"When on a diet, you should eat only vegetables."
"Sugar in the fruit is harmful."
Have you ever heard such claims? We have good news for you: sentences above are one of the many nutritional myths!
Myths about sugar in fruits, rooted in society, result from many factors. Sugar is shown in media as a "white death", and your friends probably suggest to avoid it as much as possible. It cannot be denied that with the development of civilization and the economic growth, constantly increasing consumption of sweets has resulted in the appearance of caries and, not longer after that, obesity. It is easy to link these factors together and make a conclusion that sugar, and thus everything sweet, is harmful. Is that really the case?
First of all, it should be noted that it is not carbohydrates that cause weight gain, but the overall caloric excess of food we consume every day. We disturb the energy balance not only by taking too many sugars, but also fats or proteins! A high-protein diet that minimizes carbohydrates can also lead to weight gain. If you want to lose unnecessary kilograms, you should adjust your diet so that the daily amount of calories consumed is lower than the the energy demand of your organism. A negative energy balance cannot, however, be obtained through exclusion of fats and sugars, because they are also necessary for the proper functioning of the body.
When choosing fruits while being on a diet, simply choose those that have less sugars than the others, e.g. apples, strawberries or citruses. Colorful fruit is a great idea to diversify the appearance of the plate and makes a take-out great snack.
Fruits are a source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that support cell metabolism by preventing premature aging. The ingredients consumed with fruits are not only necessary for the proper functioning of the body, but also easily absorbed. Vitamins enable many metabolic reactions, affect positively the skin, hair, nails, brain functioning and the proper development of children.
When choosing to include carbohydrates in your diet, it's definitely worth putting on fruits. In addition to the abundance of micronutrients, they contain a lot of dietary fiber. It is thanks to it that we feel satiety longer, because its swelling in the intestines makes the feeling of hunger disappear. What's more, fiber causes the sugar from fruit to be absorbed more slowly, so it puts less strain on the organs responsible for carbohydrate metabolism - the pancreas and the liver.
Remember to choose wisely - fresh fruits can be a good option instead of dried ones, which have lots of calories.
If you still in doubt, look at the fruit calorie table in 100g:
watermelon: 30kcal
strawberries: 32kcal
apples: 52kcal
orange: 47 kcal
But beware!
dried plums: 240kcal
dried dates: 277kcal
