Fruit and sugars

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MrsSecri
MrsSecri Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If the majority of your sugar is coming from fruit, are you ok? Every day I have 1/2 cup blueberries for breakfast, an apple for morning snack, an orange for afternoon snack and 1/2 cup of a mixed fruit salad for dinner. In looking at my logs, the other food I eat is low in sugar. Am I wrong to each this fruit? I know you are supposed to get 3-4 servings of fruit every day.
Thanks for any advice.

Replies

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    You're fine. The sugar goals are for added sugars.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    No, you are supposed to get 5-10 servings of vegetables and fruits a day. If you are getting too much sugar, switch the balance away from fruits and toward eating more vegetables, especially green vegetables. You could also choose not to eat fruits like oranges which are extremely high in sugar.

    If you are diabetic, have PCOS or any other metabolic issues, you definitely should not be eating so much fruit.

    If you don't have any health issues...well, there is much very spirited and sometimes quite nasty debate about that on this forum. Some of us argue that sugar is sugar since it ends up doing the same thing once your body breaks it down. Others argue that fruit sugars somehow, magically, do not "count" since they come with good fiber and vitamins. Of course, the same could be true to a processed food that is high in added sugar.

    Probably the best approach is to track carefully and see if eating/not eating a lot of fruit makes a difference for you in your own weight loss.
  • earthnut
    earthnut Posts: 216 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Fruit is good! They come with lots of fiber, water, and nutrients. The calorie density is low, so the actual amount of sugar isn't usually that high anyway. The majority of your sugar *should* be coming from fruit.

    Lots of studies have shown problems with eating too much added sugar, but I can't think of one that has shown problems from eating lots of fruit (unless that's *all* you're eating - but that's got bigger issues). I've eaten as much as 9 servings of fruit a day (not juice) and only felt better for it. Eat the same amount of sugar in calorie dense sweets, though, and I feel like I have a lead weight on me. Not to mention I'm hungrier.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
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    Depends on your levels of physical activity. If you spend the majority of your day in front of a computer then binging on fruit probably isn't a good idea. However if you work on a construction site or have an athletic career or even good exercise habits you could probably scarf fruit until you feel sick and you would still burn the sugar right off.

    Sugar is sugar is sugar. It's not the devil. But it IS the same whether it comes from loads of fruit or a pack of haribo. But what IS true is it's a bit harder to overdo sugar with fruit. It's less dense than say something like sweets or cake so if you really HAVE to have some sugar fruit is better. Basically fruit can and should be part of your life. In moderation.

    Some people also cite the bodies insulin response to high density sugar makes it worse. With things like concentrated fruit juices candy and chocolate hitting the digestive system like a 10 tonne anvil. However honestly the scientific jury is still out on this one. And the differing results of the various studies make me think that ... if there is a health risk to dense sugar as opposed to non dense (for the same amount of sugar) It is negligible.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    MrsSecri wrote: »
    I know you are supposed to get 3-4 servings of fruit every day.

    "Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." -- Mark Twain B)

    If the rest of your diet isn't high in carbs, it's probably fine. If it's high-carb, and you have a relatively sedentary lifestyle or you have metabolic syndrome, you'll probably get better results by reducing carbs (grains, sugar, potatoes, etc).

    If you have more Q's, set your food log to be visible to us.

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Omitting or lowering fruit is one of the main reasons I could never go low carb
  • MrsSecri
    MrsSecri Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks for the responses. My carbs, fats and proteins are always in line with suggested values MyFitness Pal gives you and I do eat 3-4 servings of vegetables and greens daily so I think I'll not worry about the fruit.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Sugar limits are referring to added sugars, not sugars from fruit. We are supposed to eat lots of fruits and veggies...more veggies than fruits, but lots of both. It's good for us! :)

    Don't quit fruit over sugar. :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    MrsSecri wrote: »
    Thanks for the responses. My carbs, fats and proteins are always in line with suggested values MyFitness Pal gives you and I do eat 3-4 servings of vegetables and greens daily so I think I'll not worry about the fruit.

    Sounds good. Lots of people find that a better option for them is to watch carbs and fiber rather than carbs and sugar, as if you are within your carbs and get enough fiber you are probably mostly eating nutrient dense carbs.

    I think the problem with the sugar goal on MFP is that 15% of calories is quite low for people at lower calorie goals, yet there are reasons someone on lower calories who is getting enough protein and fat might wish to rely more on fruit and veggies rather than starches for carbs, and that would tend to push the sugar grams up, without it being unhealthy at all.
  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
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    If you are basically eating balanced and within your macros- I would not sweat it about some sugar that is in fruit.Remeber I have learned since i have come to MFP- everything in moderation- No food and no nutrient- no sugar, carb, protein etc. should be off limits unless it has been prescribed by your doctor to do so.
  • griffinca2
    griffinca2 Posts: 672 Member
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    What worked for me was cutting back on the amt of sugar I was eating (natural (read fruit, etc.) and added); I ended up losing 11 lbs doing this. I still eat fruit most days (usually low-sugar fruit) and have dark chocolate chips after dinner; I just try to keep my sugar grams between 45 & 60 gm. I do some cardio and lift three days a week. B)
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Fruit AND sugars (even the white granulated stuff) are fine by me and part of my everyday diet.

    I needs 'em both, in quantity.

    As long as you are under your calories, and don't have any medical issues requiring restriction ... have at it. Enjoy as many as you like.
  • rh091
    rh091 Posts: 100 Member
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    everything in moderation, relative to the balance of the other components of your diet (vegetables, protein, fats, grains, etc.)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I agree with some of the previous posts which said you will need to be concerned with the naturally occurring sugars in fruits only if you are trying to keep your sugar levels low on purpose, whether it is just a personal choice or for health reasons (diabetes, PCOS, dementia, some cancers, etc).

    If you are not trying to keep your sugars very low, then I would say the amount of fruit you are eating is not an issue. If you are trying to stay very low sugar (<10g per day), then anything more than the berries will boost your sugars higher than you may want.

    Best wishes.

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