‘I love eating fruit. Is there such a thing as eating too much fruit?’
^^^ Question I got this week
The short answer?
Yes, you can. But, it's probably not the reason for carrying unwanted fat.
You see, whether it is 'too much' depends on what the alternative is if you don't eat the fruit. I mean, if you go from eating, say 1 piece of fruit per day to 2/3 pieces…
You’ll probably feel more full up, have more energy and end up eating less of something that is higher in calories (like cake…biscuits...snacky foods)
Which could be contributing to your increasing waist line?
But there’s more.
People who increase their fruit (AND VEG) intake to 5 per day often see:
* Reductions in 'bad' cholesterol and heart disease risk
* Reduced risk of cancer
* Reduced risk of diabetes
BUT…
As with most things, too much of a good thing can be bad isn't a good thing...
Especially, if you're not eating your veggies...
So, why does fruit get some bad name in the medai?
1. ‘Fruit contains a sugar called fructose. Fructose is converted to fat’
Fruit does contain fructose which can only be ‘stored’ in the liver. Now, the sugar found in potatoes, rice, and pasta (glucose) can be stored in the liver and all of your muscles (which are burning the sugar up everyday when you move and live)
So, we MAY not handle fructose as well as glucose (which is why you'll often hear people say that 'fruit makes you fat'...I'm not too sure on that one...)
2. ‘High fructose corn syrup makes you fat’
Also known as glucose-fructose syrup on food labels…It’s found in your full-sugar fizzy drinks (not the diet ones). They add the FRUCTOSE to the glucose because it’s sweeter and cheaper.
And this can make you HUNGRY and craving more FOOD
^^ So we eat more and buy more of these delicious treat!
Does this mean fruit is making us fat?
No.
Because with fruit, you get the fibre, vitamins, minerals…
AKA…The roughage (which helps you poop) along with a bit of fructose
And this keeps us full and more satisfied (so you are less likely to overeat)
3. The ‘Detox’ Craze!
Now, I'm all for smoothies and shakes. In fact, if they make your life more simple? It can be a very good tool to help you lose weight without willpower...
But only if you have the right ingredients.
I see a lot of these detox smoothie recipes that contain as much as 60g of sugar...
Yes, it's from fruit, but would 60g of sugar is still 60g of sugar.
And one Dairy Milk (caramel, obviously) has 24 g of sugar...
^^^ I’m not saying eat Dairy Milks instead (as it won’t have the vitamins and goodness of the fruit)
BUT…it’s context which is key!
In summary…
You can overeat on fruit
^^^ ‘Pick one, eat four’ my dad would teach me when strawberry picking
IF…it means you overeat carbs, sugar and increase your food intake across the day / week!
So consider whether all your carbs are coming from fruit.
I get that this is all quite confusing with what they often tell you about cooked bananas being sinful in the slimmers clubs, an apple a day keeping the doctor away, and fruit being full of sugar.
But if having a cooked banana is my biggest sin? Then I'm happy with that.
Because I can guarantee that it's not bananas or fruit that's given us the award for having the 'unhealthiest diets in Europe"...
But - rather - our relaitonship with food, how you set up your food environment, and how you make this stuff more complex than it should be.
Which is why I aim to make this as simple as possible for you in my Shift Personal Training and Nutrition System.
Want a free week to kickstart your fat loss (whilst still eating fruit)?
I've got 2 free spots starting Monday. Click below to start:
FREE WEEK OF PERSONAL TRAINING AND NUTRITION
Speak soon,
Matt ‘pick one, eat four’ Fruci