Fruits, with their rich nutrition and sweet and sour taste, have become the preferred meal replacement for many people who are trying to lose weight and control their sugar intake. However, there are certain rules to follow when eating fruits. There are tricks to when to eat them, how much to eat in a day, and which fruits to eat if you want to lose weight. Today, let’s take a look at the common misunderstandings when losing weight by eating fruits.
Misconception One: Having fruits for dinner can help lose weight
Wrong! Fruits also contain calories. If you eat a lot of high-calorie fruits, not only will you not lose weight, but you may also gain weight. Now let’s speak with data. A 100-gram bowl of rice contains approximately 116 kilocalories. Durian of the same weight has about 150 kilocalories, banana about 93 kilocalories, blueberry about 75 kilocalories, and kiwi about 61 kilocalories. If you eat these fruits in large quantities, the excessive sugar they contain will be converted into fat and settle down in your body, never leaving you.
So, whether one can lose weight or not mainly depends on what kind of fruit they eat and how much they consume. Fruits with relatively low calories include watermelon, which has about 31 kilocalories per 100 grams; strawberries, about 32 kilocalories; mangoes, about 35 kilocalories; and mandarin oranges, about 41 kilocalories.
Misconception Two: Fruits that are not sweet contain less sugar
Wrong! The sweetness perceived when eating fruits does not depend on their sugar content and should not be judged by taste! For instance, the sugar content of pitaya is quite deceptive. Although it doesn’t taste very sweet, its sugar content ranges from 13% to 14%. That is to say, the sugar content of pitaya is higher than that of fragrant pears and kumquats, but slightly lower than that of kiwifruit.
The recommended daily intake of fructose is less than 25 grams. Because the intake of the same amount of fructose is more likely to cause fat deposition in liver cells and significantly increase visceral fat than glucose. A simple conversion shows that, based on pitaya, it is best not to exceed 200 grams a day. The weight of a pitaya available on the market ranges from 200 to 500 grams. A 200-gram pitaya is just a small one.
Now, let me reveal to you a few fruits that are not very sweet but have an extremely high sugar content. Coconut, sea buckthorn, hawthorn, sugar apple, winter jujube, longan. Can you think of them? It is generally recommended that adults consume no more than 50 grams of sugar per day, and it is best to keep it under 25 grams. Therefore, the daily sugar intake is of great significance.
Fruits with a sugar content of less than 5 grams per 100 grams, such as pomelo and watermelon (containing 4% sugar). This kind of fruit can be consumed in moderation by people with diabetes.
Fruits with a sugar content of less than 10 grams per 100 grams, such as green plums, melons, oranges, lemons, apples, pears, plums, apricots, peaches, loquats, strawberries, coconuts, olives, etc. People with diabetes can choose a small amount of this kind of fruit.
Fruits with a sugar content of 11 to 20 grams per 100 grams, such as pitaya, banana, pomegranate, orange, pineapple, cherry, lychee, grape, mango, etc., should be chosen with caution by people with diabetes.
Fruits with a sugar content of more than 20 grams per 100 grams, such as jujubes, red fruits, dried jujubes, preserved jujubes, persimmon cakes, raisins, dried apricots, longans and other preserved fruits, have a relatively high sugar content. People with diabetes should try to avoid eating them.
Misconception 3: Eating fruits at any time does not affect weight
Wrong! Eating fruits at night or before going to bed not only affects weight control, but some fruits can even easily harm the spleen and disturb the liver qi, affecting sleep. For instance, bananas, watermelons, durians, persimmons, grapes, kiwis, oranges, mangosteens and the like are prone to abdominal pain and diarrhea for people with weak spleen and stomach functions. Some of them may even cause significant fluctuations in blood sugar.
To manage your weight well, a good time to eat fruits is between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner. If breakfast is at 7 a.m., lunch at 12 p.m., and dinner at 7 p.m., it is recommended to have fruits between 9 and 10 a.m., or between 3 and 4 p.m.
For ordinary adults, a daily fruit intake of about half a pound is sufficient. For people with diabetes, the amount of fruit they consume needs to be strictly controlled. Moreover, no matter what kind of fruit it is, eating too much of it is a heavy burden for weight management or blood sugar management.
Misconception Four: Juice is more nutritious than fruit
Wrong! During the juicing process, dietary fiber, vitamin C, polyphenols and other components in fruits are lost, which are crucial for health. For instance, vitamin C is prone to oxidation after juicing, which leads to a decrease in its content. Moreover, the sugar content in fruit juice is relatively high, and due to the lack of the mitigating effect of fiber, it can easily lead to a rapid increase in blood sugar, raising the risk of obesity and diabetes.
Not only that, fruit juice lacks fiber and may lead to indigestion. Long-term and excessive consumption may also cause problems such as “double rows of teeth” and tooth decay in children. Therefore, it is better not to choose fruit juice as a substitute for fruits.