Fruit

racheyanne1
racheyanne1 Posts: 50
edited September 23 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone. So I've been eating fruit - like fresh pineapple, organic green and red apples. They're about 80 calories but lots of sugar. I'm concerned b/c when I eat the fruit, I go over my sugar. But I'm wondering if fruit is bad sugar or good sugar? IDK....I dont want to cut fruits out of my diet b/c they're good for you. I only have two servings a day.

Replies

  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    for me, fruit is still a bad sugar--because it elevates my blood sugar levels, and then crashes fast, making me hungry and craving more sugar--so I stay away from them.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Personally I don't worry about going over my sugar with natural sugars. When I pig out on candy maybe or have something like that, but with fruit, I just don't see why I should restrict those sugars (I'm sure there's reasons, but they don't affect my weight loss and have yet to affect my health, so I just go with it- can't stress about every little thing)
  • dnt3
    dnt3 Posts: 1
    The natural sugar in fruit is combined with the fiber in fruit so it will give you energy withougt feeling the "crash". Eating fruit will not put weight on you, it is the sugar in candy and the carbs in processed foods that are bad.
  • dihardcheer86
    dihardcheer86 Posts: 67
    Unless you have issues with blood sugar levels, fruit sugar is better than things that contain (granulated) sugar. Granulated sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc are refined sugars--harder for your body to digest, and have no nutritional value, which is why they were at the top of the old food pyramid (LIMIT THEM as well as fats). But fruits have basic sugars (natural) that bodies are able to digest and use. A lot of fruits have fiber, which helps you feel fuller :)

    If you do want to sweeten things like cereal, greek yogurt, smoothies, reach for honey or molasses because those are (a few) of the natural sweeteners most people have on hand.

    I hope that helps!
  • olpbabe
    olpbabe Posts: 89
    Good sugar! Fruit sugar is something known as FRUCTOSE

    Fructose is broken down by the body slowly and is converted into
    SUCROSE and GLYCOGEN. Fructose is often recommended for, and consumed
    by, people with diabetes mellitus or hypoglycemia, because it has a
    very low Glycemic Index (GI 23) relative to cane sugar."

    Sucrose (common name: table sugar) is a
    disaccharide (glucose + fructose).

    There are differences between the different sugars. When we eat
    sucrose, our bodies quickly break it down into roughly equal parts of
    glucose and fructose. Glucose is the sugar our bodies use for both
    physical and mental energy. When our bodies sense an increase of
    glucose in the blood, it immediately directs the pancreas to push
    insulin into the blood stream. With the insulin, the body is able to
    burn the glucose as energy. If there's too much glucose in the blood
    stream to be used as energy, the glucose can be changed to glycogen,
    the body's short-term storage energy supply. And if the glycogen pool
    is already full, the body will turn it into long term storage in the
    form of fat.

    Different blood-sugar effects possible after
    eating a high concentration of sucrose sugar.

    http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/751591.html


    Thus, if you eat too much of the sucrose, your body will change it into glycogen, and if that is full already, your body will store it into fat. So, eat the fruits!
  • salmonpi
    salmonpi Posts: 16
    I know pineapple has a particularly high glycemic index, so you might want to think about swapping it for something else, like oranges, from time to time. If you're only having 2 servings a day I wouldn't worry about restricting it any more. People who eat more than 4 servings are the onces who need to think about cutting back.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
    I have come to the concustion that sugar is sugar....I know the weight comes off easier if I limit myself to 50-60g/day and that is very easy to hit with 2 servings of fruit, a serving or 2 of dairy, and some veggies. When I go over on that #, the scale stalls. Doesn't seem to matter where the sugar comes from. And for the most part, all of my sugar is "natural."

    And while most people think of honey, molasses and agave as "natural," they are still processed and considered added sugars, since they do not occur "naturally" in foods like the sugar in fruit, dairy or veggies. As a result, they would count toward added sugar.

    An actual "serving" of fruit as defined by the FDA is much smaller than you would think:

    •One medium-sized fruit (such as apples, oranges, bananas, pears)
    •1/2 cup of raw, cooked, canned or frozen fruits
    •3/4 cup (6 oz.) of 100% fruit or vegetable juice
    •1/2 cup cut-up fruit
    •1/4 cup dried fruit (such as raisins, apricots, mango)

    I have been trying to reach for veggies instead of fruit when I want a little something to nosh on, but in a pinch, if I really want something sweet, a piece of fruit is still one of the best options out there.
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
    Glycemic load is the concern but don't worry, there aren't many fruits that are high glycemic load. When you get into dried fruit you start to have issues. And yes, even fruit can cause some people sugar issues. Some can mitigate those issues by eating proteins and fats before the fruit., but others just have to stay away. There's always exceptions of people at each end of the extremes. For the rest of us, it pretty much works the same for us all.


    A link on Glycemix Index and Load. Glycemic Index is irrelevant, it's glycemic load is the issue. Pineapple is low glycemic load(high GI but doesn't matter). The article explains.

    http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
  • Lakerlady5747
    Lakerlady5747 Posts: 77 Member
    It is so important that you get enough veggies AND fruits in your diet! Yes, fruits can be high in sugars, but fruits are also very good for you and have a lot of good nutrients. I wouldn't stress about the amount of sugar you get from fruit -- I think it's more important to track the amount of sugar you get from processed foods. Keep eating the fresh fruits!
  • shreddingit
    shreddingit Posts: 1,133 Member
    you can get the same benefits in other foods and even supplements. Choose small fruits and if your eating only 2 servings like you say you should be ok, your probably going over because of other things. If your trying to lose weight you can do without for a while and then resume when you feel your at a good point.
  • maggieschuck
    maggieschuck Posts: 174
    Go to Mypyramid.com to get more ideas of good fruits. Click on the food group and it tell you the portion size and how to swap fruits out for better fruits. Look your fruit up on the Glycemic Index to see who quickly it turns to sugar. Go for the low GI foods.
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