Fruit Is Not Your Enemy

This blog is very overdue and I really have no excuse to offer except that after almost a year of weekly writing, I had nothing to say! Can you believe it? Me, have nothing to say? Well that is not entirely true, but it did feel like I ran out of quality topics to write about. Blog content comes to me through questions that clients, friends, family that inquire about health and wellness. Most are repeat topics like eating enough protein, please explain keto, how do I lose weight, etc… As of recently however, I have been getting the most unusual question. What can I eat instead of fruit for something sweet because I'm trying to limit my sugar. And just like that, a new blog is born!

Let me first start off by saying I am by no means a nutritionist, but I know a thing or two about nutrition, mainly poor nutrition. I know a poor food choice a mile away and fruit is not one of those foods in my scope. Why people get so caught up on limiting our friendly fruits is most likely due to the increase in cases of Type II diabetes. Sugar is bad. Eat sugar free everything, but don’t limit your carbs. Me: stares blankly at the screen. Let’s first talk about sugar sources.

Sugar comes in many forms including, fructose (from fruit) sucrose (table sugar), glucose, and lactose (from dairy). Foods that contain glucose (i.e carbs) include grains, potatoes and vegetables. When we eat any of those foods, our bodies immediately begin to break them down in the saliva of our mouth to start the digestion process. This is why when you need a quick pick me up of energy, eating a granola bar or carrots will immediately give you the results desired. The energy (calories) in the food go to the bloodstream for our mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) to convert to energy.

Now when people tell me they are limiting the sugar they eat, I ask what kind because there are so many sources! You’re limiting refined sugar? Great! But are you still chowing down on that pasta? Both have sugar. Let’s put this into perspective. How likely are you to sit down and eat 10 oranges at a time? Probably not very likely. How likely are you to consume that many oranges in a glass of juice? Very likely. When it comes to eating versus drinking fruits, you’ll get more nutritional bang for your buck out of a piece of whole fruit rather than gulping that glass of juice. Eating the whole fruit has fiber and all kinds of enzymes that come in the raw state of the fruit.

Let’s now ask another perhaps triggering question. How likely are you to sit down and eat a half a pizza or a giant bowl of pasta? More likely than eating say 10 oranges right? Both have sugar, but people are conditioned to think only oranges contain sugar. Wrong! Mind Blown, I know. However, fruit still gets just as bad of a reputation as ice cream or any other dessert for that matter. I assure you that the fruit has way more nutrients than the salted caramel hand dipped cone (delicious, don’t get me wrong). No matter what you call it, all of those foods are still processed in the body as sugar.

Now that I’ve been on my soapbox on the topic, I will kindly wrap this blog up! If you are really into limiting your sugar intake, then consider all the sources before eliminating whole food groups. Eating a balanced diet is essential to a healthy gut and immune system. Be wary of the trendy health topics and do some reading before you commit to a new eating program. Until my next blog topic, I wish you well and healthy eating!