confused about fruit and sugar

If you're really watching your carbs, you will have to watch your fruits. Acquaint yourself with the idea of glycemic load - how fast the sugars are released into your bloodstream.

Wanna eat fruit but don't want all the sugars? Here are a couple of fruits that we normally think of as vegetables: Tomatoes, bell peppers (all peppers, actually), eggplant, squash, beans, peas and pea pods, cucumber, okra - even corn! So now you can eat your fruits without doing in your sugars!

Cheers...

T

Just adding this--both sugar snap peas (fresh in the pod) and (especially) corn raise my blood sugar markedly--more than a couple of plums, as much as an orange. Because I count carbs as carbs, I make allowances so my blood sugar doesn't go above where I want it. However, sweeter veggies hit me just the same as fruits. It's the carbs in general rather than just sugar, and my corn on the cob is as carb-y as my nectarine. Luckily, keeping my meals fiber-y keeps my blood sugar from going crazy.

Eat the fruit. It's good for you, and veggies aren't the same--you need fruits and veggies, not veggies instead of fruits.

Kris

Nearly everything contains some kind of sugar: you can't avoid it, so stop worrying about that.

If you're trying to eat a low glycemic index diet, then yes, you need to limit your intake of low-fiber, high fructose fruits, like oranges. Notice I said "LIMIT" not eliminate. Replacing chocolate and pretzels with whole fruit and vegetables is almost always good plan.

This is because when you eat whole fruit, you also eat fruit fibers, good vitamins, minerals and stored plant water, besides fructose. The fiber is what keeps you feeling full and satisfied so you don't binge out on empty calories. Fiber also has the benefit of making your food take longer to digest - when this happens, it sits in your stomach longer. The sugars aren't absorbed as quickly and as readily as say, refined white sugar, so you don't spike your sugar levels quickly and suffer from being hungry 5 minutes later. As a result, the fiber in your fruit can be viewed as 'reducing' your carbohydrate intake, because it spreads it out over a longer period of time.

If you would like to remain eating fresh foods as snacks, while reducing your sugar intake, try eating fruits that have less sugar and more plant fibers, but still taste good raw. Sugar snap peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, mushrooms (wiped clean of course). These all taste great and don't need any dressings or toppings to be edible.

Fruits high in fiber and relatively lower in sugar would be bananas, plums, peaches, pears, grapefruit, apples. Limit your intake of oranges, tangerines and the like, they are notorious for having very little fiber and lots of fructose in the sweet juice. You can get more vitamin C from a red bell pepper than you need in a full day, anyways, so it's a great substitute.

Should you worry about your sugar intake? If you're drinking lots of fruit juices and iced tea mixes, then yes. If you're only getting sugar (carbohydrates) from whole foods, like whole fruit and vegetables and meats, then no. Sugar is found in everything... yes, everything, and you can't stop eating food because you want to stop eating sugar.

Best of luck!