How much fruit is good for you? page 3

[Dr. Bork Bork]

try to view fruit as a candy bar from a tree. You wouldn't (I hope) eat 3 candy bars a day! Keep it in moderation.

Apples taste especially good to me right now, but maybe it's cuz they're in season (toward the end of the season?)
I think it's a good idea to stick to fruit in season. Grok would have
I also think fruit tastes the best when it's in season (hence the apple spazzing from me, lol. Can't get enough of them last week-- especially jonagolds)

ETA: to see what fruits/veggies are in season near you, check out
http://www.pickyourown.org/harvestcalendars.htm

[magnolia1973]

try to view fruit as a candy bar from a tree. You wouldn't (I hope) eat 3 candy bars a day! Keep it in moderation.

Sorry, but for most people, 3 servings of fruit a day is not a big deal. A banana is about 120 calories (plus or minus)with a ton of nutrition. Apples are what, 80 for a small one, a cup of berries about the same. A 3 musketeers is about twice that in calories and no nutrition.

I fully understand some people not being able to eat fruit, but for healthy people, a banana at breakfast, apple at lunch and berries for dessert is NOT the same as a Reeses cup for breakfast, snickers at lunch and a kit kat for dessert. You are getting benefit from all of the fruit.

I got "fruit paranoia" this summer only to go do a Whole 30 and eat a ton of fruit and lose weight really easily. Please take a good look at your whole diet before determining fruit is bad for you.

[tarek]

Oh, I see. I was leaning toward the whole safe starch thing (rather than eating fruit) for a while. Then I was looking through this ladies web site Vegetables » Diagnosis: Diet which makes a pretty sound argument for primarily meat and fruit. Of course we know tubers were eaten. Just some interesting angles to study.

Very interesting read, thanks for posting. That's actually a subject I've been curious about for a good while now.

[Dr. Bork Bork]

Sorry, but for most people, 3 servings of fruit a day is not a big deal. A banana is about 120 calories (plus or minus)with a ton of nutrition. Apples are what, 80 for a small one, a cup of berries about the same. A 3 musketeers is about twice that in calories and no nutrition.

I fully understand some people not being able to eat fruit, but for healthy people, a banana at breakfast, apple at lunch and berries for dessert is NOT the same as a Reeses cup for breakfast, snickers at lunch and a kit kat for dessert. You are getting benefit from all of the fruit.

I got "fruit paranoia" this summer only to go do a Whole 30 and eat a ton of fruit and lose weight really easily. Please take a good look at your whole diet before determining fruit is bad for you.

I didn't mean eat only one a day. I just meant it in a "don't go crazy" way. Treat fruit with respect. It's not calories I'm personally worried about, it's the sugar content. Obviously fruit is the better choice, but you might want to re-evaluate your meal plan if a large portion of your day was made up from fruit.

[Damiana]

Very true. Back when I was still trying to lose weight, I was eating 6-7 servings of fruit a day and the pounds were tough to come off. I refer to fruit as nature's candy too, now.

[magnolia1973]

I guess my issue is just semantics and I would hate someone to read "piece of fruit = a candy" and say "hmmm, its the banana stalling my loss", while overeating other stuff or missing out on what fruit offers. I have always loved to blame bananas for the work of chocolate binges.

I think of fruit as a part of the good healthy foods I eat and as big of a cornerstone of my diet as vegetables, meats and fats. But I am not prone to binging on fruit, maybe because I allow as much as I want?

It would be an interesting question for Mark to answer- how much fruit is too much? Is it better to eat it consistently or sporadically?

[emmie]

"I don't know why eating a piece of fruit would somehow invoke intense cravings to eat some other random food."

Derpamix--You are obviously unfamiliar with the issue of 'carb sensitivity.' The only way I can control my eating is by having 20g carbs a day--or less. Beyond that, I will be ravenously hungry.

I'm not claiming this is 'normal.' I happen to have a severe metabolic dysfunction that I've been troubled with all my life (until I understood it). However, I am not alone, and many people who are morbidly obese have the same problem and don't know it. Sadly, fruit is considered a 'healthy' food (which it is for most people), and those who are avoiding cake and ice cream in an desperate effort to lose weight often don't understand that fruit is equally problematic for them.

I hope this answers your question.

[drnemer]

I eat berries everyday. About a half a cup to 2/3 cup of mixed berries with protein shake.

if you worried about sugar. I would not eat tropical fruit everyday.

I do not consider avocado a fruit to avoid, just like a tomato which is technically a fruit even the supreme court ruled it as a culinary vegetable.

My fruit palette

1. Every day fruits
- blueberries
- strawberries
- raspberries
- blackberries
- avocados
- tomatoes

2. higher carb day fruits
- apples (i love organic fuji apples)
- bananas

3. treat fruits
- kiwi
- pineapple
- plums

[Leida]

I added fruit back to my diet about 3 weeks ago, and gained 8 lbs. Now, I don't have the will power to drop the fruit again despite the horrific result. We are often addicted to the very thing that hurts us. I wish it was not soooo good. I just can't stop eating it. 3 apples a day, melon, grapes, pears, pomegranates, grapefruit, cranberries... Every season has has the absolutely delicious fruit to offer, unfortunately. It's all so tempting! I don't envy people much, but I sure envy people who do not like fruit, or can eat half an apple a day and feel great.

It would be an interesting question for Mark to answer- how much fruit is too much? Is it better to eat it consistently or sporadically?

Mark suggests a handful of berries once in a while, and Mark doesn't have a sweet tooth. A lot of men just don't, so they don't get it.

In Art Vance's book, fruit was included, but not every day. His sample menus included half a cantaloupe for breakfast, for example, but no other fruit during the day. Don't remember Corbain's position.

Normal advice is that if your weight loss is talled, you have to limit fruit to 0 to 2 SERVINGS a day. A serving of fruit is 1/2 of a normal fruit (apple, orange) or one very small fruit (apricot, plum), basically about 1/2 to 1 cup in volume.

In other words, normal advice is to have fruit extremely limited compared to what a person like me would like to eat (basically 2 servings with every meal). In fact, my dream diet would be fruit, dairy and some fish or meat or eggs. Alas, the good thing to do is the opposite.

I am back to trying to replace the fruit with cabbage and radishes and cucumbers... Gods help me.

But, yeah, overall, the fruit can be deadly for people with sugar problems.

[magnolia1973]

Mark suggests a handful of berries once in a while, and Mark doesn't have a sweet tooth. A lot of men just don't, so they don't get it.

Seriously? That's it?

I've kind of made my own plan.... but I don't see how people can get to over 100 grams of carbs a day on a handful of berries now and again. (Thinking maintenance).