Is Sugar In Fruit Bad For You?

should you eat fruit

22 Jun Is Sugar In Fruit Bad For You?

Posted at 09:00h in Food by

It’s no secret that eating too much sugar can cause numerous health problems. It promotes weight gain, diabetes, cancer and skin ageing to name just a few. But if sugar is bad, what about fruit? Fruit contains sugar, does that mean you should cut it out of your diet completely? Whether it’s sugar from a cake or sugar from fruit, sugar is sugar. Once it’s been digested the body can’t tell the difference. However, as with many aspects of nutrition, the answer to whether or not you should eat fruit is not a simple yes or no.

You can book a complimentary call with us today to find out how we can help you reach your ideal weight and maintain it long term.

IF IT CONTAINS SUGAR, SHOULD YOU EAT FRUIT?

Unlike most sources of sugar like cake, chocolate, biscuits and sweets, fruits contain many nutrients that are beneficial for health. Most fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre. They are also amongst the best sources of antioxidants, nutrients known to protecting cells from damaging free radicals.

As a team of nutritionists, we are all for encouraging consumption of fresh, natural and unprocessed foods. Therefore, most healthy people can enjoy a moderate amount of fruit as part of a healthy diet.

IS FRUIT BAD FOR YOU?

We are all different and when it comes to optimising your nutrition, there is no one size fits all. When we are working with clients in clinic, there are circumstances where we may advise a client to cut fruit out of their diet completely.

The two most common reasons are:

For Weight loss. For some (but not all) of our weight loss clients, we recommend cutting out fruit temporarily while we focus on a ketogenic (very low carbohydrate) diet. This can be a very effective way to focus the body on using our stored fat as a main source which in turn accelerates weight loss. Fruit can be reintroduced into the diet as part of a maintenance plan once the desired weight has been achieved.

To manage type 2 diabetes. When we work with type 2 diabetics we will typically recommend cutting out fruit. Type 2 diabetics have become unable to effectively regulate their sugar levels. Therefore minimising them in the diet, in any form, is an important part of their dietary strategy.

If you aren’t sure whether or not fruit should be included in your diet, it’s worth getting advice from an expert. You can schedule a complimentary 25 minute call with us and find out how we can support you in improving your health, diet and lifestyle to lose weight and optimise your health.

HOW MUCH SUGAR IS IN FRUIT?

Some fruits contain significantly more sugar than others. For example, 100g grapes contains the equivalent to nearly four teaspoons of sugar whilst the same amount of raspberries contains the equivalent to just one teaspoon. Other considerations to take into account are that when you eat fruit and what you eat it with can have a significant impact on how it affects your blood sugar levels. Among the fruits with the least sugar are avocados, which contain only about 0.7 grams of sugar per 100 grams, and lemons, which have around 2.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams. Other low-sugar fruits include strawberries (4.9 grams per 100 grams), raspberries (4.4 grams per 100 grams), and blackberries (7 grams per cup) . On the other end of the spectrum, fruits like mangoes, grapes, bananas, and cherries are known for their higher sugar content. For instance, a cup of mango pieces can contain about 23 grams of sugar. Here’s a guide to working out how much sugar is in food.

6 RULES OF HEALTHY FRUIT EATING

  • Choose fruits lower in sugar such as berries, coconut and grapefruit.
  • Only eat bananas, grapes and mangoes occasionally as they are fairly high in sugar.
  • Avoid eating dried fruits and drinking fruit juices due to their particularly high sugar content.
  • Limit fruit to a maximum of two portions per day. A portion is one medium sized fruit or 80g.
  • Have fruit with your meal – eating it with a combination of protein and fat will slow the absorption of sugars.
  • Eating fruit after your workout is a good idea. Your body is likely to use the sugar to replenish the sugar stores in your muscles (known as glycogen).

Unless it’s been advised that you do not consume fruit for health reasons, or because you are on a carbohydrate controlled weight loss plan, moderate amounts of fruit can and should form part of a healthy diet. Just make sure you limit your intake, choose lower sugar fruits and eat fruit alongside other food.

WORK WITH US

We are a team of qualified nutritionists who specialise in weight loss. We can support you in overcoming your weight challenges, achieving your goal weight and maintaining it long term. You can use this link to book in for a complimentary call today. This is an opportunity to talk through your challenges with a qualified nutritionist and decide together whether one of our Intelligent Weight Loss programmes is right for you. Or contact us to request a copy of our brochure and we will get back to you soon.

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LINDA ROBINSON

Linda is our Practice Coordinator, helping to keep the clinic running smoothly.

 

Originally from Texas, Linda completed her MBA at SDA Bocconi in Milan. Linda has worked as a Strategy Consultant across multiple industries globally in cities including Kyoto, Paris, Chicago and San Francisco. She developed an interest in nutrition whilst volunteering for an organisation that provides cooking and nutrition education to children and families.

Linda is now settled in London with her husband, two children, and her very bouncy, sociable dog.

SARAH LAW

Sarah has worked with hundreds of clients over the past decade to help them live in a healthy body that they feel confident in.


Sarah spent a large part of her teens and 20’s as a professional dancer battling with orthorexia and an unhealthy relationship with food and her body. This created a desire to understand the human body more so she could finally cut through the confusion and end the cycle of yoyo dieting. This fuelled her passion to help other women do the same.

 

Sarah specialises in supporting women who are struggling to lose weight due to underlying health issues. She’s helped many women manage their weight during and after the menopause, as well as clients with thyroid disease and immune system dysfunction. Sarah loves food and sharing healthy recipes with her clients. Her aim is to ensure that clients don’t feel deprived and instead, achieve their weight loss and health goals in a positive and sustainable way.

 

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AILSA HICHENS

 

Ailsa is one of our most experienced practitioners. She specialises in helping clients to lose weight, develop a healthy relationship with food and finally feel comfortable in their skin. Ailsa’s mission is for everyone she works with to enjoy the journey and that working with a nutritionist should not be a punishment, but your access to a new possibility.

 

Ailsa is not only an experienced weight loss nutritionist, she is also a skilled coach. She helps our clients overcome emotional eating, destructive habits and self-sabotaging behaviours that have prevented successful weight loss in the past. Ailsa has spent years in clinic working with clients who have experienced yo-yo dieting and have discovered that long term weight loss is not just about eating less until you can stand it no longer.

 

Working with Ailsa you will be comprehensively supported, not only in improving your nutrition and lifestyle, but also your eating habits and your relationship with food. When you work on all these elements together, the results can be truly astonishing.

 

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Test Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team of practitioners and heading up the day-to-day running of the business. Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, coming from a strong business background in town planning. A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 with her husband and two children.

NIKKI ANDRIANI

Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team and heading up the day-to-day running of our clinic.

 

Coming from a background in town planning, Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, continually ensuring we are delivering the very best service to our clients.


A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 where she lives with her husband, two children, and her rescue dog Skyy.

STÉPHANIE ACHAR

Stéphanie is a skilled nutritional therapist and functional medicine practitioner with additional training in eating disorders, disordered eating and obesity. She believes that working towards both physiological and mental health is key in achieving optimum wellbeing.

 

Stéphanie’s personal experience of emotional eating and the ongoing struggle to find the right support led her to combine the science of nutrition with behavioural coaching to motivate and empower her clients. She specialises in helping people who struggle with their weight and their relationship with food. She helps them develop a healthier and more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies.

 

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INNA WEARN

Inna is passionate about supporting women on their journey to improved health and wellbeing. She believes that the solution to effective weight loss does not lie in ever more restrictive diets, but a more sophisticated approach that optimises health and vitality, as well as promoting effective weight loss.

 

Working with Inna you will benefit from her in-depth knowledge of female health and hormones. She will support you in developing a healthy diet, lifestyle and mindset that ensures you reach your ideal weight and maintain it in the years to come.

 

Inna is passionate about food with a wide repertoire of delicious healthy recipes and meal ideas to ensure your weight loss journey is as enjoyable as possible!

 

To enquire about working with Inna, please contact us.

ANIA MASON

 

Ania is a firm believer that improving your health and losing weight should be a positive, empowering journey, not one centred around deprivation.

 

After being diagnosed with two autoimmune conditions in her twenties, Ania spent several years educating herself on the power of food and nutrition. She put it all into practise and changed her diet and lifestyle, reversing her endometriosis and thyroid disease. After experiencing such a significant improvement in her health, Ania had a big desire to help others. She embarked on a four year journey to study nutrition, graduating from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition with distinction.

 

Ania specialises in autoimmunity and works with clients who have underlying health issues preventing successful weight loss. Her expertise enables her to successfully support our clients with conditions such as hypothyroidsm (underactive thyroid), PCOS and diabetes. 

 

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