'Sugar and Fruits' or 'Fruits and Sugars'

I had an interesting conversation with my friend and sister Atinuke (see her blog here: http://modupesworld.wordpress.com/author/modupesworld/). With my starting Project Jumpstart 2014, we were talking about the benefits of fruits and the quantity of sugar in these fruits. We both were not sure the impact of fruits on a 'low calorie', 'low sugar', 'low fat', or 'low all what not' diet. There is a lot of conflicting information out there.  

We were even more stumpped when we got a hold of the following information:

Fruits lowest in sugar	Fruits low to medium in sugar	Fruits medium-high in sugar	Fruits with highest sugar content
Lemon, Lime, Rhubarb, Cranberries, Raspberries, Blackberries	Strawberries, Pawpaw (papaya), Watermelon, Peaches, Nectarines, Apples, Guavas, Apricots, Honeydew Melon, Grapefruit,	Plums, Oranges, Kiwis, Pears, Pineapples	Tangerines, Cherries, Grapes, Pomegranates, Mangoes, Figs, Bananas, Dried Fruit (apricots, sultanas, raisins etc)

I am sure you see my problem. I'm scratching my head, and saying 'what gives, Liz?'

If you don’t understand my predicament, let me explain- I am currently on a 7 day fruit & veg jumpstart (pardon me, but I just cannot call it a detox); any way I am juicing my own fresh fruit and making [some] amazing tasting juices (the strawberries, beets, apples, fresh ginger and carrots combination comes HIGHLY recommended) so for someone who is understandably staying away from sugar this information was rather disturbing. Was I inadvertently pouring the dreaded sugar into my system? Was I undoing months of hard work. These thoughts led me to my ‘goto’ resource for information …Google! [chuckle].

My Google search led me to this blog/site/article which with comments that give a relatively balanced view of the sugars in fruit debate:  http://authoritynutrition.com/is-fruit-good-or-bad-for-your-health/. You have to read the entire article yourself,, and come to your own conclusions but the main points were (taken verbatim):

• Sugar IS bad….but it depends on the context (natural or processed)
• There is a lot of evidence that fructose (sugar) can cause harm when consumed in excess. However, this depends on the dosage and context and does not apply to fruit
• Whole fruits contain a relatively small amount of fructose and they take a while to chew and digest. Humans can easily tolerate the small amounts of fructose found in fruit
• Fruits contain large amounts of important nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals and various antioxidants and phytonutrients
• There are many studies showing that fruit intake is associated with lower risk of serious diseases like heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes
• The main reason to avoid fruit include some sort of intolerance, or being on a very low carb diet
• Fresh fruit juices however have a higher concentration of sugars as the fibers in the fruit have been stripped out.

The last bit got me. 'Fresh fruit juices however have a higher concentration of sugars as the fibers in the fruit have been stripped out.' But I figure if all I am eating or taking in is the fruit juice, and at regular intervals (no less than 2 hours apart) I am safe and won’t overwhelm my liver with sugar. But it is good to keep this in mind for when I resume eating solids (realizing that some of the solid foods we eat do contain their own types of sugars like starchy foods, some legumes etc). Then I am taking fruits as a part (not the whole part) of my healthy lifestyle. Fruits are NOT my silver buttet of choice to beat the bulge and DROP IT. But they will help me get there - my thoughts!

But if you really want to know how much sugar you are eating/drinking

when you take fruits check out www.sugarstacks.com. In summary, see this:

Fruit	Quantity	Amount of Sugar
Seedless Grapes	1 serving	20g (88 calories)
Apple	1 large	23g (116 calories)
Banana	1 large	17g (125 calories)
Peach	1 large	15g (172 calories)
Watermelon	1 slice	18g (86 calories)
Pineapple	1 serving	9g (50 calories)

So what’s the verdict (@ least for me): I still think it’s really healthy to drink fresh fruit juice (the emphasis is on FRESH and not PACKED juice) and the research is out there that links healthy consumption of fruit along with a healthy lifestyle with an overall healthier you and me. Please note the emphasis is not so much on weight loss at this time as it is on HEALTH. The way I see it weight loss is a path to improved health. Weight loss is then (to my mind) a means to an end, and not the end itself.

 

I'll just squeeze this in here: do you know that fruits are sometimes called 'natures candy'? How does that make you feel? Maybe when next your kid asks for a piece of candy you are justified in giving him/her a slice of natures own ...apple, watermelon...?

Have you heard anything to the contrary? Would you like to share? I’m sure I’ll probably learn something new and adjust my healthy lifestyle.

Meanwhile,

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