● Food Intelligence · Fruit

Persimmon Glycemic Index and Calculate Your Own Glucose Response

Across 915 single-item persimmon logs from 335 Signos members, the average glucose peak was +40.4 mg/dL — sweet-fruit territory, well above figs (+35.8) or pomegranate (+35.8). The Fuyu (firm, tomato-shaped) form anchors the cohort; layered into a goat-cheese-and-pomegranate salad the peak holds at +40.5 mg/dL, but stacked into a 110g+ carb meal it climbs to +50.9 mg/dL.

GS
Reviewed by Grace Shryack
Signos Proprietary Data·Updated May 20, 2026·10 min read

● Powered by Signos cohort dataMedium confidence · n=915
The swap calculator below draws on 915 matched-pair logs — a broader cohort than the page's single-item primary, used to give every ingredient swap statistical power. Welch's t-test on matched pairs, not third-party glycemic-index tables. Each swap shows its sample size and confidence tier inline.
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Meal Context
Pre-meal sequence
Activity after meal
Time of day
55
of 100
Signos Glucose Score
High Spike Risk
75% of members fall between +34 and +48 mg/dL
Predicted Curve · 3-hr window
1401001201401601800m30m60m90m120m150m180m+41
Peak
+41
mg/dL
Time in Range
100%
3hr window
Above 140
0m
danger zone
Swaps
0
applied
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● Key Findings · Do persimmons spike blood sugar?

Yes — meaningfully. Across 915 single-item persimmon logs, the average glucose peak was +40.4 mg/dL, with 65% of responses exceeding +30 mg/dL. In our cohort of 915 single-item persimmon logs from 335 unique members, the median peak was +38 mg/dL — higher than most fresh fruits we publish. The IQR spans 26 mg/dL (p25: +23, p75: +49). The driver is GL, not GI: persimmon's GI of 50 is low-to-medium, but its GL of 16 per fruit is moderate-to-high because a single ~170g Fuyu carries ~31g of carbs. Two real-world levers shift the response: total meal carb load (the dominant factor — a ≥60g carb meal amplifies the response by 25.4% across 239 matched logs, p<0.001), and meal-level sugar content (≥20g adds 19.6% across 501 matched logs). Cohort confidence is medium given the smaller sample size (N=915 vs. >2,000 for most published fruits); findings are observational, not causal.

  • ▸Carb load is the biggest lever: meals with ≥60g carbs spiked 25.4% higher than the low-carb baseline (p<0.001, n=239 vs. n=529).
  • ▸Going from a light (0–40g carb) to a very heavy (110g+) meal widens the average peak from +37.6 to +50.9 mg/dL — a 35% escalation.
  • ▸GL of 16 per fruit puts persimmon firmly in moderate-spike territory — a single Fuyu carries ~31g of carbs, more than a typical apple or peach.
  • ▸Salad pairing (goat cheese + pomegranate) didn't reduce the peak — averaged +40.5 mg/dL across 101 matched logs, essentially identical to alone (medium confidence).
● Signos Rules

Three citable insights from this recipe's data

Rule 1
"The GL Reveal Rule"
GL 16 per fruit
Persimmon's GI of 50 sits in the low-to-medium tier — but the GL of 16 per fruit is what actually matters. A single 170g Fuyu carries ~31g of carbs, roughly double a medium peach or plum. Across 915 single-item logs, the mean peak landed at +40.4 mg/dL — closer to banana territory than apple. When GI and GL disagree, GL is the better predictor of a typical-serving response.
Rule 2
"The Carb-Load Penalty"
+35% peak
Across 239 meals where total carbs hit 60g or more, glucose peaks ran 25.4% higher than the low-carb baseline (p<0.001). The full graded escalation runs further: very heavy meals (110g+ carbs, n=57) averaged +50.9 mg/dL vs. +37.6 mg/dL at the light end — a 35% swing. Persimmon already carries ~31g of carbs per fruit; stacking another carb source at the same sitting pushes the meal into the high-spike bucket reliably.
Rule 3
"The Pairing-Doesn't-Help Caveat"
≈0 mg/dL delta
Layering persimmon into a salad with goat cheese and pomegranate averaged +40.5 mg/dL across 101 matched logs — essentially identical to persimmon alone (+40.4 mg/dL). Protein pairings (≥15g) were directionally associated with an 8% increase across 392 matched logs (p=0.03), counterintuitively unhelpful. The most reliable lever for persimmon is portion control, not pairing — half a fruit instead of a whole one.
● Curious about your own?

Curious how your body responds to persimmons specifically?

Across 915 single-item persimmon logs, the average peak was +40.4 mg/dL — but the IQR spans 26 mg/dL, from +23 mg/dL at the 25th percentile to +49 mg/dL at the 75th. That's a wide range for a fruit often miscategorized as low-spike. Your response depends on portion size (half vs. whole), what else is on the plate, and your own metabolic baseline. A CGM makes that variability visible in real time.

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Why this meal spikes

This meal stacks 3 independent spike drivers — together they account for +40 mg/dL.

Driver 1
Natural sugars (~21g per medium Fuyu, mostly fructose + glucose)
+25 mg/dL
A medium Fuyu carries roughly 21g of natural sugars in a 170g fruit — significantly denser than most fresh fruit. This is the dominant driver of the +40.4 mg/dL single-item cohort mean and the reason GL=16 puts persimmon in moderate-spike territory despite a GI of 50.
Driver 2
Total meal carb load (≥60g at the meal level)
+10 mg/dL
Meals with ≥60g total carbs spiked 25.4% above the low-carb baseline (p<0.001, n=239 vs. n=529). Very heavy meals (110g+, n=57) pushed the average to +50.9 mg/dL — a 35% escalation vs. light-carb builds (+37.6 mg/dL).
Driver 3
High-sugar meal context (≥20g sugar at the meal level)
+7 mg/dL
In 501 meals flagged for high sugar content, peaks ran 19.6% higher than the low-sugar baseline (CI: [+2.5, +11.1] mg/dL, p=0.002 — low-confidence due to small n_baseline=91). Persimmon's natural fructose stacks with surrounding sugars.
● Which bucket are you in?

Some members spike +37.6 mg/dL. Others spike +50.9. The only way to know how you'll spike is to measure with a Signos CGM.

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● What surprised us
What surprised us about persimmons is how cleanly the GL story explains the data. GI 50 reads as low-to-medium — you'd expect cohort behavior similar to apple or peach. Instead, the mean peak landed at +40.4 mg/dL across 915 single-item logs, closer to banana. The reason is hiding in plain sight: a single Fuyu carries ~31g of carbs, roughly double a peach. GL 16 turns out to be the right lens. We publish this at medium confidence given the smaller cohort (N=915), but the pattern is clear: persimmon is not the low-spike fruit GI alone suggests.
— Signos Data Science Team

Why this happens, physiologically

Persimmons produce a mean peak of +40.4 mg/dL across 915 single-item logs — moderate-to-high fruit territory, well above the GI of 50 alone might suggest. The IQR spans 26 mg/dL (p25: +23, p75: +49), with 65% of responses exceeding +30 mg/dL. The discrepancy resolves via GL: persimmon's GL of 16 per fruit is in the moderate-to-high range, driven by a ~31g carb load per medium Fuyu — roughly double a peach or plum. Two factors explain most of the variance. First, total meal carb load: meals in the very heavy bucket (110g+ carbs, n=57) spiked +50.9 mg/dL on average — a 35% escalation vs. light-carb meals (+37.6 mg/dL). Second, meal-level sugar content: high-sugar logs (≥20g, n=501) ran 19.6% higher than the low-sugar baseline (p=0.002, CI: [+2.5, +11.1] mg/dL). Fat and protein pairings offered no measurable buffering. Cohort confidence is medium given N=915 — directional findings are reliable; precise modifier magnitudes carry wider uncertainty than higher-N foods.

● Three mechanisms drive persimmon's glucose range

Sugar density, carb load, and meal context together explain the 35% escalation seen in the cohort

  1. Mechanism 1
    ~21g
    Natural sugars per fruit
    A medium Fuyu persimmon carries ~21g of natural sugars in a 170g fruit — roughly double the sugar density of a peach or plum. This is the structural reason persimmon spikes higher than its GI of 50 implies and the source of its GL of 16 per fruit.
  2. Mechanism 2
    +35%
    Carb-load escalation
    Total meal carb load is the largest measurable lever. Light-carb meals (0–40g) averaged +37.6 mg/dL; very heavy meals (110g+ carbs, n=57) averaged +50.9 mg/dL — a 35% escalation across 529 vs. 57 logs.
  3. Mechanism 3
    +19.6%
    High sugar effect
    Meals with ≥20g sugar ran 19.6% above the low-sugar baseline in 501 matched logs (CI: [+2.5, +11.1] mg/dL, p=0.002). Low-confidence given n_baseline=91 — directional but the precise magnitude carries uncertainty.
● Fit Check
Persimmons spike higher than the GI of 50 suggests — the GL of 16 is the better lens, and portion control is the most reliable lever.
✓ This is for you if
  • ▸You eat half a persimmon as a snack. Snack-time logs averaged +37.6 mg/dL (n=233) — the lowest meal-time window, but persimmon's per-fruit carb load still puts a whole one in moderate-spike territory.
  • ▸You keep total meal carbs under 40g. Light-carb builds averaged +37.6 mg/dL (n=529) vs. +50.9 mg/dL at the very heavy end — a 35% swing.
  • ▸You stick to firm Fuyu over fully soft Hachiya. The cohort is dominated by Fuyu (n=818 of 915), so cohort numbers are most reliable for that form. Soft Hachiya likely runs higher.
  • ▸You appreciate honest GL framing. Persimmon is a useful test case for understanding why GL matters more than GI alone — and our cohort confirms that real-world response.
✗ Not for you if
  • ▸You eat a whole persimmon as a default snack. A single ~170g Fuyu delivers ~31g of carbs — more than a typical apple — and the cohort mean of +40.4 mg/dL reflects that.
  • ▸You build a 110g+ carb persimmon meal. The very-heavy carb bucket averaged +50.9 mg/dL (n=57) — 35% above the light-carb baseline.
  • ▸You eat persimmons as part of a high-sugar meal (≥20g sugar). The high-sugar modifier raised peaks by 19.6% across 501 matched logs (p=0.002).
  • ▸You expect a goat-cheese salad to dramatically lower the peak. Salad pairings tracked +40.5 mg/dL across 101 matched logs — essentially identical to alone, no measurable benefit.
● How it fits your day

Calorie band and pairings (member-measured)

Per serving
157–1,493 kcal
Single-item persimmon logs average 157 kcal (31g carbs) — denser than most fresh fruit, reflecting the high per-fruit carb load. Multi-item meals average 528 kcal (59g carbs); very heavy carb builds average 1,493 kcal. Most of the carb spread comes from what else is on the plate.
● Pair before
  • ▸Keep total meal carbs under 40g: light-carb builds averaged +37.6 mg/dL vs. +50.9 mg/dL for very-heavy (110g+) — a 35% swing.
  • ▸Halve the portion: a half-Fuyu carries ~15g of carbs instead of ~31g — a much more reasonable per-snack dose given the GL of 16 per whole fruit.
● Pair after
  • ▸A 15–20 min walk after eating helps clear circulating glucose — relevant given 65% of single-item persimmon logs exceeded +30 mg/dL.
  • ▸Avoid stacking high-sugar foods immediately after: meals with ≥20g sugar averaged 19.6% higher peaks across 501 matched logs (p=0.002).
● Avoid pairing
  • ▸Eating a whole persimmon with breakfast carbs (oatmeal, toast): that easily crosses the 60g carb threshold, where the cohort showed a 25.4% peak increase across 239 matched logs.
  • ▸Treating persimmon as a low-spike fruit by default. GL 16 and a +40.4 mg/dL cohort mean place it in the moderate-spike tier, comparable to mango (+35.6) or banana (+38.8).
● Quick definitions (click to expand)
mg/dL — milligrams per deciliter. The unit blood glucose is measured in. A rise of "+30 mg/dL above baseline" means blood sugar went up 30 units after the meal.
Glycemic Index (GI) — a 0–100 score for how fast a food raises blood sugar in lab tests. Under 55 = low, 56–69 = medium, 70+ = high.
Glycemic Load (GL) — GI adjusted for portion size. Under 10 = low, 10–19 = medium, 20+ = high.
CGM — Continuous Glucose Monitor. A wearable sensor that tracks blood glucose every few minutes. Signos members wear CGMs while eating meals they log.
● Related Foods: How persimmons compare to other sweet fruits — and what the GL reveals that GI hides.

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology

This page draws on Signos production CGM data logged between March 2025 and April 2026, covering a single-item cohort of 915 logs where persimmon was eaten alone, from 335 unique members. The page-primary numbers — cited in the dek, key findings, voice note, and CTAs — come from this single-item cohort, with a mean peak of +40.4 mg/dL, a median of +38 mg/dL, and an IQR of p25 +23 to p75 +49 mg/dL. The swap calculator draws on a modifier-table cohort (n=915) for matched-pair pairing deltas. Statistical comparisons use Welch's t-test on matched pairs; reported effects carry p<0.001 unless noted otherwise. Cohort filtering restricts to ppgr_case='regular' meals with glucose rise 0–100 mg/dL. A minimum of 30 matched meals is required for modifier inclusion. GI=50 and GL=16 are sourced from the Harvard 100+ Foods table (serving basis: 170g), both verified=true. Cohort confidence: medium. We publish at this tier because N=915 is below the >1,000 threshold we treat as solidly high confidence, though above the >500 minimum-publishable threshold. Modifier-level sub-cohorts (n=101 for the salad pairing) carry wider uncertainty than higher-N food pages.

Limitations

  • Single-item cohort is medium-confidence (N=915, 335 unique members) — smaller than most published fruits (most are >2,000 logs). Findings are directional and reliable, but precise modifier deltas carry wider uncertainty than higher-N pages.
  • Cohort almost exclusively captures Fuyu (firm-form) persimmon (n=818 of 915). Hachiya (acorn-shaped, must be eaten soft-ripe) is not separately characterizable from this dataset — soft-ripe Hachiya may behave differently.
  • Self-reported portion sizes introduce noise — a logged 'persimmon' may range from half a fruit to a whole one, directly affecting the carb dose.
  • Salad-pairing sub-cohort is medium-confidence (n=101); the ≈0 mg/dL delta vs. alone is directionally reliable but the precise effect carries uncertainty.
  • High-fiber modifier reaches only p=0.01 with n_baseline=37 — directionally positive but the small baseline N puts that at low confidence (CI: [+2.1, +13.3] mg/dL).
  • Protein pairing (≥15g) showed a counterintuitive 8% increase (p=0.03, n=392) — likely a small-cohort artifact rather than a true mechanism; not cited as an actionable lever.
  • Cohort skews health-motivated; Signos members actively monitoring glucose may produce lower average spikes than a general population sample.
  • All findings are observational — confounders including concurrent medications, activity level, and sleep quality are not controlled in the modifier analysis.
● Get your own data

See your own persimmon response

Across 915 single-item persimmon logs, the average glucose peak was +40.4 mg/dL — and the IQR spans 26 mg/dL (p25: +23, p75: +49). The GI of 50 suggests low-to-medium; the GL of 16 reveals the real story: a single Fuyu carries ~31g of carbs, twice a peach. Carb load is the biggest amplifier — a very heavy meal pushes the average to +50.9 mg/dL, a 35% escalation. Only a CGM tells you where your personal response lands.

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