Fruit and carb limits

samand25

Hi all, I'm very new to this, so please excuse the ignorance but, I don't understand the deal with fruit.

What I don't get is, if my carb goal is set to 100g, then an apple (19g carbs) and a banana (27g carbs) is 46% of my daily carb total?

Is this correct - and is the answer to just avoid these fruits and stick with berries?

Regards, James.

MikeFlyMike

Sounds like you got it exactly. High sugar fruits, while good for you should be limited if you are trying to lose weight. Just like russet potatoes.

kkarrolle

www.marksdailyapple.com is a great resource site - use the 'start here' link or the FAQ. The search facility is good as well.

If you don't have any weight to lose or are very active you can go higher with carbs.

Fruit sugars may be natural, but those fruits high in sugar will give you a higher insulin response than those fruits lower in sugars.

If losing weight you may want to limit the fruit to maybe 1 serve a day or use berries and eat more veg in lieu of fruit.

samand25

Thanks for the responses guys, I guess I just need to unlearn everything Ive been taught through conventional methods.

Thanks again guys.

MikeFlyMike

absolutely forget virtually all conventional wisdom. Matter of fact, it might be easier just to do the opposite of what you know.

twinmom01

Yep - I have switched to eating lower sugar fruits - mainly berries and limiting those to one serving a day - I try and stay under about 75 grams a day...I do occasionally go for the higher carb fruits but I make sure I do so on a workout day where my body.

I am attempting to loose some weight/lean up so in that respect you do sort of have to watch the carb and sugar intake - at least I do

missyyclaire

Just to throw this thought out there...we are talking carbs/sugars yes? Not net carbs? Sometimes this gets a bit confusing to newcomers. What matters are how many sugar grams we're getting, right?

monkeydharma

Just to throw this thought out there...we are talking carbs/sugars yes? Not net carbs? Sometimes this gets a bit confusing to newcomers. What matters are how many sugar grams we're getting, right?

'Net carbs' is an construct of the Atkins-style diets. It allows people to think they are doing better carb-wise than they really are.

Carbs are carbs, and sugar is just another carb. It's all about insulin, remember? Sugars are quickly converted to glucose and have to be dealt with by the body, using insulin. Other carbs and starches also get converted to glucose, but somewhat more slowly (the rate is determined by how complex the carb is) - the body still has to deal with it with insulin.

We pay more attention to sugar as a bad guy because it spikes and crashes our insulin response system so quickly. Carbs, being more complex, somewhat buffer the effect - but we still limit them as well.

missyyclaire

Just to throw this thought out there...we are talking carbs/sugars yes? Not net carbs? Sometimes this gets a bit confusing to newcomers. What matters are how many sugar grams we're getting, right?

'Net carbs' is an construct of the Atkins-style diets. It allows people to think they are doing better carb-wise than they really are.

Carbs are carbs, and sugar is just another carb. It's all about insulin, remember? Sugars are quickly converted to glucose and have to be dealt with by the body, using insulin. Other carbs and starches also get converted to glucose, but somewhat more slowly (the rate is determined by how complex the carb is) - the body still has to deal with it with insulin.

We pay more attention to sugar as a bad guy because it spikes and crashes our insulin response system so quickly. Carbs, being more complex, somewhat buffer the effect - but we still limit them as well.

Aha! I've been pondering this for quite a while. THANK YOU for this. I think this should be spelled out better for folks than it seems to be, or maybe I'm just slow.

Actually, I know why this has bothered me, and you're right, it's because of Atkins. On Atkins it's all about sugar carbs, you subtract the fiber as it's a freebie. But we should be looking at overall consumption of carbs because of their ability to trigger an insulin response.

SO GLAD TO SEE THIS, THANKS AGAIN! (I'll stop yelling now)

dennydifferent

Just curious- does anyone here limit their fruit intake to when it would be in season? Also, how about seeking out older seeds, I mean less modified fruits? More traditional varieties? I suspect this is, if you'll forgive the pun, fruitless, but there are still such things as wild strawberries. They're a lot less sweet than supermarket strawberries and much, much smaller.

Although I've just bought some raspberries myself, I do wonder about the wisdom of daily or weekly consumption of fruit year round, when it would have been largely seasonal and much lower in sugar than today's fruit. How much (if at all) should Paleo/Primal follow the seasons and seek native, unbred, unmodified foods?

mehaugen

Just curious- does anyone here limit their fruit intake to when it would be in season? Also, how about seeking out older seeds, I mean less modified fruits? More traditional varieties? I suspect this is, if you'll forgive the pun, fruitless, but there are still such things as wild strawberries. They're a lot less sweet than supermarket strawberries and much, much smaller.

Although I've just bought some raspberries myself, I do wonder about the wisdom of daily or weekly consumption of fruit year round, when it would have been largely seasonal and much lower in sugar than today's fruit. How much (if at all) should Paleo/Primal follow the seasons and seek native, unbred, unmodified foods?

Here is a blog post I thought was quite interesting on that topic: http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/05/31/wild-and-ancient-fruit/

monkeydharma

Just curious- does anyone here limit their fruit intake to when it would be in season? Also, how about seeking out older seeds, I mean less modified fruits? More traditional varieties? I suspect this is, if you'll forgive the pun, fruitless, but there are still such things as wild strawberries. They're a lot less sweet than supermarket strawberries and much, much smaller.

Although I've just bought some raspberries myself, I do wonder about the wisdom of daily or weekly consumption of fruit year round, when it would have been largely seasonal and much lower in sugar than today's fruit. How much (if at all) should Paleo/Primal follow the seasons and seek native, unbred, unmodified foods?

Yes, although it isn't a hard and fast rule, I try to buy seasonal. I am helped in that I also try to buy local (google 'locavore') so when the berries start coming from Mexico or Chile, I leave them until they are growing once again reasonably close.

Also, the organic strawberries I get at farmers market (in season) are a lot smaller - and a lot SWEETER - than the mutants being touted at the supermarket. So, when I can I also try to buy (or grow) 'heirloom' varieties of what I eat.