Sugar consumption is one of the leading causes of insulin-related health issues, and fruit is a source of fructose, or fruit sugar. It is one of the components of sucrose, or table sugar. Granted, fruit contains dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants, which are important for a good diet. This certainly makes them better for us than soda or processed foods, which are loaded with high fructose corn syrup without the nutritional benefits of fruit. However, over consumptions can be too much of a good thing.
Studies have begun to shows that a diet heavy in fruit can bring on many health issues, especially on a long-term basis. Among other health maladies, high levels of fructose can induce diabetes, abdominal obesity, fatty liver disease, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome and oxidative stress. Probably not coincidentally, these conditions continue to rise around the world as fructose becomes a larger part of these diets.
So, if the fructose in fruit is so bad for us, would we do good to eliminate it from our diet?
The answer is no, but we have to be smart about it. Just like fat in our diet is not only good, but necessary, we have to be very careful of the quantity we consume. There are too many health benefits to fruit to say we should eliminate it altogether. It plays a key role in moderating negative metabolic effects with its high content of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients.
If you are healthy and have no insulin-resistance issues, it is recommended a person limit his fructose intake to 25 grams a day. To give an indication of just what that is, a cup of blueberries are about 7.5 grams, a medium apple about nine, a cup of seedless grapes about 12, and a cup of strawberries about four. Obviously there is a lot of room for fruit and still stay within the safe limits, provided of course almost all other sources of sugar are eliminated. It's estimate that the average intake per day on average is 73 grams.
If you have health issues related to fructose such as metabolic syndrome, heart disease, cancer, obesity or insulin resistance, total fructose consumption should be limited to no more than 15 grams a day. The important thing to note is that fructose comes from many sources. Those canned peaches or orange juice may seem healthy on first glance, but then the producer adds even more sugar to what is already high in fructose (just read the ingredients label). In the end, what seems healthy turns into something that becomes harmful to our body.
Although insulin is necessary for our health, it must be kept at proper levels.If not controlled, it can adversely affect blood pressure and a wide variety of other health problems.
Notes:
Fructose - A type of natural sugar found in many fruits, vegetables, and in honey.
Phytonutrients - Phytonutrients aren't essential for keeping you alive, unlike the vitamins and minerals that plant foods contain. But when you eat or drink phytonutrients, they may help prevent disease and keep your body working properly.
Enzymes - A catalyst is something that changes things without being changed itself. A catalyst gets things going. It makes things happen. Think of a street fight. If somebody gets other people to fight but doesn’t fight themselves, they’re a catalyst.
Enzymes are the catalysts for chemical reactions. They either make them happen or speed them up. Chemical reactions keep our bodies going -- without them, we’d die.
