Don’t Fear the Fruit, Enjoy It
Don’t worry what the Glycemic Index says about these fruits- it’s okay to eat them.
Are you afraid that eating fruit will cause your blood sugar to spike? Let us bust that myth right now.
Only ten percent of adults eat enough whole fruit daily despite the clear benefits of fruit.
Eating fruit and Living Longer
My 98-year-old dad can teach you about living longer
My 98-year-old dad eats fruit with breakfast for as long as I have known him. We would have grapefruit every morning. We even had those cute grapefruit spoons to wrestle the goodness out of the half grapefruit.
Now, dad enjoys a mixed bit of fruit.
In 28 studies with over 1.6 million people, each serving of fruit led to a 5% lower incidence of death (reference).
Each serving of fruit
8% less risk of heart disease
3% lower risk of cancer
200 grams (7 ounces) showed the lowest risk of cancer rates and deaths from cancer.
Even the Low Carb Community is coming around
Thirty years ago, the low-carb community advised against whole fruits. Their rationale was that fruits spiked blood sugar, which caused insulin to rise, which caused fat storage. They even cautioned against eating carrots for the same reason. But now, even the most extreme members of that community proudly eat fruit.
What 5 servings looks like
Breakfast with 1/2 cup of blueberries
Morning snack of one medium banana
Lunch with one apple
Afternoon snack of 1/2 cup of grapes (about 16)
Evening snack of 1 clementine
Don’t forget the tomato
The tomato is a fruit. Yes, the Supreme Court said, for taxation purposes, it is a vegetable, but it isn’t.
Other Benefits of Fruit
- promoting long-term weight management
- reducing the risk of heart disease
- reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes
- decreasing the risk of colon and lung cancer
- lowering the risk of depression
- successful aging (like dad)
- higher bone mineral density
- decreasing incidence of seborrheic dermatitis
- less constipation
- less irritable bowel
- less inflammatory bowel
- less diverticular disease
- less hemorrhoids
- less stress
Fruit is not the enemy – but it is one of the easiest of the nine food groups to add to your Mediterranean Diet and one of the easiest and most delicious to add to the DASH diet.
