Fruit Myth... Fact or fiction.

TashTag

So my vegan friend has been trying to convince me that an all raw fruit and veg lifestyle is the way to go but then other people say how the sugar in fruit is sooooo bad for you.
I don't know what to believe. I love fruit but if it is not going to help me lose weight then I need to avoid it right?
Is it the case that people with higher metabolisms process the 'sugars' in fruit and turn them into energy and people with slower metabolisms turn the 'sugars' in fruit into fat?

HELP

poohbah4

It's bad only in excess. Moderation in all things. And by the way, cooking food is not a cardinal sin.

xxsophster

Theres loads of sugar in fruit if you blend them to make smoothies! Otherwise its just natural sugar which is better for you than normal sugar

Strawberries help the metalobism, but you can just live on fruit and veg on your diet! Jeeesh! It will be called 's.hit yourself slim'

smkean

There are pros and cons to both sides:

Cooking food also diminishes the natural life energy, and destroys much of the natural enzymes (your body can also create enzymes, but can only do so much) in your food that are needed to break down nutrients. Eating raw eliminates this problem.
There is reason to believe that you may sleep better and have more energu and mental clarity, and errr has digestive benefits too...
This is how your body was orriginally designed to eat, so there are serious health benefits to this.

However, although oyur bodies have no idea that the year is 2014 it has evolved a little more since caveman times and some people argue that cooked foods are a necessity, note that you may need to take supplements on this diet, as we certainly cannot eat raw meat etc on this diet, and foods like Quorn and soy meat often need to be cooked. Many people (including my friend who did this for a year) also find that the very second they start to go back to a normal way of eating they gain weight like crazy, and after a while they (or in this instance, my friend) found that the taste of cooked foods or more processed foods were too filling and unenjoyable, but not in that positive way that you feel like when you have been dieting and allow yourself a treat from your favourite restaurant, only to discover that you cannot eat the whole portion/the meal was too filling etc.

My advice? try Ketogenic or paleo diet, its better designed for 'todays' bodies if you want to be a bit more natural.;

MityMax96

I like my fruit.
Oranges, peaches, apples......grapes.

I say eat your fruit and enjoy

4legsRbetterthan2

sugar from fruit is nothing to worry about unless you are just eating crazy amounts. I eat 2-3 fruits a day (usually a banana and whatever is in season) and plenty of vegetables. Meat, eggs, and cheese can all be very helpful in hitting your protein and fat needs so I would not cut them out of my diet.

As for the metabolism bit, our bodies all handle food the same way (minus people with actual disorders), slower vs faster metabolisms just mean a difference in the amount of energy required to run the body. Just make sure you are eating at a caloric decificit and your body will do what it needs with the food you give it.

astrampe

Eat fruit in moderation...eat raw food in moderation - although as much as I like salmon sashimi, I prefer my potatoes well cooked and my steak at least medium-rare....
You do not need to go extreme or turn fanatic about food - Paleo is extreme, no-carbs is extreme, eat everything raw is also extreme....

Moderation is the key for me and has been for the last 5/6 years in which I maintained my weight, ate ice cream now and them, have pizza and red wine every weekend and eat mostly "good" food, exercise regularly and tried to stay away from fanatics as far as possible....

grimendale

Fruit is delicious. As long as you are under your calories and are getting enough protein and fat, have all the sugar you like. Your macro and calorie limits will keep sugar from getting out of hand.

ndj1979

calorie deficit is the way to go , period.

You can eat fruit, added sugar, sugar, etc as long as you maintain your calorie defict.

As far as vegan, I think that is more of a personal choice that has to do with the individual and not so much health...

I pretty much eat what I like - chicken, steak, potatoes, ice cream, pizza, burger - and I am in the best shape of my life (12% body fat) and my blood work comes back every year as nearly perfect....

Happymelz

Fruit is completely natural nutrition.
Unless you have a medical issue that requires you to limit sugar intake there is no need to limit fruit.
The fiber in fruit helps the sugar break down more slowly and besides, fruit is not bad for you.

No one ever got fat eating too many mangoes or bananas.

richardheath

So my vegan friend has been trying to convince me that an all raw fruit and veg lifestyle is the way to go but then other people say how the sugar in fruit is sooooo bad for you.
I don't know what to believe. I love fruit but if it is not going to help me lose weight then I need to avoid it right?
Is it the case that people with higher metabolisms process the 'sugars' in fruit and turn them into energy and people with slower metabolisms turn the 'sugars' in fruit into fat?

HELP

Only become a raw vegan if your ethics, lifestyle etc align with that. I've never done it, but I can imagine it is very hard to do. And for no major health benefit. Sure - eating veggies is good, but it has been suggested that we are cookatarians. Learning to cook our food enabled us to extract more energy from it, and fueled our brain growth.

As to fruit: sugar is sugar is sugar. Eat it, log it. It is good for you.

ndj1979

There are pros and cons to both sides:

Cooking food also diminishes the natural life energy, and destroys much of the natural enzymes (your body can also create enzymes, but can only do so much) in your food that are needed to break down nutrients. Eating raw eliminates this problem.
There is reason to believe that you may sleep better and have more energu and mental clarity, and errr has digestive benefits too...
This is how your body was orriginally designed to eat, so there are serious health benefits to this.

However, although oyur bodies have no idea that the year is 2014 it has evolved a little more since caveman times and some people argue that cooked foods are a necessity, note that you may need to take supplements on this diet, as we certainly cannot eat raw meat etc on this diet, and foods like Quorn and soy meat often need to be cooked. Many people (including my friend who did this for a year) also find that the very second they start to go back to a normal way of eating they gain weight like crazy, and after a while they (or in this instance, my friend) found that the taste of cooked foods or more processed foods were too filling and unenjoyable, but not in that positive way that you feel like when you have been dieting and allow yourself a treat from your favourite restaurant, only to discover that you cannot eat the whole portion/the meal was too filling etc.

My advice? try Ketogenic or paleo diet, its better designed for 'todays' bodies if you want to be a bit more natural.;

how is "paleo" better designed for today's body when it is supposed to be based on a style of eating from 25,000 years ago?

I would also love to hear the explanation as to how Keto is "better" for todays bodies, as opposed to any other method out there?

Rocbola

Fruit will make you thin. But it not necessary to eat an all raw diet to get the benefits of fruit. Start very simple and easy: just add a piece of fruit to every meal. The extra fiber, water and nutrients will satiate you and allow you to eat less overall calories. The extra energy will help you stay focused and allow you to be more active. The anti-oxidants will help you to stay cleaner.

And a very important part of any good fruit based diet is daily intake of green leafy vegetables. A salad a day keeps the pounds away.

WeepingAngel81

Not a sugar expert by any means, but I have found this article to be helpful with a "dumbed down" explanation for sugar in fruit VS refined sugar.
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/body-process-fruit-sugars-same-way-refined-sugar-8174.html

Depending on what your goals are, you do not need to limit anything in your diet. It's calories in/ calories out. Fresh, raw, and in season is always the most nutritious way of eating fruits and veggies, but eating them cooked isn't bad or dangerous. If they fit in your calorie goal, cooked or not, then eat them.

mccindy72

So my vegan friend has been trying to convince me that an all raw fruit and veg lifestyle is the way to go but then other people say how the sugar in fruit is sooooo bad for you.
I don't know what to believe. I love fruit but if it is not going to help me lose weight then I need to avoid it right?
Is it the case that people with higher metabolisms process the 'sugars' in fruit and turn them into energy and people with slower metabolisms turn the 'sugars' in fruit into fat?

HELP

eat some fruit. Eat some vegetables. Eat some of them raw, if you like, and eat some of them cooked, if you like.
What it really comes down to is what you like and what works for you.
What is going to help you lose weight is eating in a calorie deficit, and eating a good variety of foods that your body needs, that provide you with protein, carbohydrates, fats, and other nutrients. If you choose to eat an entirely vegan diet, you'll need to carefully decide where to get adequate protein and fats from.
if you don't think you'll enjoy that type of eating lifestyle, then don't do it, you won't find it sustainable.
personally, I eat what I like to eat, in moderation. I do some cardio, and I heavy lift. I'm at about 16% body fat and the best shape of my life. I don't cut food groups out of my diet to avoid anything other than what I might be intolerant to. If I want to eat something, I eat it and make it fit into my calorie goals for the day.

richardheath

Theres loads of sugar in fruit if you blend them to make smoothies! Otherwise its just natural sugar which is better for you than normal sugar

Strawberries help the metalobism, but you can just live on fruit and veg on your diet! Jeeesh! It will be called 's.hit yourself slim'

Does the process of making a smoothie magically make the fruit have more sugar? Other than possibly removing the fiber, I don't think blending fruit is going to do anything like that.

And how is natural sugar in fruit (fructose and glucose, for the most part) different from the fructose and glucose in "normal" sugar (by which I guess you mean sucrose (which is made of fructose and glucose) or HFCS (which is also fructose and glucose))?

1princesswarrior

This is about a sustainable lifestyle change. If you can't sustain it then don't do it.

TashTag

lol @ xxsophster

I've done the raw thing once for a three day detox and it was great but as a lifestyle i'm not too sure.

Ah it all hurts my head. Thank you for the input though.

Rocbola

Theres loads of sugar in fruit if you blend them to make smoothies! Otherwise its just natural sugar which is better for you than normal sugar

Strawberries help the metalobism, but you can just live on fruit and veg on your diet! Jeeesh! It will be called 's.hit yourself slim'

Does the process of making a smoothie magically make the fruit have more sugar? Other than possibly removing the fiber, I don't think blending fruit is going to do anything like that.

And how is natural sugar in fruit (fructose and glucose, for the most part) different from the fructose and glucose in "normal" sugar (by which I guess you mean sucrose (which is made of fructose and glucose) or HFCS (which is also fructose and glucose))?

Blending fruit cuts up the fiber into smaller chunks, increasing the rate at which the sugar is absorbed, also making it easier to slip in more calories past your satiety mechanism. It also makes it so the food is less likely to mix with salivary enzymes than masticated food. However, i still think smoothies are the bee's knees, and drastically better then some refined sugar. You still get all the nutrients and fiber, even if it is a slightly chopped up fiber.

WeepingAngel81

lol @ xxsophster

I've done the raw thing once for a three day detox and it was great but as a lifestyle i'm not too sure.

Ah it all hurts my head. Thank you for the input though.

If it hurts your head, then you are setting yourself up for failure. Don't adopt a lifestyle, which is what this would be, that will overwhelm you. Calories in...calories out. Keep it that simple. Stay within your calorie range, workout on a regular basis, and you will succeed.

TashTag

Sorry just to clarify I WONT be converting to vegan any time soon. THANK YOU ALL. I am learning a lot right now.

ValGogo

So my vegan friend has been trying to convince me that an all raw fruit and veg lifestyle is the way to go but then other people say how the sugar in fruit is sooooo bad for you.
I don't know what to believe. I love fruit but if it is not going to help me lose weight then I need to avoid it right?
Is it the case that people with higher metabolisms process the 'sugars' in fruit and turn them into energy and people with slower metabolisms turn the 'sugars' in fruit into fat?

HELP

Oh Lord. First, start educating yourself BY yourself. Do your own research from valid sources. People will confuse the heck out of you.

Eat your fruit, but choose the fruit wisely. Moderation. Pineapple is delicious and CHOCKED with sugar, so you shouldn't eat it all day every day. Apples also have sugar but not in the concentration as pineapples and mangoes. Don't eat 7 mangoes in a week.

Raisins, for example, are great, but concentrated in sugar so you can only have a few. You'd be better off eating grapes because they are more filling. But that doesn't mean you can't eat raisins; just not all the time.

As for raw food, well, if you have to do it, remember to chew your food WELL. Look, eating everything raw is not really realistic and I'm sure is fraught with other health issues you don't know about until you have them.

Princess warrior is right.....If you can't sustain it, don't do it.

But, again, read up on this from trusted professional sources and do what YOU want to do, not what other people think is right for you.

mereditheve

Theres loads of sugar in fruit if you blend them to make smoothies! Otherwise its just natural sugar which is better for you than normal sugar

Strawberries help the metalobism, but you can just live on fruit and veg on your diet! Jeeesh! It will be called 's.hit yourself slim'

Does the process of making a smoothie magically make the fruit have more sugar? Other than possibly removing the fiber, I don't think blending fruit is going to do anything like that.

And how is natural sugar in fruit (fructose and glucose, for the most part) different from the fructose and glucose in "normal" sugar (by which I guess you mean sucrose (which is made of fructose and glucose) or HFCS (which is also fructose and glucose))?

Exactly -- there is no difference between fruit blended in a smoothie, sugar in fruit or added sugar. It is the same fructose, glucose, sucrose and all have the same effect on your body.

Your diet should include enough fruits and vegetables to provide your body with nutrients. Cooking often does reduce nutritional value (particularly boiling, unless you also drink the water that vegetables were boiled in), but there is no need to stick to only raw fruits and vegetables.

Everything in moderation... and not too much of that!

amusedmonkey

Sugar is sugar, from fruits or a candy bar, except when you eat fruits you get vitamins and fiber which you may not get from a candy bar. Eating either within your calorie range will not make you fat.

You may have misunderstood the sugar explanation: for people who burn a lot of calories a day, sugar is turned to energy (almost directly in the case of high intensity training), for people who do not burn as much sugar (and any calories coming from anywhere, sugar or otherwise) turn to fat.

One thing to keep in mind though. Too much fruits (or any sugar or starch, carbs in general) at one setting may affect your blood sugar. If you have insulin resistance and not aware of it, this could be a bad thing.

Eating raw or cooked both have their pros and cons. You may lose some vitamins from cooking (like vitamin C) but some other useful substances are actually amplified by cooking, either literally increasing or turning into a form that is easier to absorb.

When you think about removing or adding foods to your diet ask yourself 2 questions:

1- Will I still be eating this way 10 years from now?
2- Would eating this way make me happy?

If your answer is "no" to either of these questions, you are setting yourself up for failure. First you're excited, then you're bored, then you feel tortured, then you binge, then you go right back where you started.

ValGogo

There are pros and cons to both sides:

Cooking food also diminishes the natural life energy, and destroys much of the natural enzymes (your body can also create enzymes, but can only do so much) in your food that are needed to break down nutrients. Eating raw eliminates this problem.
There is reason to believe that you may sleep better and have more energu and mental clarity, and errr has digestive benefits too...
This is how your body was orriginally designed to eat, so there are serious health benefits to this.

However, although oyur bodies have no idea that the year is 2014 it has evolved a little more since caveman times and some people argue that cooked foods are a necessity, note that you may need to take supplements on this diet, as we certainly cannot eat raw meat etc on this diet, and foods like Quorn and soy meat often need to be cooked. Many people (including my friend who did this for a year) also find that the very second they start to go back to a normal way of eating they gain weight like crazy, and after a while they (or in this instance, my friend) found that the taste of cooked foods or more processed foods were too filling and unenjoyable, but not in that positive way that you feel like when you have been dieting and allow yourself a treat from your favourite restaurant, only to discover that you cannot eat the whole portion/the meal was too filling etc.

My advice? try Ketogenic or paleo diet, its better designed for 'todays' bodies if you want to be a bit more natural.;

how is "paleo" better designed for today's body when it is supposed to be based on a style of eating from 25,000 years ago?

I would also love to hear the explanation as to how Keto is "better" for todays bodies, as opposed to any other method out there?

Thank you! I was wondering about that comment. :explode:

carliekitty

I eat fruit everyday. It has sugar but it also has vitamins….as long as you fit it into your macros your fine.

MyRummyHens

I have a raw vegan diet (allergies, I'm not a "vegan" in all aspects of the term) and I eat about 75% fruit, 20% vegetables and 5% nuts and seeds. I have insulin issues (among a whole host of other things) and eating that much fruit has drastically improved the situation believe it or not! Fruit is so easy to digest that it has taken all the strain off of my digestive system and my pancreas is kicking out normal insulin levels on the diet.

Honestly, there are MUCH better ways of losing weight if that is your goal. I wouldn't be on this diet if it wasn't the only way I could function. I also think that undertaking any 'extreme' (and it is extreme) diet should be discussed with your GP and or dietitian first. The major vitamins are all highly easy to achieve on a fruit based diet, but lots of the micro nutrients aren't so easy and it requires careful balancing for long term health.

Sugar in fruit isn't bad, it doesn't make you fat unless you over eat. In fact NOTHING makes you fat unless you over eat. The thing with my diet is that everything is obviously low calorie so I have to consume a staggering volume to make sure I get enough calories.

I will say though, banana "ice-cream" totally rocks!

TheVeganBuddhist

Did you hear about that guy who died from eating fruit and vegetables? Nah me either. Probably because fruits and vegetables with a variety of nuts are a flawless diet.

Pre-Med - Future PA

Medical Assistant

Nutritionist

I love education

BigVeggieDream

So my vegan friend has been trying to convince me that an all raw fruit and veg lifestyle is the way to go but then other people say how the sugar in fruit is sooooo bad for you.
I don't know what to believe. I love fruit but if it is not going to help me lose weight then I need to avoid it right?
Is it the case that people with higher metabolisms process the 'sugars' in fruit and turn them into energy and people with slower metabolisms turn the 'sugars' in fruit into fat?

HELP

I can put this thing to rest. I am eating a raw food diet and I eat lots of fruit everyday. I have type II diabetes and all medical advice says to pretty much stay away from fruit, particularly bananas and a few others. I read an article about fat being a bigger factor in diabetes than was originally thought. If you reduce your fat intake to less than 10%, fruit and whole grains will not cause high blood glucose level (BGL). I decided to try it and if things were worse I could just stop. Within 48 hrs I saw my BGL start to drop. By the end of the first week, every check of my BGL dropped below 140, which is what the medical community says the diabetics should be doing. Within 2-3 weeks my BGL dropped down to 100-110, which doctors get ecstatic about. Now I am at day 38 and the last week my BGL levels have dropped down to 80-85, a few times a little lower and a couple times in the low 90s. The healthiest adults without diabetes has a fasting level (like after a full nights sleep) is 75-80 and 2 hrs after meals is about 80-90. Mine is on the upper end of that level.

I eat anywhere from 4-10 bananas a day. I add in apples, mangos, berries, kiwi, spinach, broccoli, kale, lettuce and dates. I go by an 80/10/10 diet. That's 80% carbs, 10% protein and 10% fat. When I started whole grains were still spiking my BGL. Last night I did a vegetable stir fry with short grain brown rice. I used probably too much olive oil and my fat level jumped to 36% for the day. 2 hours after the meal my BGL was 95. Up a little, but still very good. I won't have that meal often, but I feel comfortable allowing a meal like that every once in a while. The other week it was my son's birthday and I allowed myself to have a small piece of cake and 1 scoop of ice cream. My BGL didn't go up at all.

My view is if you keep you fat consumption low, the fructose in fruits have no ill effect, even when having lots of fruit.

Rocbola

Thank you Bloom72 and Veganbuddhist!

jkwolly

There are pros and cons to both sides:

Cooking food also diminishes the natural life energy, and destroys much of the natural enzymes (your body can also create enzymes, but can only do so much) in your food that are needed to break down nutrients. Eating raw eliminates this problem.
There is reason to believe that you may sleep better and have more energu and mental clarity, and errr has digestive benefits too...
This is how your body was orriginally designed to eat, so there are serious health benefits to this.

However, although oyur bodies have no idea that the year is 2014 it has evolved a little more since caveman times and some people argue that cooked foods are a necessity, note that you may need to take supplements on this diet, as we certainly cannot eat raw meat etc on this diet, and foods like Quorn and soy meat often need to be cooked. Many people (including my friend who did this for a year) also find that the very second they start to go back to a normal way of eating they gain weight like crazy, and after a while they (or in this instance, my friend) found that the taste of cooked foods or more processed foods were too filling and unenjoyable, but not in that positive way that you feel like when you have been dieting and allow yourself a treat from your favourite restaurant, only to discover that you cannot eat the whole portion/the meal was too filling etc.

My advice? try Ketogenic or paleo diet, its better designed for 'todays' bodies if you want to be a bit more natural.;

how is "paleo" better designed for today's body when it is supposed to be based on a style of eating from 25,000 years ago?

I would also love to hear the explanation as to how Keto is "better" for todays bodies, as opposed to any other method out there?

AND how sugar from fruit is better than sugar from non-natural sources!

AND GO!