No Fruit???

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carcar03
carcar03 Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Why can't I eat fruit without blowing my daily sugar intake?!

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  • LMac423
    LMac423 Posts: 82
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    They're natural sugars, not refined so it's not bad. I wouldn't worry about it!
  • mummum2
    mummum2 Posts: 415 Member
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    Agree, don't worry about it! it's all good sugar in fruits!
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,738 Member
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    I don't worry about sugar intake, unless I'm eating a lot of refined foods. The nice thing about fruit is that it has fiber, which counteracts some of that sugar.
  • AnneFordham
    AnneFordham Posts: 12
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    I was wondering about this too, I eat about 2 or 3 pieces of fruit a day, but do not bother to add them to my food diary, and then I saw an advert on here telling me I should not be eating bananas! Why?

    Perhaps there is someone more knowledgeable about these things that can explain how fruit fits into a healthy eating diet.

    I was always told fruit is good for you and that it makes up part of our 5 a day.
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
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    I was wondering about this too, I eat about 2 or 3 pieces of fruit a day, but do not bother to add them to my food diary, and then I saw an advert on here telling me I should not be eating bananas! Why?

    Perhaps there is someone more knowledgeable about these things that can explain how fruit fits into a healthy eating diet.

    I was always told fruit is good for you and that it makes up part of our 5 a day.

    The ads are not controlled by (or endorsed by) MFP. They are automatically generated by an outside service. MFP has to have ads in order to be able to pay for itself. Just ignore them -- like any other ad you'd see on TV, they are just trying to sell you something.
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
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    PS - fruit *is* good for you. :)
  • 6Pk2Go
    6Pk2Go Posts: 105
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    They're natural sugars and shouldn't be lumped into the same category, however, I still use it as a guide and try to consume low G.I. fruits and limit servings. In my 6-8 Fruit & Veggie servings I try to limit fruit to 2 and get the rest from Veggies. Apples, Strawberries, and Pears are examples of low G.I. low sugar fruits. High G.I. examples are grapes (one of my favorites), Bananas, and many others. Prior to taking this approach I would consume 3-5 fruit servings a day with the theory that nobody ever got fat on fruit, I was having trouble making progress toward my goal so adopted this limitation on fruits and have since seen success.
  • CatchThatKitten
    CatchThatKitten Posts: 47
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    In the old weight watchers program, they let you have fruit and veggies for "Free" (didn't have to count them) as long as they were unadulterated (No butter, salt, etc). The exceptions to the rule were starchy fruits and veggies, like corn and potatoes. I know I personally won't spend my calories on produce as long as I have another option, so I follow the Weight Watchers rule. At the very least, I won't contract scurvy :laugh: !
  • marie111
    marie111 Posts: 91 Member
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    I eat alot of fruit as well and i take no notice of the suger levels in them because they are healthy sugars so i just mentally deduct the sugar in fruit from the total in the sugar catagory
  • NutritionDivaRD
    NutritionDivaRD Posts: 467 Member
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    The sugar in fruits is fructose which is a monosaccharide...the basic foundation of important carbohydrates. Fruits offer an abundance of essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants! They are considered a "nutrient dense" food and they SHOULD be a part of your daily diet! Fresh fruits are best! You can't eat all the fruits you want though, it is still important to keep to the proper portion sizes.

    When choosing fruits, please be mindful of portion sizes and keep servings to 2 - 3 per day (1 - 2 per day is great!). A few basic thoughts regarding portion sizes are that apples and oranges should be about the size of a tennis ball (stay away from the super sized fruits....they are much more than a portion size), a serving of strawberries or grapes should be about the size of your fist (a cup), a banana should be approximately 5 inches or less, pears about the size of a light bulb.

    Berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries) have lower amounts of fructose than do other fruits. Bananas, pears, and grapes have higher amounts. A portion size of berries is an entire cup! So you get more bang for your buck. MFP does not distinguish between natural sugars and added sugars. Fruits are an essential component to a healthy and balanced diet.

    One last tip before I go, always pair your fruits with a source of protein (cheese cubes, peanut butter, nuts) as this keeps your blood sugar more stabilized. :)

    Hope this helps!

    P.S. Here is an article written by a colleague that you may find helpful and insightful about fruits and carbs. Keep in mind that this is written by a registered dietitian, who is considered the nutrition expert by professionals. It isn't just written by a journalist (something you should always consider when reading information about nutrition). http://www.active.com/women/Articles/Top_10_energy_foods__Carbs_athletes_should_love.htm?cmp=17-7-365
  • carcar03
    carcar03 Posts: 23 Member
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    Thanks so much everyone!! I do understand fruits are great for you and they contain natural sugars. However, in these past few weeks i've been cutting back in an attempt to stay within my daily goals. I feel much better now! *SIGH*
  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
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    They're natural sugars and shouldn't be lumped into the same category, however, I still use it as a guide and try to consume low G.I. fruits and limit servings. In my 6-8 Fruit & Veggie servings I try to limit fruit to 2 and get the rest from Veggies. Apples, Strawberries, and Pears are examples of low G.I. low sugar fruits. High G.I. examples are grapes (one of my favorites), Bananas, and many others. Prior to taking this approach I would consume 3-5 fruit servings a day with the theory that nobody ever got fat on fruit, I was having trouble making progress toward my goal so adopted this limitation on fruits and have since seen success.

    My experience is somewhat similar. I wanted to cut sugar from my diet. My understanding (still learning about all this) is that there isn't any nutrients you can get from fruits that you can't get from vegetables -- except for more sugar (generally speaking), In the past, I used fruit as an excuse to not eat my veggies. I don't think it's going to be a permanent rule for me, but cutting fruits, eating more green veggies etc instead has helped the weight loss for me. I do plan on slowly adding low G.I. fruits back to my diet. Probably overkill on my part.

    Experiences and opinions on this topic will vary.

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