Too much sugar from fruit?!

imperthn
imperthn Posts: 4
edited January 4 in Food and Nutrition
Hello,

I eat REALLY healthily. Absolute tons for fresh fruit and veg, cook everything from scratch and as a vegan I'm very conscious about getting the right nutrients.

I usually eat a couple hundred calories under my target, but fat is always under, protein, iron and calcium are always over (so please no inevitable comments about vegans protein blah blah) but my problem is sugar. Apart from my pita or pasta, all my sugar and carbs are from fruit and veggies, and my fruit is always WAY over my daily target.

I'm very concerned as surely this would turn into fat, or be bad for my metabolism etc.. etc.. Or maybe it's a different "kind" of sugar. I have no idea. I feel i eat really healthily, and my weight is falling off and i'm so much more fit and awake, but the red number for sugar always concerns me.

Any light shed would be great.
Thanks.
Jake

Replies

  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    No worries, fruit is great for you. :)
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
    Quit measuring sugar. If it's not refined sugar and you are on track otherwise, don't worry about it. Lots of other more important nutrients.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
    Unless you are a diabetic, fructose is fine. Ignore the red. :-)
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    I've recently gone from low carbing (and being very strict on sugars generally) to eating a fair amount of fruit daily (work provides it, it's tasty and it would be rude not to).

    I've seen no adverse effects on weight loss progress or a return of cravings, etc.

    Probably benefitted from a bit more fibre if anything ...
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
    Get rid of the sugar and look at it from a carbs perspective.. the way it was explained to me is there are 5 levels..

    1- Simple sugars - Candy/Soda - WORST
    2- Simple-Starch - Cake
    3- Starch - Potatos/White bread - MEDIUM
    4- Complex Starch - Wheat bread
    5- Complex Sugars - Fruits/Veggies - BEST

    If all of your carb/sugars come from category 4-5 then your body is taking longer to digest and therefore not storing everything// is more likely to use it as you need it. Make sure however you are staying balanced and protein is close to carbs.

    If however you are eating from 1-3 then your body is burning through these quickly and it's going straight to storage bc it can't burn it as fast as you get it.

    My nutritionist explained it that way too me.. never made sense to me before, so I hope that helps you :)
  • finchase
    finchase Posts: 174
    Fruit provides so many other benefits, I wouldn't worry about the additional carbs. As someone else pointed out, it's refined sugars that are you real enemy, not the natural sugar from fruit. Since you said you are a vegan, I'm assuming that you already stay away from the dried fruits that sometimes have additional sugar added.
  • roeann53
    roeann53 Posts: 124 Member
    Sorry, but I have to disagree here, in part, I think that too much of a good thing can still be bad for you.. Years ago my sugar levels crept into the diabetic range. However, I am not a soda drinker etc. the culpret was fruit and fruit juices. I cut back on fruit and my sugar levels went back into the normal range. Having said that, in your case, unless you are having a problem with your sugar/insulin levels I would suspect you probably don't have anything to worry about.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    I was always over on my sugar so I got rid of it on my database and added vitamins and nutrients. I was OVER every darn day BTW......
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    if you want to be a vegan and want to understand the best way to eat with that lifestyle (or any dietary choices really) then I would respectfully suggest that you do some real research rather than rely on the advice from a group of people that cannot agree on whether to drink diet coke or not

    eating a "ton" of fruit is not a good idea (IMO)

    fruit has its advantages but there is no great advantage from over doing fruit or over doing any other "healthy" food
  • imperthn
    imperthn Posts: 4
    Thank you to everyones comments. It was what I was hoping for (and predicted) but I just wanted to check I wasn't doing myself any damage.

    I'll remove the 'sugar' section on here, but just make sure I don't over do it!
  • imperthn
    imperthn Posts: 4
    "if you want to be a vegan and want to understand the best way to eat with that lifestyle (or any dietary choices really) then I would respectfully suggest that you do some real research rather than rely on the advice from a group of people that cannot agree on whether to drink diet coke or not

    eating a "ton" of fruit is not a good idea (IMO)

    fruit has its advantages but there is no great advantage from over doing fruit or over doing any other "healthy" food"

    I do understand, and by 'ton' I really mean eating maybe 3 or 4 portions of fruit a day. I've done plenty of research and everything has contradicted each other, this was just another medium in which to ponder.
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    Hard to answer based on the limited info, but on average, how much does the red number indicate you are over? Are any of your fruits dried? If so, that is considered refined and has a lot of simple sugars. Do you work out? Any excess sugar not burned will be converted and stored as fat.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    Any excess sugar not burned will be converted and stored as fat.

    only if you are consistently in a caloric surplus overall
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    Sorry, but I have to disagree here, in part, I think that too much of a good thing can still be bad for you.. Years ago my sugar levels crept into the diabetic range. However, I am not a soda drinker etc. the culpret was fruit and fruit juices. I cut back on fruit and my sugar levels went back into the normal range. Having said that, in your case, unless you are having a problem with your sugar/insulin levels I would suspect you probably don't have anything to worry about.

    I agree that too much of a good thing can be bad and your caution has validity.

    Also be aware that any food source that has been altered is considered a refined food, such as 100% fruit juice - and that was probably the cause of your high sugar levels, as fruit juice is almost all a simple sugar.
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    Any excess sugar not burned will be converted and stored as fat.

    only if you are consistently in a caloric surplus overall

    Im not sure I follow you; please explain.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    Any excess sugar not burned will be converted and stored as fat.

    only if you are consistently in a caloric surplus overall

    Im not sure I follow you; please explain.

    if you are eating with a caloric deficit overall, nothing, including sugar, will be stored as fat...there is no fat storage taking place unless you are eating more calories than your TDEE
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    Any excess sugar not burned will be converted and stored as fat.

    only if you are consistently in a caloric surplus overall

    Im not sure I follow you; please explain.

    if you are eating with a caloric deficit overall, nothing, including sugar, will be stored as fat...there is no fat storage taking place unless you are eating more calories than your TDEE

    Of course.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    Get rid of the sugar and look at it from a carbs perspective.. the way it was explained to me is there are 5 levels..

    1- Simple sugars - Candy/Soda - WORST
    2- Simple-Starch - Cake
    3- Starch - Potatos/White bread - MEDIUM
    4- Complex Starch - Wheat bread
    5- Complex Sugars - Fruits/Veggies - BEST

    If all of your carb/sugars come from category 4-5 then your body is taking longer to digest and therefore not storing everything// is more likely to use it as you need it. Make sure however you are staying balanced and protein is close to carbs.

    If however you are eating from 1-3 then your body is burning through these quickly and it's going straight to storage bc it can't burn it as fast as you get it.

    My nutritionist explained it that way too me.. never made sense to me before, so I hope that helps you :)

    noooooooo, just no.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    Get rid of the sugar and look at it from a carbs perspective.. the way it was explained to me is there are 5 levels..

    1- Simple sugars - Candy/Soda - WORST
    2- Simple-Starch - Cake
    3- Starch - Potatos/White bread - MEDIUM
    4- Complex Starch - Wheat bread
    5- Complex Sugars - Fruits/Veggies - BEST

    If all of your carb/sugars come from category 4-5 then your body is taking longer to digest and therefore not storing everything// is more likely to use it as you need it. Make sure however you are staying balanced and protein is close to carbs.

    If however you are eating from 1-3 then your body is burning through these quickly and it's going straight to storage bc it can't burn it as fast as you get it.

    My nutritionist explained it that way too me.. never made sense to me before, so I hope that helps you :)

    noooooooo, just no.

    double no

    you need a new nutritionist or you didnt listen properly
  • CalJur
    CalJur Posts: 627 Member
    natural sugar from fruit is fine. it is the added sugar you need to worry about.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    sounds ok to me. if you are worried get some bloodwork done and see a nutritionist.

    oh and:

    30742877.jpg

    lets not get into that *kitten* again.
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
    Get rid of the sugar and look at it from a carbs perspective.. the way it was explained to me is there are 5 levels..

    1- Simple sugars - Candy/Soda - WORST
    2- Simple-Starch - Cake
    3- Starch - Potatos/White bread - MEDIUM
    4- Complex Starch - Wheat bread
    5- Complex Sugars - Fruits/Veggies - BEST

    If all of your carb/sugars come from category 4-5 then your body is taking longer to digest and therefore not storing everything// is more likely to use it as you need it. Make sure however you are staying balanced and protein is close to carbs.

    If however you are eating from 1-3 then your body is burning through these quickly and it's going straight to storage bc it can't burn it as fast as you get it.

    My nutritionist explained it that way too me.. never made sense to me before, so I hope that helps you :)

    noooooooo, just no.

    double no

    you need a new nutritionist or you didnt listen properly

    What part is no? Vague/rude answers do nothing for anyone.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    Get rid of the sugar and look at it from a carbs perspective.. the way it was explained to me is there are 5 levels..

    1- Simple sugars - Candy/Soda - WORST
    2- Simple-Starch - Cake
    3- Starch - Potatos/White bread - MEDIUM
    4- Complex Starch - Wheat bread
    5- Complex Sugars - Fruits/Veggies - BEST

    If all of your carb/sugars come from category 4-5 then your body is taking longer to digest and therefore not storing everything// is more likely to use it as you need it. Make sure however you are staying balanced and protein is close to carbs.

    If however you are eating from 1-3 then your body is burning through these quickly and it's going straight to storage bc it can't burn it as fast as you get it.

    My nutritionist explained it that way too me.. never made sense to me before, so I hope that helps you :)

    noooooooo, just no.

    double no

    you need a new nutritionist or you didnt listen properly

    What part is no? Vague/rude answers do nothing for anyone.

    the no part is that your advice is not actually about sugar, but what the sugar is packaged in.

    if you eat a tablespoon of sugar or a banana, they both have the same sugar content, it just so happens that the banana will fill you up.


    sugar is sugar. your nutritionist dumbed it down for you.
  • mllst18
    mllst18 Posts: 188 Member
    No worries, I asked my dietician about this and he said that the only sugar you have to worry about is added sugar like high fructose corn syrup. Obviously fruit doesn't have any of this. He said the only time you would have to worry about the sugar content of fruit is if you are already diabetic or prediabetic. Eat away!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Get rid of the sugar and look at it from a carbs perspective.. the way it was explained to me is there are 5 levels..

    1- Simple sugars - Candy/Soda - WORST
    2- Simple-Starch - Cake
    3- Starch - Potatos/White bread - MEDIUM
    4- Complex Starch - Wheat bread
    5- Complex Sugars - Fruits/Veggies - BEST

    If all of your carb/sugars come from category 4-5 then your body is taking longer to digest and therefore not storing everything// is more likely to use it as you need it. Make sure however you are staying balanced and protein is close to carbs.

    If however you are eating from 1-3 then your body is burning through these quickly and it's going straight to storage bc it can't burn it as fast as you get it.

    My nutritionist explained it that way too me.. never made sense to me before, so I hope that helps you :)

    There's a valid reason to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables but it really has a whole lot more to do with nutrient density then it has to do with rates at which carbs convert to glucose.

    In a calorie deficit, even if you eat all rapidly digesting carbs, any possible acute fat storage that may occur is going to be offset by fat oxidation when insulin drops back down.

    There certainly may be behavioral/preferential reasons to limit fast digesting carbs, but net fat storage is not one of them. I personally could care less about the rate at which I'm digesting food and I don't bother to pay attention to gylcemic index either, since it's irrelevant.

    Here's some quality info:
    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319

    (Aside: If I were an endurance athlete competing in multiple glycogen depleting events in a single day, I'd be very concerned with carb digestion for glycogen replenishment).
  • evolutioner
    evolutioner Posts: 30
    I try to be more of a raw vegan and im doing a fruit based diet right now with some veggies every now and then, i feel amazing, I'm more alert , focused, stronger, flexible joints, eyesight is more clearer and other stuff too. I haven't gained any fat from it in fact i lost weight from it actually but I do combine it with Intermittent Fasting and Water Fasting on and off so that balances me out. Try some form of fasting with it, it's not hard it just another form disciplining yourself much like being a vegan and abstaining from eating animals and animal products.

    Some resources on vegan athletes:

    http://www.greatveganathletes.com/

    http://www.veganstrength.org/

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT06I7BGcLw

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdbCK1kWbDM&list=UUP8wqLAt5qYMmOwMB7-mvTQ&index=2&feature=plcp
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