Fruit is killing me!

floweringcurrant

This is has been discussed many times on here. Some people say fruit sugar is the same as any other, and some say it's not, I say it's not. I rarely eat processed sugar, but will eat 2-4 pieces of fruit per day. I don't count my sugar intake on MFP anymore. While it may be true that a calorie is a calorie, I know for my body not all calories are the same. When I eat processed sugar, I bloat, my skin breaks out, I have a harder time losing weight, I experience cravings, etc. This does not happen to my body when I eat fruit. I say don't worry about it.

SweetJoanne

i really enjoy my fruit but trying to cut it down a little but much better than eating candy or chips

beckylawrence70

I eat my fruit and ignore that........

neanderthin

Sugar is sugar. That's why MFP doesn't separate it. There is no good or bad sugar. So, yes, I limit myself to one or two pieces of fruit for the same reasons you mentioned, because it goes over my allotted sugar. You will hear many people say that they don't count fruit sugar as sugar, but it is still sugar.

I guess it's just that I hate to see anything "in the red". So I try really hard to stay under all my allotted things that I track and sugar is one of them. But really, it's not the most important thing to track. And if you have a sweet tooth, fruit is probably the best thing to eat.

That's not true. Fruit sugar is a simple sugar called fructose which breaks down more slowly than glucose (refined sugars in sweets etc). Fructose doesnt give you that sugar spike and put stress on your body like glucose does and doesnt give your insulin levels such a hard time. Fruit is great becaus it contains so many nutrients and vitamins as well as water. You cant really beat it!

The sugar in fruit also has fructose, it's not all fructose. As a matter of fact some fruit has less fructose than table sugar which has about 42% fructose. Most fruit have about the same amount of fructose than other sugar sources.

tigersword

Sugar is sugar. That's why MFP doesn't separate it. There is no good or bad sugar. So, yes, I limit myself to one or two pieces of fruit for the same reasons you mentioned, because it goes over my allotted sugar. You will hear many people say that they don't count fruit sugar as sugar, but it is still sugar.

I guess it's just that I hate to see anything "in the red". So I try really hard to stay under all my allotted things that I track and sugar is one of them. But really, it's not the most important thing to track. And if you have a sweet tooth, fruit is probably the best thing to eat.

That's not true. Fruit sugar is a simple sugar called fructose which breaks down more slowly than glucose (refined sugars in sweets etc). Fructose doesnt give you that sugar spike and put stress on your body like glucose does and doesnt give your insulin levels such a hard time. Fruit is great becaus it contains so many nutrients and vitamins as well as water. You cant really beat it!

No, fructose is just one of the sugars in fruits. Fruit also has sucrose (table sugar,) glucose, galactose, and other sugars. The majority of the sugar in most fruits come from sucrose and glucose.

Also, fructose does spike insulin almost to the same level as glucose (1 gram of fructose has the same effect on insulin levels as 0.8 grams of glucose.)

Sugar is sugar. The human body doesn't differentiate between fruit, table sugar, or a soda, it just sees sucrose, glucose, fructose, and any other sugar molecule that happens to be there.

purpleipod

I don't even track sugar. Hasn't bothered me so far.

frugalmomsrock

I don't even count my sugars. I did back when I was eating mostly crap (processed foods, refined white products). Now that I'm on about a 90% clean eating diet, I don't bother. I do have my bad days, but mostly I eat whole foods and home-prepared-from-scratch meals, so I don't really care if my sugars are high or low... I love fruit!

Zombriana

Sugar can suck it, I'm over on it every day.

For me, as long as I get my 103g of protein and don't over do my carbs, everything is a-ok.

reddcat

I, too, stopped counting my sugars just because of this issue. I still remember the feeling when I had a banana, apple, and grapes in the same day and I was way in the red. Freaked me out! But then I remembered it was a banana, apple, and grapes for s#@% sake and stopped tracking sugar.

Goodwhispers

Fruit is not killing you. Your body needs the sugar in fruit to have a healthy body and brain. Are you not concerned with your brain? Keep eating fruit stay within your cals, and you will lose weight.

There are people out there who eat 3000 cals of fruit a day and are so skinny! Rawfood*****.com is one of them.

Goodwhispers

Yup I agree. I am on 1350 cals and every three weeks drop a ton of weight. I eat fruits and am happy!!!

frugalmomsrock

http://vegetablesnutrition.com/fruit-nutrition-facts-and-fruit-sugars/


http://en.allexperts.com/q/Nutrition-Dieting-939/Max-RDA-Sugars.htm

Rhea30

Sugar is sugar. That's why MFP doesn't separate it. There is no good or bad sugar. So, yes, I limit myself to one or two pieces of fruit for the same reasons you mentioned, because it goes over my allotted sugar. You will hear many people say that they don't count fruit sugar as sugar, but it is still sugar.

I guess it's just that I hate to see anything "in the red". So I try really hard to stay under all my allotted things that I track and sugar is one of them. But really, it's not the most important thing to track. And if you have a sweet tooth, fruit is probably the best thing to eat.

Not all sugar is equal. The sugar from fruit is fructose, while say our sugar we might by from the store in a bag is made of fructose and glucose.

tigersword

MFP doesn't have the capacity to differentiate between sugars. Despite what people say - sugars DO differ. Fruit is high in fructose, and is such is a 'natural' sugar. The sugar you find in carbonated soft drinks, or sprinkle on your cereal however is refined, processed sugar which is much higher in sucrose than fructose.

As long as you're within your macros, and the sugar you're getting is derived from natural sources on a 1200 calorie diet I wouldn't be too concerned. If the sugar was fro highly processed ingredients, then that may be an issue.

H

Sucrose is a natural sugar, made of glucose and fructose. I'm not even sure what you're trying to even say here. Most fruit has a majority of sucrose in it, then free fructose, then free glucose, and, depending on the fruit, any of a hundred other sugars.

hnguthrie

The thing I look at is how nutrient dense something is in relation to calories. I lost 60 pounds in six months (before starting on MFP), and I ate two bananas (which have quite a bit of sugar compared to many other fruits) and at least a couple more pieces of fruit every day for much of that time. Fruits are highly nutritious for their calorie levels. As long as you're getting all the nutrients you need, not going over your calorie limits, and don't have a medical reason for concerning yourself with sugar, it isn't worth worrying about.

Trechechus

I eat fruit. A LOT of fruit. It does not make me fat. It fuels my cellular respiration.

cadaverousbones

I would say if you are worried about it, try having fruit with less sugar.
Fruit is GOOD for you! I wouldn't really worry too much if you go over your sugar intake a little bit.
But remember that sugar turns into carbs, and carbs you don't burn off turn into fat.
Here is a list of some fruits that have low sugars in them.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/5375-lowsugar-fruits/

hbunting86

...that certain sugars (i.e. refined, powdered form found in candy/chocolate etc) are higher in sucrose than fructose.

Apple = 2.1g sucrose/100g
Sugar cane/sugar beet = 11-17g sucrose/100g.

Ergo refined sugar (derived from cane or sugar beet) is higher in sucrose than fruit sugar.

Ergo you can eat way more fruit, which is much more nutrient dense with other vitamins and minerals in addition to sugar content than candy or refined sugar.

kennethmgreen

What I'm getting from this thread is that my government shouldn't exercise fruit control. Fruit doesn't kill. People kill.

You can have my mango when you pry it from my cold dead sticky fingers.

jksullycats

I have the same problem. I just decided to ignore that data point. I'm allotted 1200 cals per day. I'm also getting most of the sugar from fruit and what is naturally in other foods.