Do fruits really make you fat?
Fruit has been getting a bad rap lately. Along with the pronouncement that sugar is bad, particularly high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), fruit seems to be getting thrown into the doghouse as well. HFCS has been linked to increased levels of obesity and a lot of research has been done to prove this, specifically with soft drinks and juices that are laced with fructose as an artificial sweetener. When it comes to fruits and the actual intake of whole fruits in your diet, that’s when the research becomes less convincing.
We all have been told as children that “fruits and vegetables are good for you.” This saying comes from the logic that we need vitamins and minerals which can be found in fruits and vegetables. These are important for our growth and development as kids and to help boost our immune systems also as adults. Some proponents of the anti-fruit diet have argued that the amount of vitamins found in fruits is not worth the fructose that comes with it. Most health agencies however follow the five-a-day rule which pushes for five servings of fruits a day (along with five servings of vegetables). So which is it? Is fruit really good for you, or do the risks outweigh the rewards?
We all know that fruits are one of the sources for important vitamins and minerals but are there better food sources for these that do not include the sugars that fruits has? Anti-fruit people point to vegetables for this. True, vegetables also have fructose but they have considerably lower values. Most fruits that are common in the Philippine diet like mangoes, melons, watermelons, pineapples, apples and bananas have high levels of fructose sugars. They are also high in certain vitamins and minerals but if you are trying to lose weight or battling a metabolic condition, it might be wise to lessen the intake of these fruits and other fruits high in fructose. However, taking fruits completely out of your diet have some nutritionists worried of the possible drawbacks.
One reason why fruit may still be important is the presence of phytochemicals in them. Phytochemicals are not vitamins, minerals or macronutritents but recent studies have shown that they have a positive effect in health because they act as antioxidants which help the body get rid of toxins. Then again, vegetables also have phytochemicals, so it still might not convince anti-fruit people to take some apples once in a while.
In the end, the most logical reason why we should eat fruits seems to come from the argument of variety. Most sound nutritionists push people to have a variety of good whole foods available to them to complete the nutritional values that we need for everyday life. Fruits are included in this list but the key is to be smart about your fruit choices. Nutritionists advise to load up on berries, avocados, tomatoes (technically a fruit), and fruits high in vitamin C like guava and oranges. They also suggest taking fruits in whole form to take advantage of the fiber in the fruit, which also slows down the digestive process and in turn makes you fuller longer. The disadvantage of not having a variety of foods is that too much of a certain food or food group can also be a form of poison. Eating only a few kinds of vegetables may lead to excess toxins in your system, which we don’t want.
So fruits in moderation, and the right kind, are not all that bad and can be beneficial to your health and your waistline. I’d be more concerned with the fructose that you consume from sodas and canned fruit juices than what you get from a slice of papaya.
Visit my blog: chappycallanta.wordpress.com
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
