It’s January and that means there’s a new crop of diet books out. You’d think we’d have learned by now that the next diet gimmick is not going to be the answer to our weighty woes. Believe me, the reason 2/3 of the population is overweight is NOT that no-one has yet written the right diet book.
But hope springs eternal, as does the January crop of New Year New You offerings. I was reviewing one of them this week and came across the claim that avoiding certain fruits can help you lose weight.
Specifically, the author recommends staying away from fruits that are high in fructose because, he explains, fructose is converted by the liver into fat. The high-fructose fruits on this author’s hit list include bananas, pineapples, grapes, and watermelon. Good "low-fructose" fruits include citrus fruit, berries, melons, and stone fruits like peaches.
I think we need to clear up some confusion about fruit, sugar, fructose, and how this all fits together into a healthy diet. (For one thing, some of the alleged high-fructose fruits have less fructose than the so-called low-fructose fruits...but I’m getting ahead of myself.)
When It Comes to Sugar, Fruit Is Not the Problem
The amount of sugar in the typical Western diet is definitely a concern. Health authorities recommend keeping added sugars to no more than 5% to 10% of calories (which works out to 100 - 200 calories or 25 - 50 grams of sugar per day).
However, this guideline applies to concentrated sweeteners that are added to foods; things like sugar, honey, and maple syrup. We generally aren’t worried about the sugar that you get from whole fruit.
See also: Ask the Diva: Does the Sugar in Fruit “Count” as Sugar?
For one thing, the natural sugars in fruit come packaged with other valuable things. Vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals in fruits add nutrition to the diet. But whole fruit also contains fiber and water, two features that help provide some natural portion control.
... Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips
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