How much fruit do you eat?

SueSee
SueSee Posts: 65
edited September 25 in Food and Nutrition
I take a print out of my daily food diary to my Dr. each week for advice. This last week she told me that fruit had lots of sugar, and not to eat very much of it, maybe one fruit a day. Without fruit, I'll have a hard time getting my snacks in, and making my calories. She was pushing green vegetables, which have almost no calorie value.

So how much fruit to you eat? I think I need fruits for the nutrition, even though they have sugar, it's natural sugar. I don't eat any other sugars at all. What should I do?

Replies

  • missy1970eb
    missy1970eb Posts: 1,209 Member
    only 1 piece a day, sometimes 2
  • Christin09
    Christin09 Posts: 143 Member
    I don't eat any fruit. Your Dr. is right it is VERY high in sugar and thats why I stay away from it. I find that when I have fruit it makes me feel like I am STARVING immediately after eating it which isn't good.

    Some other snack options would be Almonds, yogurt (watch the sugar here too), hummus with your veggies the options are endless
  • Balishdear
    Balishdear Posts: 60
    I eat a lot more fruit now that I found my hand held blender! I have a homemade smoothie without any added sugar every single day.
  • Black_Swan
    Black_Swan Posts: 770 Member
    I think that one fruit per day is perfectly ok. I am not pro-no-fruit. I eat usually one fruit a day and I count it - but for snacks its true that veggies are with less calories and should help you keep your calorie count low.
  • nancymmorris
    nancymmorris Posts: 310
    I only eat 1 maybe 2 fruits per day.
  • Melissaol
    Melissaol Posts: 948 Member
    I eat a half of an apple
    Hand full of nuts
    Low fat string cheese..
  • cindy859
    cindy859 Posts: 99 Member
    I eat a cup of fruit a day but hey if you love it and it is working for you then why stop? Aa long as you keep losing the weight you want to it is obviously not hurting. Good luck!
  • elainecroft
    elainecroft Posts: 595 Member
    I eat a lot of fruit - 2 servings for breakfast and at least 2 more during the day. I know it is high in sugar but it is natural sugar - 100 calories of apple is a LOT better for you than 100 calories of cookies! Green veggies are great, but for me I try to eat a lot of fruits and veggies and don't worry about sugar from those sources.

    In my opinion, the bottom line is whats best for your health. Some people really need to keep total sugar down, but otherwise fruits are a really great way to keep healthy!
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I only eat fruits as dessert. 2-3 servings/day, pretty much after every meal. :wink:
  • sweetsunlover
    sweetsunlover Posts: 62
    i eat lots of fruit yes it does have alot of sugar but its has a lot of goodness to and so much better for you than a chocolate bar sweets etc . and we all need a bit of sugar in our diets too
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    I'm not a fruit fan so very very little unless watermelon are in season. I think in the past year i've had 4-6 apples, 2 grapefruit, 1 satsuma, a few grapes but lots of watermelons! I do eat a lot of veg...around 300 calories a day in cabbage, broccoli, green beans and cauliflower.
  • sauza
    sauza Posts: 159 Member
    check out the gracie family diet (I think you can find it under gracie academy) these people have been consuming fruits for like 6 generations now. Their diet is balanced by the way, but they consume much more fruit than your md is suggesting. I have begun to add gracie type smoothies to my diet and it has done nothing but improve my condtion. But...if anyone has information and the history to back it up, these people do....have a look and see what you think
  • lcoulter23
    lcoulter23 Posts: 568 Member
    I eat a lot of fruit. The sugars it contains are natural so they don't affect your blood sugar the same way that processed sugars do. Plus, you are supposed to eat 3 to 5 servings of fruits a day plus your 3 to 5 of veggies. Also, remember that tomatoes are technically fruits and they don't have much sugar in them as they only have 4 g of carbs.
  • salcala
    salcala Posts: 19
    The amount of fruit you need depends on your daily calorie intake. Fruit does have a lot of sugar but it's still important to get in the right amount. It has it's own category on the food pyramid, meaning there is not substitue for fruit. I usually stay around 1200 calories and mypyramid.gov, the website with the food pyramid information, suggests I eat 1 cup a day.

    Take a look at their website. If you have been counting calories for a while and need a way to adjust your diet this is a great resource!
  • jonquilrose710
    jonquilrose710 Posts: 14
    I love fruit myself and I have been eating a lot of it too. I feel so much healthier than I did before when I was dieting and ate no fruit. I think everyone is right it has a lot of sugar but there are some fruits that don't have as much such a peaches and strawberries. I feel its ok because it is natural sugar like you said and you're getting so many healthy vitamins from them. But that's just me! ;-)
  • anzura
    anzura Posts: 171
    I only eat fruit that is in season and I listen to my body. When it's orange season, I'm usually craving it and can down 2 in less than a minute! Isn't it odd that orange season is also cold season?? When it's grape season, my body usually has a craving for the first few weeks and then it's over. I don't buy anything from another country and only buy local. I believe when you adjust your body to the seasons, it will tell you how much fruit to eat. Sometimes I'll go a week without anything. Bananas and other tropical fruit are a different story for me. They are not local ...I eat them rarely. I do the same for veggies. Local, in season.
  • cjnorman
    cjnorman Posts: 93
    Time to add nuts. I love celery with peanut butter. I found some lemon infused almonds that are just addictive.

    If you have insulin issues sugar is sugar. But it's still best to get your sugar only from fruit.

    When I was going sugar free to kill the yeast in my intestines carrots were my sugar source. They start tasting like candy after a while.
  • ftoddw
    ftoddw Posts: 37 Member
    I eat lots of fruit (even a half banana now and again - gasp) every day. Each day - About two or three navel oranges one or two grapefruits and a couple of apples. I also add frozen fruit to my smoothies. I'm way over my sugar but at or under my calories each day and have lost 31 pounds in the last 35 days. I'm just a fruit guy, but I work out pretty hard 5 or 6 times a week.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    I eat fruit at breakfast (grapefruit, 0.25 banana, and blueberries), usually half of an apple, pear or other fruit in season after lunch, and also after dinner, specially strawberries. I also use some of it in my protein smoothie

    I love fruit, and I am not giving it up. I don't eat bake goods, sweets or ice cream so I don't mind the natural sugar from fruits. The only problem is that sometimes it makes me "too regular," so when that happens, then I slow down for few days.
  • ladybug4233
    ladybug4233 Posts: 217 Member
    I suffer from fructose malabsorption so too much fruit or the wrong fruit caused intestinal upset so I eat about 1/2 of a banana or a 1/4 cup of berries a day. I love oranges but I was getting sick a lot and that was something I was eating so I quit. I tend to suffer the consequence for a peach or plum in season.

    Candie
  • taletreader
    taletreader Posts: 377 Member
    Unless there's a specific reason to watch your sugar (metabolic issues such as diabetes, digestive issues...), I'm only watching overall carbs, which I try to keep at about 45-50% of my calorie intake of the day.

    It is true that many fruits have a lot of sugar (though berries and melons etc aren't very high), but they also contain a lot of fiber and vitamins, and do NOT package the sugar with fat.

    I try to get 5-7 portions a day of fruit & vegetables, with 2-3 fruit.

    Also, while it might be in some sense "good for you" to replace a portion of fruit with a portion of vegetables, it is *also* good for you to replace a serving of cake or desert or cookies with a price of fruit.
  • mpfand
    mpfand Posts: 98 Member
    I eat 1-2 servings a day. I love fruit and it helps curb my sugar cravings.
  • MirandaJayne
    MirandaJayne Posts: 600 Member
    I wouldn't worry about the sugar in fruit. This isn't the same sugar as your overly refined vitamin/mineral devoid white sugar, this is earths natural sugar. How can something that comes straight from nature be bad for us.

    I'm about to finish my schooling in Holistic Nutrition, and if I can offer any advice it would be not to be scared of food that grows from the ground and we eat it as is.

    If you are looking to manage blood sugars in the case of diabetes or hypoglycemia, then I would recommend yes watching your fruit intake, however dont be scare of them and cut them out completely.

    There is also a good way to snack on fruits to avoid the highs and lows of sugars. Stay away from your extra sweet fruits early in the day when you are trying to regulate your blood sugar the most (i.e. banana's mango), and eat crunchier fruits and veggies in the moning. I know I had a hard time with the idea of carrots, cucumber, broccoli and cauliflower as morning snacks, but they are great for managing your blood sugar. Apples, pears, a cup of strawberries or a1/3 cup of raspberries in the morning is A.Ok.

    Save your higher sugared frutis like bananas, mangos and oranges for later in the day(snack before dinner) when your blood sugars have leveled out, and you aren't going to come down from a sugar high and completely crash.

    Message me for more information if you want.

    ~ M ~
  • glendadykstra
    glendadykstra Posts: 24
    I hate to say it, but the only time I eat fruit raw is when we have braeburn apples or tangelos and that is maybe a couple of times a month. My snacks of choice as the ones my doctor would flay me for. Dill pickles, carrots, sherbert, and pretzels. "grimace' the sodium is outrageous as well as the carbs. <shrug> I gave up all but one soda a day for this. (Oh yeah, add celery with cream cheese on a rare occasion) I gave up and 'orange' cheeses, I won't eat most breads. Whole grain with actual grains that you can see and home baked.

    I am choosing a life style of less fat, less carbs than I used to eat, and a lot more exercize.. I am happy with this. :)
  • angela828
    angela828 Posts: 498 Member
    I eat 1 small banana each morning usually and either half a apple or half a orange. I tend to keep them half because it makes my fruit last longer during the week and I don't have to buy as much. But after reading all this stuff about fruit having too much sugar I may take a break and just stick my banana OR half a apple OR half a orange.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories