What is clear

Three things do not depend on the small studies:

  • Durian carries carbohydrate. The USDA figures on the card are the starting point, and the amount you eat is what counts.
  • Portions are hard to judge. Durian is often eaten from a shared box, one piece after another. Counting the pieces, or putting your share on a plate first, makes the amount easier to know.
  • Your own meter or sensor can tell you more than these studies. If you check your glucose, a reading after a durian session shows how it affects you. Your care team can help you read the result.

What guidelines say about fruit

The American Diabetes Association's Standards of Care do not mention durian. They include "whole fruits" in the foods an eating pattern for diabetes can emphasise, and they recommend individualised meal plans. NIDDK places fruit among the carbohydrate foods that fill a quarter of the plate, and notes that some fruits have more carbs than others. Durian is one that does.

If you take insulin or medicine that can cause lows

If you take mealtime insulin, durian counts in the carbohydrate for that meal. Durian season can mean eating much more fruit than usual for a few weeks. If you take fixed insulin doses, a big change in carbohydrate, up or down, can matter. Talk to your diabetes team before the season, so they can help you plan.

Seeing it in your day

The Today page adds up what you log. Logging your share of durian, at the amount you really ate, shows where it fits in your day's carbohydrate.

For other fruits, see mango and diabetes and bananas and diabetes.

Your numbers are yours

How much carbohydrate fits in your meals depends on your medicines, your glucose goals and your body. Your doctor, diabetes educator or dietitian sets those numbers, and their advice comes before anything you read here. If durian is part of your family's life, tell them. A plan that knows about durian season is more useful than one that pretends it does not exist.

Sources

  • Roongpisuthipong C, Banphotkasem S, Komindr S, et al. Postprandial glucose and insulin responses to various tropical fruits of equivalent carbohydrate content in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 1991; 14(2): 123–131. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1756683 (checked 8 October 2026)
  • Robert SD, Ismail AA, Winn T, et al. Glycemic index of common Malaysian fruits. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2008; 17(1): 35–39. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18364324 (checked 8 October 2026)
  • Ling CY, Yeo MTY, Kang Y, et al. Comparative Effects of Durian and Banana Consumption on Thermic Effect of Food and Metabolic Responses in Healthy Adults. Journal of the American Nutrition Association, 2025; 44(4): 283–291. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39531559 (checked 8 October 2026)
  • American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee. 5. Facilitating Positive Health Behaviors and Well-being to Improve Health Outcomes: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026. Diabetes Care, 2026; 49(Suppl 1): S89–S131 (recommendations 5.13, 5.14 and 5.28). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12690188 (checked 8 October 2026)
  • NIDDK. Healthy Living with Diabetes (last reviewed October 2023). niddk.nih.gov (checked 8 October 2026)
  • USDA FoodData Central: Durian, raw or frozen (SR Legacy 168192); Mangos, raw (SR Legacy 169910). fdc.nal.usda.gov (checked 8 October 2026)
  • Food figures on this page: USDA FoodData Central, via the DiabeticIndex food database.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your diabetes care team before changing how you eat or how you take your medicines.