Fruit Sugars

betrayalunknown
betrayalunknown Posts: 63
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

i'm just wondering if I could get some feedback about the naturally occurring sugars in fruit, and how they are not created equal:

Let me specify: An overly ripe banana has more calories and sugar than a slightly firm/greenish banana.

My question to you is...

We all have a "general" idea of how many calories are in 200grams of a fuji apple, or 300grams of a freshly cut pineapple. However.... with the RIPENESS OF THE FRUIT ASIDE, do you guys think that a "sweeter" fruit would contain more calories?

For example, we have all purchased watermelons... some that are insanely juicy, red and sweet.... and others that are light pink and virtually flavorless. I don't think ripeness has anything to do with the melon... that's just how the fruit was grown! Would the former be filled with more naturally occurring sugars and calories?

Another example are strawberries... some strawberries in the same pint are super sweet, and some are super sour!! But the fruits are the same color, some level of ripeness, etc. So does the sweeter piece of fruit have more sugar than the not-so-sweet piece of fruit??

Not that the calories are way significant or anything, however as someone who has counted OVER A THOUSAND calories from fruit alone for years now (this is just how I have always eaten since I was a child)... I could be under counting or over counting every day and not even know it.

Thoughts? Comments? Opinions?
Thanks!

Replies

  • EmmaGilette
    EmmaGilette Posts: 13 Member
    Are you concerned about calorie content or sugar content?

    I'm not sure about the ripeness of the fruit and what impact this has on calories, but obviously the riper a piece of fruit is, the more sugar it has, due a chemical reaction (can't remember what it's called, as I'm not a scientists, just a foody:)

    For example, I know that "late harvest" wines are sweeter wines, which are made from grapes that are harvested after the normal harvest, and have therefore been left on the vine longer, to increase the sugar content; making a sweeter wine. They also have less alcohol content (i.e. 10% rather than the usual 13%) because the alcoholic component has turned to sugar. However, all wines are basically the same amount of calories (I think, I don't really drink them).

    To get back to fruit, if you are concerned about sugar, eat lower-sugar fruits, like:
    berries, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, apple, orange, peach, plum. Try looking at your sugars as well as calories to give you an idea of which ones are higher.

    Still not sure if the ripeness affects calories - perhaps google it? Let me know how you go!
  • thinnnnnnner
    thinnnnnnner Posts: 89
    That's really interesting to think about.

    I've never paid much attention to the sugar in fruits in general because that seems ridiculous unless you're diabetic or something.

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