Fruit Makes you Fat

alanbluecat

OK, you have your opinion and I have mine.
All this, you said X, I say Y stuff is pretty futile.

I've thoroughly researched my own way of eating to my satisfaction. My doctor agrees with me and fully supports it. I believe my way of eating is the most healthy way but I accept that in terms of numbers I'm a minority voice and the majority of people will accept the conventional 'norms' and tell me I'm not getting enough of this or that. To me the majority are all doing it wrong. However, I'm not here to change the world or even try to convince anyone that the way I eat should be the way everyone should do it. I'm happy with what I do and I'm not going to change it. I've heard all the arguments to the contrary and it won't make a bit of difference to me. What I'm doing works for me and that's all that matters to me really. I wan't looking for anyone's opinion on it. The only reason I brought it into the discussion was because it was suggested that obese people shouldn't consume fruit and if they did they wouldn't lose weight. I am proof that this is false and I mentioned my diet to show that obese people can successfully lose weight eating fruit for 90% of their diet. Technically, I'm still obese but will soon be merely overweight. I fully expect to get to normal in due course.

Congratulations on your own health triumphs!

I think we should agree to disagree. I still think fruit is suitable for obese people and you don't. I understand your reasons for saying this but I don't agree with it. I would imagine you probably understand why I hold my opinion and I know you disagree with it. I'm fine with that. It seems pointless to go round in circles.

SanteMulberry

That article is so misleading, I barely know what to say.

"It's considered so beneficial that the government's five-a-day guideline is a minimum recommendation for the amount of fruit and vegetables we should eat.
But while it is fine to exceed this amount if you are a healthy weight, if you are overweight or suffer from high cholesterol or diabetes, too much fruit could be trouble. It could also explain why, despite your healthy lifestyle, you're piling on the pounds."

Uh yes, those are called calories. Eating 5 bananas a day would be 500 calories. Add that to your other food, and you will probably gain weight. That's math.

"drinking fruit smoothies all day - glugging down 300 calories in a couple of minutes."

Yes.....have several 300 calories smoothies on top of an already full diet will lead to excess calories....which will lead to weight gain. Once again, that's math.

It isn't just the calories---it is also biochemistry. Restricting fat, carbohydrates or calories will cause weight loss. But, in terms of healthy weight loss and keeping it off, the research shows that carbohydrate restriction is the best course. Within that parameter, healthy fats and lean proteins are very important as are vegetables and a couple of servings of fruit a day.

slkehl

Oh, the good ole Media. Taking a sliver of truth, and turning it into wild untrue proclomations.

I feel like half of what I do as a nutrition counselor is putting out fires started by the media. Seriously irresponsible. One thing I appreciate about the Wall Street Journal is that many times the people writing the articles often have an academic background in the subject and make sure to address caveats.

gddrdld

Actualy this agrees with what my doctor told me. She said that if I wanted to lose weight I should avoid sugar because it is the sugar that causes the fat to stay on. She recommended that I never eat anything with more than 5g of sugar in it, including fruit. So this would rule out apples and bananas for example. A typical banana has a whopping 16g of sugar in it which is the equivalent of 4 sugar cubes.

I used to eat about 3 apples a day, but now I have cut them out completely.

Right...And, everybody knows MD's are known to be experts on nutrition. Right?? ...Consider speaking to a licensed Nutrition expert, like a Registered Dietitian. Your perception is way off.

Most RDs do not keep up with the newest medical research on diet and its effects on the body. That's not to say MDs do either but they have their observational pool that they follow over time.

What a ridiculous and uninformed blanket statement that is regarding the expertise of RD's. I can't speak for all RD's, but I am one that has been "keeping up with the newest medical research on diet and it's effects on the body" for over 18 years and applying it in practise. Do you have any idea the amount of continuing education it requires to maintain a license as an RD? And, an RD that works in the field of clinical nutrition, counseling patients, has a much broader "observational pool that they follow over time" with regard to nutrition than most MD's by far. I work with many MD's, they refer their patients to me for nutrition issues...They are almost always the first to say they don't recieve education on nutrition in med school and do not feel they are experts in that area at all.

RoadsterGirlie

Getting 5 to 6 servings of unprocessed whole fruits and veggies a day helped me lose 90 lbs. Tracking my food intake is essential as well, but this was huge in getting me to my goal.

Unless you are diabetic, cutting out fruits and veggies to lose weight is total bunk.

SanteMulberry

Actualy this agrees with what my doctor told me. She said that if I wanted to lose weight I should avoid sugar because it is the sugar that causes the fat to stay on. She recommended that I never eat anything with more than 5g of sugar in it, including fruit. So this would rule out apples and bananas for example. A typical banana has a whopping 16g of sugar in it which is the equivalent of 4 sugar cubes.

I used to eat about 3 apples a day, but now I have cut them out completely.

Right...And, everybody knows MD's are known to be experts on nutrition. Right?? ...Consider speaking to a licensed Nutrition expert, like a Registered Dietitian. Your perception is way off.

Most RDs do not keep up with the newest medical research on diet and its effects on the body. That's not to say MDs do either but they have their observational pool that they follow over time.

What a ridiculous and uninformed blanket statement that is regarding the expertise of RD's. I can't speak for all RD's, but I am one that has been "keeping up with the newest medical research on diet and it's effects on the body" for over 18 years and applying it in practise. Do you have any idea the amount of continuing education it requires to maintain a license as an RD? And, an RD that works in the field of clinical nutrition, counseling patients, has a much broader "observational pool that they follow over time" with regard to nutrition than most MD's by far. I work with many MD's, they refer their patients to me for nutrition issues...They are almost always the first to say they don't recieve education on nutrition in med school and do not feel they are experts in that area at all.

I have known a fair number of dieticians over the years and, like M.D's they didn't have very much time to devote to keeping up with the mountains of research that is constantly coming on-line. I'm not blaming them---just stating facts. When they went to school, grain made up a large part of the "food pyramids" that were being promoted. Eating grain (and sugar) is a health disaster for some or most of us.

rae007rae

Good to know it. It might be my diet problem. TOO much fruit. :-(

SanteMulberry

Getting 5 to 6 servings of unprocessed whole fruits and veggies a day helped me lose 90 lbs. Tracking my food intake is essential as well, but this was huge in getting me to my goal.

Unless you are diabetic, cutting out fruits and veggies to lose weight is total bunk.

None of us has said anything about restricting vegetables. Vegetables are great for everyone. But there is a lot of new research that is coming out that suggests that fructose is very bad for some people and under certain conditions. There is an epidemic of kidney failure among field workers who work in the heat, around the world. At least one researcher is studying the high fructose consumption among them. In sugar cane fields, the workers often drink soft drinks (high fructose corn syrup) or fruit juice with added sugar. The rate of kidney failure among them is staggering.

Some medical researchers who study the effects of fructose consumption recommend that those with metabolic disorders (obesity being only one of them) refrain from consuming more than 15 grams of fructose per day.

ftellstrom

hahahaha! Awesome. I'm gonna go eat some fruit.

DesireeLovesOrganic

I'm peeling an orange right now. Haha My skinny kids eat about 5 fruits a day. I eat at least 3 a day, love me some fruit!

norcal_yogi

...better let Weight Watchers know...

nickyfm

I tell you what. I didn't gain 8 pounds in my 3 months overseas by eating Europe's finest FRUIT... -.-

SanteMulberry

I'm peeling an orange right now. Haha My skinny kids eat about 5 fruits a day. I eat at least 3 a day, love me some fruit!

Fruit is a very healthy FOOD for children (and it displaces some not-so-healthy choices of sugar-laden food). Fruit juice is not as healthy because it concentrates fructose---not as bad as soda pop but inadvisable for children who are obese. For those who are seriously obese (especially women), in addition to eliminating sugar and grain, some restriction of fruit is a good idea. I limit my intake of fructose (the natural sugar in fruit) to 15-20 grams per day. It has sped up my fat loss. One can of soda (typically sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup) has the amount of fructose that one would get in a dozen oranges. I can't imagine that a child would eat twelve oranges but he/she could easily consume a can of soda pop.

DesireeLovesOrganic

My kids don't drink juice or soda. Just water. They even take water in stainless steel canteen things for lunch everyday.

SanteMulberry

My kids don't drink juice or soda. Just water. They even take water in stainless steel canteen things for lunch everyday.

That's great! Fruit juice is just fine in limited quantities for kids who are underweight or normal---it gives them important nutrients like potassium. You have noted that your kids are slim---maybe the fact that they do not drink juice has been one of the reasons why they are slim. Soda is just empty calories. Period. And it does BAD things to teeth (fruit juice is almost as bad for teeth).

ldrosophila

This article is like totally true when people were put onto the Aushwitz diet back in the days which included no fruit at all they totally lost sick amounts of weight. By the end they all had hip bones showing and a thigh gap. Fruit is evil along with carbs and fat!

kenazfehu

Oh poppycock!

SanteMulberry

This article is like totally true when people were put onto the Aushwitz diet back in the days which included no fruit at all they totally lost sick amounts of weight. By the end they all had hip bones showing and a thigh gap. Fruit is evil along with carbs and fat!

I don't think you should go as far as saying that "fruit is evil" but fructose (the sugar in fruit) can be problematic for obese individuals who are trying to shed body fat. I usually limit mine to 15-20 grams per day by eating low-fructose fruits when I eat fruit (usually 2 servings a day). I eat a lot of citrus and peaches---not so much apples and pears which are higher in fructose. If I want an apple or a pear, I will usually just eat half of one. Fruit is very good for the body and contains a variety of phyto-nutrients that even vegetables do not contain (although many nutrients that are found in fruit are also contained in vegetables).

CATindeeHAT

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quiltergirlar

That's why the weight watchers diet isn't for me. Free fruits would not equal weight loss for me.

CATindeeHAT

Bump*

cmagri11

This does not make sense what so ever. You eat the correct fruits, not those high in sugar and you will be fine

SanteMulberry

This does not make sense what so ever. You eat the correct fruits, not those high in sugar and you will be fine

That is sensible advice. Most fruit---because of the water and fiber that it contains, is really not a problem. Those of a normal weight can and should eat fruit freely. However, I would limit it to one or two servings of low-fructose fruit (generally, the "watery" fruits like peaches and berries are lower in fructose) if I was trying to shed body fat. There is disturbing evidence that eating a lot of fructose (sugar is 50% fructose and a can of soda has about as much fructose in it as a dozen oranges) contributes to obesity and other metabolic disorders (like fatty liver and Type II diabetes). Most people do not even want more than a couple of servings of fruit per day anyway. But sugar and high fructose corn syrup (the sweetener in most sodas) work at cross purposes to any plan to reduce body fat.

lrob100

I eat fruit every single day, several times per day. I've lost 72 lbs rather quickly. Diet and exercise only. I would feel unhealthy if I avoided fruit.

penguinlally

exactly!
geez louise what were they thinking?

mommyrox05

Think that I'm gunna stay with the fruit...even if it does make me fat! :drinker:

etoiles_argentees

Why is this thread here again?

Cranktastic

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LOLZ

Sarauk2sf

Why did someone bump this drivel from last month?

etoiles_argentees

Why did someone bump this drivel from last month?

that's something worth chewing on?