Pineapple

MelBristol
MelBristol Posts: 63
in Food and Nutrition
I've just had half a pineapple for breakfast. 340 grams. Weighed it after cutting only the amount I actually ate. It was a chunky one and the biggest pineapple in the supermarket cause they sell them for £1 each :) What bugs me is it has 31grams of sugar and I'm already above the daily allowance. Mind you I also had 10gr of some honey on my toast. So what seemed to me a very healthy breakfast turned into a sugary bomb. Should I ditch the pineapple?! I'd be really sad to!

Replies

  • axialmeow
    axialmeow Posts: 382 Member
    If you don't have health issues like I do(insulin resistance, pcos, pre-diabetic) then I wouldn't worry about sugar. As long as it fits in your calorie limit it's ok.
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    Don't ditch it, just eat less of it. I find pineapple really sweet and satisfying in small amounts. Pineapple is a great health food, so better to eat the pineapple than a sugary treat with empty calories.
  • dorothytd
    dorothytd Posts: 1,138 Member
    Don't ditch it, just eat less of it. I find pineapple really sweet and satisfying in small amounts. Pineapple is a great health food, so better to eat the pineapple than a sugary treat with empty calories.

    Ditto! Maybe mix it with some berries. Or put some into yogurt....
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    Don't ditch all of it. Fruit in moderation is good I believe, but watch the insulin spikes if you want to get fitter and healthier.

    Personal trainer advice from the guys at UP Fitness:
    There’s no such thing as a fruit that is bad for you! But they aren’t optimal for fat loss & should be kept in moderation. Best fruits for health? Dark skinned berries. Best fruits that impact least on fat loss? Dark skinned berries. Pretty obvious choices really. (I would add some apples, bananas and oranges, BUT in moderation).

    A heck of a lot of would be dieters massively overeat fruit. Typically females. Our general advice is to steer clear of fruit if maximal fat loss is the goal.

    Dried fruits would be inadvisable because they are like the concentrated version of the fresh fruit - pretty much the sugar without the fibre or the water or much else. Hence easy to overeat. Also most contain sulfur dioxide (E220) which is a preservative (makes dried apricots bright orange when otherwise they'd be dull brown) that is best avoided.
  • ChristineS_51
    ChristineS_51 Posts: 872 Member
    Here in Australia they promote 2 fruit n 5 veg - check this for some ideas

    http://www.gofor2and5.com.au/

    Fruit does have a lot of sugar, some eg kiwi fruit, berries, are lower than others. If you go over in your sugar intake and it is not from straight cane sugar (or honey!) or processed stuff, most people on MFP think that's OK, as fruit has other benefits like vitamins, minerals, fibre, etc.

    It's all about balance, portion control. And the great thing about MFP is when you punch in your food you LEARN - planning ahead is good too, then you can see how much something is going to be and adjust if necessary.
  • briebear77
    briebear77 Posts: 253 Member
    I thought this thread was gonna be dirty...
  • tashaa1992
    tashaa1992 Posts: 658 Member
    I've just had half a pineapple for breakfast. 340 grams. Weighed it after cutting only the amount I actually ate. It was a chunky one and the biggest pineapple in the supermarket cause they sell them for £1 each :) What bugs me is it has 31grams of sugar and I'm already above the daily allowance. Mind you I also had 10gr of some honey on my toast. So what seemed to me a very healthy breakfast turned into a sugary bomb. Should I ditch the pineapple?! I'd be really sad to!
    The natural sugar in pineapples/fruit is ALOT better for your body than the added sugar in junk, so stick with the pineapple if it's what you enjoy:)
  • MelBristol
    MelBristol Posts: 63
    Thanks for all replies. Maybe I will try and eat 1 fruit in 4 days rather than 2. There will be a problem with keeping it though. It goes all brown and manky once it's cut and I hate throwing food or buying it prepared and boxed (too expensive and probably contains preservatives)
  • MelBristol
    MelBristol Posts: 63
    Don't ditch all of it. Fruit in moderation is good I believe, but watch the insulin spikes if you want to get fitter and healthier.

    Personal trainer advice from the guys at UP Fitness:
    There’s no such thing as a fruit that is bad for you! But they aren’t optimal for fat loss & should be kept in moderation. Best fruits for health? Dark skinned berries. Best fruits that impact least on fat loss? Dark skinned berries. Pretty obvious choices really. (I would add some apples, bananas and oranges, BUT in moderation).

    A heck of a lot of would be dieters massively overeat fruit. Typically females. Our general advice is to steer clear of fruit if maximal fat loss is the goal.

    Dried fruits would be inadvisable because they are like the concentrated version of the fresh fruit - pretty much the sugar without the fibre or the water or much else. Hence easy to overeat. Also most contain sulfur dioxide (E220) which is a preservative (makes dried apricots bright orange when otherwise they'd be dull brown) that is best avoided.

    Thanks a lot! Yes I know dried fruit isn't a very good choice. I buy 200gr (£2) of fresh blueberries coming from south america usually almost every week. Not the cheapest of fruit. Apples and grapefruit are the other 2 fruit that are always in my kitchen. I've seen some blackberries growing wild by the roads in my neighborhood and always wondered whether to pick some up one day. Are they safe to eat?
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    I'm no fruit picking expert but I think they should be fine.

    Also, fresh blueberries are very expensive (for my student budgets!), you can switch to frozen berries (my opinion 100%) as they are much cheaper and contain the benefits. Defrost them in the fridge, but remove the liquid that will be removed from the berries (very tempting to drink, but the sugar levels will be so high!).

    The texture of frozen berries isn't great, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper. Try it, if you don't like them, get fresh! :)
  • Peteshaped
    Peteshaped Posts: 37 Member
    There will be a problem with keeping it though. It goes all brown and manky once it's cut and I hate throwing food or buying it prepared and boxed (too expensive and probably contains preservatives)

    My understanding is you have two options. You can store it in juice (or I guess water with some lemon juice in it to preserve it a little) in the fridge in a sealed box and it will last for like 5 or so days after being cut. Or, put it in some juice and freeze it, that will make it last longer, but will impact the flavour a little I guess.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
    You're pineapple should last at least a week in the fridge. Why is your's going bad so quickly?
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    I've just had half a pineapple for breakfast. 340 grams. Weighed it after cutting only the amount I actually ate. It was a chunky one and the biggest pineapple in the supermarket cause they sell them for £1 each :) What bugs me is it has 31grams of sugar and I'm already above the daily allowance. Mind you I also had 10gr of some honey on my toast. So what seemed to me a very healthy breakfast turned into a sugary bomb. Should I ditch the pineapple?! I'd be really sad to!

    It's your portion control that is the issue, a UK portion is 80g which only contains 8g-10g sugar. It's healthier to eat a wide variety of different fruits and veggies so that you get a wide range of vitamins and antioxidants. Instead of serving carbs with carbs maybe eat your fruit with plain Greek yoghurt, low fat soft cheese, eggs, nuts or seeds?

    My fresh pineapples last fine in the refrigerator but I don't cut it all up into little bits, just a wedge off leaving the remainder in one or two large chunks with the core in and skin on. Then cling film/ saran wrap it to keep the air off. Frozen mixed berries can be very reasonable, Tesco have Country Store at £1.40 for 500g for example. Fresh plums, kiwis and canned red grapefruit are all reasonably priced per 80g serving and also low in sugar.
  • MariFitBody
    MariFitBody Posts: 287 Member
    I've just had half a pineapple for breakfast. 340 grams. Weighed it after cutting only the amount I actually ate. It was a chunky one and the biggest pineapple in the supermarket cause they sell them for £1 each :) What bugs me is it has 31grams of sugar and I'm already above the daily allowance. Mind you I also had 10gr of some honey on my toast. So what seemed to me a very healthy breakfast turned into a sugary bomb. Should I ditch the pineapple?! I'd be really sad to!

    This is the way I see it. I would much rather have eaten the sugar that came from fruit the sugar then the one that came from that huge chocolate cake or that doughnut. I would just eat less of it next time and ditch the honey on toast or Vice Versa. Get it?
  • Madholm
    Madholm Posts: 167
    I love the stuff, but it's very sweet so I tend to eat only a ring or two at a time since. No need to cut out any fruits IMO just eat proper portions within your goals like you would any other food. Try mixing them with berries as the others have stated to lower the calories of the dish. An added benefit of mixing it is that there is evidence suggesting very small portions of many different items satisfies your desire to eat much faster than a lot of a single item.

    Example of mixing it up for the same calories with much more balanced protien, carbs and fat.

    100g of pineapple
    50g of blueberries
    100g of strawberries
    50g of low fat feta cheese with the fruit

    1 egg
    1 slice of toast with butter
  • leska1216
    leska1216 Posts: 260
    There will be a problem with keeping it though. It goes all brown and manky once it's cut and I hate throwing food or buying it prepared and boxed (too expensive and probably contains preservatives)

    My understanding is you have two options. You can store it in juice (or I guess water with some lemon juice in it to preserve it a little) in the fridge in a sealed box and it will last for like 5 or so days after being cut. Or, put it in some juice and freeze it, that will make it last longer, but will impact the flavour a little I guess.

    If you peel, core, and slice the pineapple and put into storage containers (plastic or glass) the fruit does not change colour. I keep my pineapple for over a week and it does not go bad.

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