Is Fruit Good For You? (surprising results)

Is fruit good for you? Surprising results suggest  that  eating fruit may not be as healthy as it’s generally thought to  be.

So, is fruit really good or bad for your health? Should you be loading up on bananas, or finding another way to reach your nutritional goals?

The good things about fruit

Fruit is packed with important nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and healthy fiber.

If you’re following the keto diet some fruits are sufficiently low carb that they can be included in small amounts while still keeping to your 20g net carb daily allowance.

Is fruit good for you? (surprising results)

These berries can be enjoyed occasionally, but you will need to limit how many you eat.

However, despite the vast amount of advertising and the well-known mantra to eat five a day (400g per day on average) there is little in the way of scientific evidence.

There a many studies looking at the consumption of both fruit and vegetables, but this muddies the water when we are discussing the value of fruits alone.

So given that fruit contains many micro nutrients and fiber, is there any science that says eating fruit is good for you?

While the nutrients in fruit are undoubtedly good for you, are there a few nasty items hiding in fruit which would mean it was healthier to find your vitamins and fiber in vegetables?

So, is fruit good for you or not?

Is Fruit Good For You (surprising results)

Taken as a whole, it would seem that eating fruit is not good for you at all.

Yes, fruit contains some healthy nutrients, but it also contains way too much sugar and this can do a number on your health.

For example, the banana, a big favourite with gym goers, is 25% sugar.

Dr. Daryl Gioffre stated in the health magazine Cosmopolitan :

” You should beware your banana:

Bananas seem like the perfect option to grab and go in the morning,” he says. “But with a closer look, you’ll find that bananas eaten alone aren’t the best option because they’re 25% sugar and moderately acidic.”

Furthermore, its not just bananas that are tree growing candy and should be avoided.

Despite what you may have read, the sugar in fruit is no more good for you than the sugar in anything else.

Further, the riper a piece of fruit is, the greater its sugar content.

So, can you escape the high sugar content and eat unripe fruit?

No, apart from the fact that unripe fruit won’t taste nice, they contain high levels of lectins which will cause a number of health issues. These range from indigestion to disease causing chronic inflammation.

Yes, there are healthy nutrients and fiber in fruit, but these nutrients can all be found in vegetables, without the high sugar load.

Fruit Juice

Is Fruit Good For You (surprising results)

There really isn’t anything good to say about fruit juice. Basically these drinks contain all the sugar of fruit, and none of the fiber.

The surprising truth is that both sugary sodas and fruit juice contain the same amount of sugar, around 25 grams for each cup/250ml serving.

Fruit juice is also stripped of the fruit’s fiber content.

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) stated that fiber in fruits helps to slow the absorption of sugars into the bloodstream.

“Without the fiber, the large amount of sugar from fruit juices enters the bloodstream quickly and causes a sugar spike, similar to what happens when we drink sweetened drinks like sodas,” a spokesperson said.

So the advice has to be to step away from the fruit juices. They may look super healthy, but they are no better than any other sugary soft drink.

Is fruit good for you when following the keto diet?

The main goal of the Keto diet is to reduce your daily carb intake to 20g net carbs or less.

This causes your body to switch to its secondary metabolic pathway. That is to say, it switches from burning glucose for fuel to burning fat for fuel.

This fat can come from either the fat you eat, or the fat you have stored in your body.

Fruit with its high sugar content has a correspondingly high carb count.

For this reason all fruit is off the menu except for a few low carb berries.(as seen in the low carb fruit chart above)

In summery, fruit does contain healthy micro nutrients and fiber.

However, it also contains a lot of sugar which has been demonstrated to be bad for your health and a major cause of chronic inflammation. This is turn will increase your risk of many serious diseases.

These micro nutrients and fiber are of course important for a healthy nutritionally balanced diet.

However, they can all be obtained by including a variety of healthy vegetables into your daily diet.

In this way you will be getting all the nutrients you need in the most sugar free and healthy way possible.

 

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  1. Hi Judy, thank you for your amazing and informative article! I’ve never heard that fruit can be bad for your health because of the high amount of sugar, it’s very eye opening for me! I’ll definitely be more careful!

    Best regards,
    Kelly

    1. Hi Kelly,

      It’s good to know that you found the article interesting.

      Fruit is high sugar, and so high in carbohydrates and is not suitable for a keto weight loss diet.

      All your nutritional needs are better off being met by vegetables.

      Best wishes,

      Judy

  2. Thank you for this article. I think fruits are my favourite food for me. I have been on a keto diet before and it went great for me i terms of loosing weight. However, as I introduced fruits to my diet , I start gaining the weight back.

    I don’t think I can live without fruits, but I will have to pick the ones that have the less amount of sugar. Do you know which fruits are the best to eat with keto diet?

    Kind regards,
    Yoana

    1. Hi Yoana,

      Thanks for your comments.

      It sounds as if weight loss went well for you with the keto diet until you started eating fruit again.

      This will be because you started to go way over your daily carb allowance.

      Most fruit is not keto friendly but berries can be eaten in small amounts.

      Best wishes,

      Judy

  3. Great article! I learned something new…I never thought of fruit not being good for you. I didn’t know all the sugar in them, especially bananas. When my husband and I used to run long distances, bananas were our go to snack right after our runs. That’s what everyone ate. I guess there’s better healthier options. Thanks for sharing…will share post with some family members.

    1. Hi Dana,

      Thanks for the comments.

      I know that bananas are super popular with athletes, but at 25% sugar they shouldn’t be eaten by people using a low carb or keto diet to lose weight.

      Read keto diet and bodybuilding. This article contains some great information about why you don’t need to carb load before exercise, and links to the science too.

      Best wishes,

      Judy

  4. This really is a helpful article especially for those struggling with their weight, we always have been taught fruit and veggies is the key to a healthy diet. Now we are finding out fruit if eaten at all should be in moderation, I find it amazing it has taken us so long to realize the sugar in fruit is actually not as healthy for us as we always thought

    Jeff

    1. Hi Jeff,

      Many thanks for taking the time to comment.

      The sugar content in fruit is way to high for anyone trying to lose weight with a low carb or keto diet.

      Vegetables contain all the micro nutrients you need, along with healthy fiber so you don’t need to avoid veggies. You should stick to the above ground vegetables.

      Best wishes,

      Judy

  5. This is very surprising information as I have always taken the the fruit quite seriously thinking that it’s super healthy for us! I never considered the sugar level as I thought the sugar is the ‘healthy’ sugar, so no need to worry about. I am a big fan of madjool dates as well!

    Thank you so much for the great information

    1. Hi Habib,

      Thank you for your comments.

      You’re certainly no alone in assuming that fruit is healthy. Many people are surprised by the high sugar content of fruit.

      If you’re following the keto diet Madjool dates are going to be off the menu for you too.

      Just two Madjool dates provide:

      Calories: 133
      Carbs: 36 grams
      Fiber: 3.2 grams
      Protein: 0.8 grams
      Sugar: 32 grams
      Fat: 0 grams
      Calcium: 2% of the Daily Value (DV)
      Iron: 2% of the DV
      Potassium: 7% of the DV
      Copper: 19% of the DV
      Vitamin B6: 7% of the DV
      Magnesium: 6% of the DV

      So even just two of these dates would take you over your daily carbohydrate allowance of 20g t carbs.

      Try berries if you really want to eat fruit as these have the lowest carb count, but you’ll still need to be careful with your portions.

      Best wishes,

      Judy

  6. Nice article. I didn’t know the amount of sugar that bananas have in them. I am glad to see however, that blueberries are a part of the keto diet.

    1. Hi John,

      Pleased that you enjoyed the article.

      Most fruits are off the menu for followers of the keto diet. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries are all allowed although you do need to weigh and limit your portions.

      Best wishes,

      Judy

  7. I have to say that I’m shocked by this information. The fruit is not good for you?!?!

    While I get some points from those people you’ve mentioned in this post, I still have to object a little bit to some of their claims. Yes, fruit contains sugar, but it’s a nutrient that our body can absorb and actually needs.

    I’m a believer that we can earn all foods and all foods are good for us if we keep things in balance. I recon eating only bananas all day long is bad for you, but one banana per day can’t do any harm.

    Thanks for sharing this post. I found it extremely useful and thought-provoking. I hope you don’t mind a bit of my healthy scepticism 🙂

    Ivan

    1. Hi Ivan,

      Thanks for your comments.

      Of course I don’t mind your scepticism, but I have to say that sugar is in no way a necessary nutrient, and our bodies do not need it.

      Sugar is actually very harmful to our health. While its probably true that a small amount from time to time could be tolerated, it is something you should avoid as far as possible.

      Sugar is a major cause of chronic inflammation, which in turn causes a very long list of diseases.

      For further information about this read What is inflammation in the body.

      For more information about the danger of sugar read How to break a sugar addiction. Although this article deals with sugar addiction, it also spells out the dangers of sugar and the health problems it can cause.

      Best wishes,

      Judy

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