Fruits: to Fear or to Feast?
The internet and its vast wealth of knowledge is both a gift and a curse…I say this because harmful information floats all over the internet and it is pervasive and people are not able to decipher what is truth and what is false information. One such piece of information is that eating fruit is bad for you.
Excuse me while I scream.
That statement rocks me at my core. As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, I try to help people navigate how to lead healthful lives, and this includes encouraging them to eat a variety of foods which nourish the body and the mind. I had to undergo extensive education to be able to make these recommendations and not once in my 4 years of college or my additional 6 months of interning did I hear from another nutrition professional that eating fruit is somehow harmful to the general population. (A small side-rant: if fruit and its sugars were so harmful, why has fruit been one of the major food groups to be included in a healthful diet since the government began making recommendations for people to be healthy?)
That being said, there are absolutely people who should not consume fruits; people who are afflicted by health conditions such as inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS) or those who have a hereditary condition known as hereditary fructose intolerance are just a couple of specific cases in which I would recommend avoiding fruit. This recommendation stems from the fact that people with IBS can experience irritability in their gut when they eat certain high FODMAP fruits, such as apples. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols which are short-chain carbohydrates which can cause intestinal distress in people with IBS. Those with hereditary fructose intolerance have a condition which leaves them unable to digest fructose (sugar found in fruit) which then can be dangerous if they consume fruit. Another health condition which would affect the recommendation for eating fruit would be diabetes; though diabetes should by no means cut sugar out of their diet totally, they must make more mindful selections and pairings when they consume fruits.
For the general population however, fruit is an important inclusion in a healthful dietary style. Not only does fruit contain sugar, but it also offers a variety of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. The sugars found in fresh fruit include glucose and fructose. Glucose is a sugar which your body can readily use for energy. Fructose needs to be broken down in the liver for your body to use for energy. Even though fruits may have sugar in them, the amount of fiber and water in them helps to make you feel full for a longer period of time and also helps to slow down digestion; picking fresh fruit sources over other sugary foods provides additional satiety and can help aid digestion. Antioxidants that are found in fruits are a powerful tool in the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults eat 2-3 cups of fruit per day; according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 80% of Americans do not meet this recommendation.
If you are going to eat your fruit but you are worried about sugar, try to use the following tips: choose fruit with the lowest sugar content, be mindful of your portion sizes, and pair fruit with protein and fat; pairing fruit with protein and healthy fats can help to reduce blood sugar spikes and maximize your fullness and satisfaction.
The following is a list of fruits from lowest sugar content to highest sugar content per cup: raspberries (3g), strawberries (5g), watermelon (6g), pears (10g), plums (10g), pineapple (11g), banana (12g), apples (13g), mangoes (14g), and grapes (16g).
