Sometimes it seems like nothing is ‘good’ for you anymore… The latest foods to come under the spotlight? Fruits. Apparently an apple a day doesn’t keep the doctor away any longer! But when did something that was so notoriously good for you earn such a bad rep?
In short, NO. Fruits are NOT bad for you and should definitely have a place in your diet. However, the reason why some fruits have been given a bad name recently is primarily because of the rise in popularity of blended smoothies and fruit juices.
Blended fruit smoothies may be delicious, containing plenty of healthy vitamins and nutrients and in moderation are a great addition to your diet. However when blended, the fruits inside lose some of their other crucial components.
The main two factors at play here are fructose and fibre:
Whole fruit takes much longer to eat than it does to drink. This means that when you are drinking fruit smoothies, we are essentially concentrating all of the sugars and carbs into a liquid which can be consumed far quicker. The sugars in these fruits (also known as fructose) then rush into your blood stream faster than your body can handle, meaning that your blood sugar levels spike and your body has to go into overdrive to realise insulin to keep your sugar levels down.
This can then lead to symptoms such as: Frequent urination, fatigue and headaches if consumed too quickly or too frequently.
Whole fruit on the other hand has a high water content and most importantly, contains plenty of fibre, most of which is lost when it is blended. Fibre slows the speed that fructose is absorbed into your blood stream and leaves you feeling fuller for longer as well as helping you with regular bowel movements.
So in short, no, whole fruit is in NO WAY bad for you and is FULL of benefits and vitamins for a healthy diet. Things such as bananas for example are an amazing carbohydrate to have just before exercising, giving you a slow release of energy that will definitely benefit your workouts.
There is definitely room for adding whole fruit into your diet, the only concern may come into consideration when having smoothies and fruit juices, just drink these in moderation and if in doubt, stick to whole fruits.
