Can you have too much sugar from fruit?

Lyra89
Lyra89 Posts: 674 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just signed up yesterday and I noticed that I'm way over my recommended sugar intake for the day, because of the fruit I have eaten.

Can you have too much sugar from fruit?

I'm vegetarian / sometimes vegan and I eat a lot of the stuff on my good days...its either that or I'd be face first into a chocolate cake!

What should I do? Should I ignore this or is it important to limit fruit? The idea of cutting back on fruit to me seems bonkers! Weight Watchers has a zero point allowance for fruit I thought? So will it hinder my weight loss?

Opinions and input much appreciated! :tongue: :laugh:
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Replies

  • Lyra89
    Lyra89 Posts: 674 Member
    BUMP! Need advice!
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    Just because it is good for you doesn't mean it doesn't have calories. Try low sugar fruits like berries.
  • snowangl317
    snowangl317 Posts: 9 Member
    I am a vegetarian and eat a lot of fruits and veggies and researched this question a few weeks ago because I found the same exact thing. I go over on sugar almost everyday, and it is usually never because of added sugar or sugar in processed foods, just natural sugar. What I found was that this is okay because your body processes natural sugar differently. It is much easier to break down and gives you energy too. As long as you aren't going over calories, you will be fine. I make my own dehydrated fruit and eat that a lot as snacks.
  • guppygirl322
    guppygirl322 Posts: 408 Member
    Too much sugar is bad. That being said, after looking at your diary most of your sugar does come from fruit. Now, if it is fruit or going face first into the chocolate cake, yes, go for the fruit! I think that is why Weight Watchers says that fruit is free. If you can keep the processed sugar out of your diet (sugar that is added to food in any form be it high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, fructose, etc..) and maybe tweak things a little bit to include less of the high sugar fruits (like grapes) and maybe throw in a few extra veggies to help fill you up, you'll be fine. Of course, now I should go and put that into practice myself, lol.
  • Lyra89
    Lyra89 Posts: 674 Member
    Thanks so much guys! :smile: I defo agree, it is much better to eat fruit than to indulge my sweet tooth by gorging on chocolate bars :laugh: But I might try eating some fruit that is lower in sugar!
  • lhughes404
    lhughes404 Posts: 42 Member
    I asked my nutritionist the same question. I eat tons of fruit and yogurt and always go over my sugar. She said that its natural sugar and your body processes it better. I've been eating lots of fruit and I've lost 20lbs.
  • stephanienicolee
    stephanienicolee Posts: 7 Member
    Yeah, you don't need to worry too much about that. You would have to eat a crazy amount of fruit for the sugar to have a negative affect
  • nlepine84
    nlepine84 Posts: 145 Member
    Yes be careful with the fruits you eat, or the amount. A cup of red grapes has enough sugar for an entire day! Crazy to think when they're supposed to be so good for you.

    I remember I saw a weight loss show that went through the people cupboards and fridge and the woman was eating healthier than you'd expect but would eat like 8 apples in a sitting not thinking that those sugars would affect her. Wrong!

    any how I still think it's better than chowing down on chocolate etc, but still be careful with fruits. If you can switch a few snacks to veggies that will help.
  • darla499
    darla499 Posts: 402 Member
    I am a vegetarian and eat a lot of fruits and veggies and researched this question a few weeks ago because I found the same exact thing. I go over on sugar almost everyday, and it is usually never because of added sugar or sugar in processed foods, just natural sugar. What I found was that this is okay because your body processes natural sugar differently. It is much easier to break down and gives you energy too. As long as you aren't going over calories, you will be fine. I make my own dehydrated fruit and eat that a lot as snacks.

    Thank you!!!
  • Lyra89
    Lyra89 Posts: 674 Member
    Lots of mixed opinions, thanks so much everyone for commenting! Its one of those things that I cant figure out...I watch fruitarians on youtube who are craaaaazzzy lean and toned and ONLY eat fruit, very sugary fruit! (see 30bananasaday.com or type in Freelee into youtube!)

    Then you have some low-carb diets (well, nearly all of them) banning most fruit and limiting it to certain controlled quantities! Fruit is natures candy, I needs it! :tongue:
  • FlynnMacCallister
    FlynnMacCallister Posts: 172 Member
    Sugar is sugar is sugar. You can indeed have too much sugar from fruit. You could try replacing some fruit with raw veg -- celery with some sort of nut butter or hummous, ferinstance....

    Fruitarianism works for some people, just as some people can live on soda and candy bars and still look great. At least fruit has other "good" components, too. >_o
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
    I've also heard mixed opinions - but for me, it's fruit or chocolate. I opt for eating a lot of fruit. I like vegetables, but I could never substitute a vegetable everytime I wanted a piece of fruit (tried... failed). Soooo, that being said - I took the sugar out of diary. Problem solved. I eat very little processed foods, so most of my sugar comes from fruit.
  • marie_2454
    marie_2454 Posts: 881 Member
    I am a vegetarian and eat a lot of fruits and veggies and researched this question a few weeks ago because I found the same exact thing. I go over on sugar almost everyday, and it is usually never because of added sugar or sugar in processed foods, just natural sugar. What I found was that this is okay because your body processes natural sugar differently. It is much easier to break down and gives you energy too. As long as you aren't going over calories, you will be fine. I make my own dehydrated fruit and eat that a lot as snacks.

    I agree with this. Natural sugar is fine unless you're eating copious amounts of it or unless you're diabetic or have some other blood sugar related issue. I don't even track my sugar because I always go over and while it's not all natural, most of it is. Don't worry about it.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Sugar is sugar, the source doesn't matter. That said, are you diabetic? Then sugar will be a bad thing. If you arent, then, quite frankly, the amount of sugar you eat makes no difference. The human body doesn't see "apple" or "chocolate cake." it just sees "sucrose," "glucose," and "fructose." As long as you stick to your calorie goal, then you can eat as much, or as little sugar as you want. It's irrelevant.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    I wouldn't worry about the sugar in fruit. First, fruit has fiber that helps counter act the sugar. Second, fruit is full of lots of good things for you.

    Especially if the choice is fruit or junk--go for the fruit!

    While previous posters are correct, fruit has calories so make sure you're not over eating it, fruit is healthy. The sugar in it, isn't going to affect you. It doesn't cause the highs and lows of say a candy bar.
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
    Too much of anything can quite quickly turn into a bad thing. I personally believe the motto: Everything in moderation.

    That being said, unless you are diabetic, or pre-diabetic, or have some other medical problem with high blood sugar I personally don't think you have to be concerned. There are a lot worse foods that you could be eating than fruit. Maybe you could focus on eating more fruits that have lower amounts of sugar like lemons/limes, rhubarb, raspberries, cranberries, blackberries, etc.

    And maybe try to steer clear of consuming too many of the high sugar fruits such as cantaloupes, bananas, cherries, grapes, tangerines, etc., especialy if you are going to eat a lot of them.
  • fittyfittybumbum
    fittyfittybumbum Posts: 90
    A nutritionist told me that i can eat alllllllllll the fruits and veggies i want! The sugars from fruits are complex sugars, which takes longer for the body to break down so it's actually good for you and keeps you full longer annnnnnndddddd it's jam packed with nutrients! so in the words of my nutritionist "eat to your hearts content!" I eat fruits and veggies alot and i not experience not one negative thing.
  • FlynnMacCallister
    FlynnMacCallister Posts: 172 Member
    Sugar is sugar, the source doesn't matter. That said, are you diabetic? Then sugar will be a bad thing. If you arent, then, quite frankly, the amount of sugar you eat makes no difference. The human body doesn't see "apple" or "chocolate cake." it just sees "sucrose," "glucose," and "fructose." As long as you stick to your calorie goal, then you can eat as much, or as little sugar as you want. It's irrelevant.

    The question is more "are you diabetic, pre-diabetic, in a high diabetes risk group, or having a family history of diabetes?" but, yeah, I'll go with that.
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    As with anything diet related, better choices can be made. Whether you need to make those choices depends on if you are meeting your caloric goals for the day. Berries generally have lower sugar than other fruits, so make a good choice.

    Is there a specific reason you are worried about sugar? It's the stuff in processed food that provides no benefit and should be avoided.
  • antdaman725
    antdaman725 Posts: 4
    Unless you have diabetes or a glucose intolerance, going over your allotted sugar intake for the day due to fruits is not a bad thing. I would definitely focus in on the grams of carbs you are taking in on a daily basis, as this is a much more useful tool than looking at sugars alone.
  • Feathil
    Feathil Posts: 162 Member
    Can anyone list the fruits from low to high sugar? Everyone's saying grapes are high..
  • phatty4dayz
    phatty4dayz Posts: 125 Member
    Good question. I too, am a vegetarian, and I was considering cutting out some of my favorite fruits for the same reason (crazy, I know!). But after reading the above comments, I think I'll continue chomping away at my apples, berries, and bananas because I'm not diabetic or pre-diabetic. *shrugs* :drinker: Here's to fruit!!!!
  • BreakOnThru
    BreakOnThru Posts: 66 Member
    Lots of good advice above. But I'll just say not all fruits are created equal (i.e. berries and melons are better than bananas or grapes). Check the glycemic index. Also, you can get a lot of the same nutritional benefits from veggies, which come with far less sugar. So if you've got a pepper and an apple, you can get good carbs and tons of nutrients from each, but you're better off with the pepper. That said, if it's fruit vs. a bag of Skittles? Hells yeah, fruit wins.
  • student94
    student94 Posts: 120 Member
    I was going over on sugar daily, and near all of it was fruit. I didn't feel like I became overweight from eating to many apples, so I decided not to track sugar anymore. I lose faster than the mfp projections, so I don't think the sugar is holding me back. That said, everyone's different and you need to experiment and see what works for you.
  • megmo_7
    megmo_7 Posts: 98 Member
    I think the only time it would matter is if you are diabetic or borderline diabetic. I have PCOS and have stopped eating fruits past my afternoon snack. Once I stopped eating fruits after dinner or at night it drastically helped me. For example when I wake up at 7am I eat all my fruits by 2pm. For me its more of a how my body processes the fruit.
  • raevynn
    raevynn Posts: 666 Member
    Fruit is fine, but SOME people (no, not all) MIGHT be sensitive to that much fruit sugar, and have an issue. IF you don't, then there is no reason to not eat as much fruit as your eating plan can allow.

    You might think about adding some Protein to your fruit... I personally like to have some raw nuts with my fruit, to slow down the fruit sugar hitting my system. It also seems to derail the munchies very well. You can also throw the fruit with a bunch of dark greens into a blender and make smoothies with them, which I also love.

    As long as your nutritionist and/or doctor says that you DON'T have a blood sugar issue, then ENJOY!! :)
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    Can anyone list the fruits from low to high sugar? Everyone's saying grapes are high..
    Fruits Lowest in Sugar

    Small Amounts of Lemon or Lime

    Rhubarb

    Raspberries (more about berries on low carb diets)

    Blackberries

    Cranberries

    Fruits Low to Medium in Sugar

    Strawberries

    Casaba Melon

    Papaya

    Watermelon

    Peaches

    Nectarines

    Blueberries

    Cantaloupes

    Honeydew melons

    Apples

    Guavas -- Pineapple Guavas (Feijoa) and Strawberry Guavas are probably similar, but information that directly compares them is not available

    Apricots

    Grapefruit

    Fruits Fairly High in Sugar

    Plums

    Oranges

    Kiwifruit

    Pears

    Pineapple

    Fruits Very High in Sugar

    Tangerines

    Cherries

    Grapes

    Pomegranates

    Mangos

    Figs

    Bananas

    Dried Fruit, such as dates, raisins, dried apricots, and prunes



    from http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatfruit.htm
  • mammothdoll
    mammothdoll Posts: 54 Member
    I'd say look at the glycemic loads of your meals and also get your blood sugar numbers run before panicking.
  • tjsusong
    tjsusong Posts: 195 Member
    Eat the fruit. I was just reading an article last week in either Prevention or Fitness magazine that was talking about the difference in sugar. Its not processed sugar so your body will digest and metabolize it differently. If you can pick that over chocolate then I'd say you're doing alright!!!
  • mbts08
    mbts08 Posts: 284 Member
    Well, I look at it in this way: I did not get fat by eating fruit but by eating tons of other craps, like cake, cookies, etc. :wink:

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