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Q: Health experts tell us to eat lots of fruits and veggies, but can a person eat too much fruit? On an average day, I eat about 2-1/2 cups of grapes, two apples, two pears and, at dinner, two servings of vegetables. I’m trying to lose a little weight and am worried that fruit may be deceptively high in calories and sugar. Answer provided by Terese Scollard, M.B.A., R.D., L.D., regional clinical nutrition manager for Providence Nutrition Services: Yes, fruit is high in natural sugars, and grapes are among the sweetest of fresh fruits. No wonder cold grapes taste so good! Should you cut back on fruit? Probably — especially if you want to lose weight and eat a balanced diet. All of the food groups are important. If you go overboard on one kind of food — even one as terrific as fruit — you'll miss out on the valuable properties of other healthy foods. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend two cups of fruit and 2-1/2 cups of vegetables each day for a person on a 2,000-calorie diet. You are eating twice the recommended amount of fruit and less than half the recommended amount of vegetables. This is not an awful problem as diet problems go — it’s better to be nibbling too many grapes than M&Ms or Cheetos. But a few changes will round out your overall diet and help you drop those pounds more easily. Add up your calories.I really don't like fixating on calories, because an overly strong focus on numbers can blur the big picture, which is to eat a varied diet of healthy foods and not to eat more than your body needs. However, counting your fruit calories will help you see what a big chunk of your diet the fruit makes up. So let's do some math. A good general formula for losing one pound a week is to create a 500-calorie daily deficit through a combination of exercise and diet. (The actual magic number of calories for losing weight depends on your age, height and activity level. But in general, when you eat or drink 3,500 calories more than what your body needs, you’ll gain a pound. When you burn 3,500 calories more than you consume, you’ll lose a pound. So if you burn 500 calories more than you consume each day, you’ll get to that 3,500-calorie deficit in seven days, for a pound a week.) Let's say that you weigh 150 pounds, that you typically eat 2,000 calories per day, and that your goal is to get to that 500-calorie deficit by burning 200 calories through exercise and cutting 300 calories from your diet each day. That makes 1,700 calories your daily limit for what you can consume. Fruit is about 80–100 calories per serving. A serving is one cup of fresh fruit or a half cup of canned fruit. (Yes, the exact calories vary, but these are a useful overall guideline.) You are eating about 7-1/2 servings of fruit per day. At an average of 90 calories per serving, that's 630 calories from fruit alone! Vegetables vary in their calorie counts, but 35 calories per serving is another general guideline. So you are eating another 70 calories from the two daily servings of vegetables you mentioned. That adds up to 700 calories from produce. With a daily limit of 1,700 calories overall, you have only 1,000 calories left! Here are the other daily recommendations for a healthy diet:
The lesson from the math: Those fruit calories hog too much of your daily diet. So here are some strategies to help you lose weight and balance your diet:
We dietitians like to suggest eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to maximize nutritional variety and tap into an array of phytochemicals. As they come into season, explore melons, kiwi, peaches, berries, pineapple, mango and cherries. Fruit is wonderful. But you're right in not wanting to overdo a good thing. When setting yourself any weight loss goal, there are a number of factors to bear in mind as well as your fitness regime. Exercising correctly will help massively towards shedding unwanted fat but it will all be for nothing if you’re not eating healthily. At Ripe London we provide you with bespoke home fruit deliveries ensuring you always have a tasty choice of options to turn to. Health experts agree that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is the way forward for weight loss. Not only does fruit contain fewer calories and sugar than sweet treats, but it comes with a host of vitamins, which can increase your energy, cognition and general health. But like all food types, some are better than others. The following is a comprehensive list of the best and worst fruits to eat for weight loss. Remember though, just because a fruit appears in our ‘worst’ list doesn’t mean that you should eliminate it from your diet. Their high sugar content makes them a delicious yet less ideal option for weight loss compared to the ‘best’ fruits. Unlike sugary snacks however, the ‘worst’ fruits have a host of health benefits, some of which are discussed below. Worst Fruit for Weight LossBananas Mango Grapes Pomegranate Apples Best Fruit for Weight LossBlueberries Watermelon Lemon Guava Grapefruits In conclusion, none of the fruits listed above are actually bad for you. Just because a fruit has a high sugar content doesn’t mean it should be ignored. Sugars found in fruit work differently for the body than added sugars in sweets, cakes and biscuits. Fruit contains a molecule called fructose which drastically affects how the sugar is metabolised within the body. Because the sugar is encased in fibre, it is absorbed by the liver more slowly. Added (or processed) sugar, by contrast, is absorbed quicker than the body is naturally able to, which is why it is converted to fat. This means you don’t have to worry too much about treating yourself to any of the ‘worst’ fruits for weight loss, as they are still great for your health and a fantastic alternative to anything containing processed sugar. But if you are keen to lose weight as quickly and efficiently as possible, focus on the ‘best’ fruits listed above. Page 2Most people understand that diet affects your weight and physical appearance. It is possible, however, that you’re depriving the most important part of your body, the brain, if you’re avoiding certain foods. And this can have a significant effect on brain function. Dr Lisa Mosconi sums up research into diet and brain function simply: ‘If your job depends on your brain, then it depends on your diet’. Mosconi goes on to say that a person’s diet doesn’t just affect their working performance. It also impacts thought, action, behaviour and emotion. This means that the benefits of having a healthy brain go beyond business and employment. A healthy brain can improve your mood, motivation and problem solving skills. Consider this, the brain is 80% water and when dehydrated by just 2% will begin to shrink and slow, affecting attention and memory. Similarly, not giving your brain the nutrients it needs will lead to decreased cognitive performance. With this in mind, this article will provide the reader with a detailed list of 7 foods that are good for your brain. 1. FishFirstly, and a familiar brain-food, is fish. Salmon, mackerel and other fatty fish are the best for cognitive function due to their unique nutritional contents. The main components that help the brain are omega-3 fats (for general brain function), choline (for forming memories) and vitamins B6 and 12 (for maintaining the nervous system). In a separate study, Mosconi found that people who eat fish just once a week are 70% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s in later life, with Omega-3 being the most prevalent nutrient. For vegans, don’t panic. There are a number of alternative sources including seeds, olive oil, almonds (see below) and more. 2. SpinachAlong with other dark or leafy greens, spinach is an excellent choice for brain and body function. Research has shown that those with higher levels of homocysteine were at greater risk of developing alzheimer’s disease. High homocysteine levels are attributed to a low intake of folate and vitamin B12, both of which are found in spinach and leafy greens. When it comes to your brain, B12 plays a more important role than you might think. It is used to maintain sheaths that cover the central and peripheral nervous system and ensures a fast nerve-impulse transmission. Spinach is also one of the best vegetables for protein and is often included in ‘super food’ lists. 3. BlueberriesAnother ‘super food’ that makes it into this brain-boosting list are blueberries. They are frequently revered for their effects on physical performance and high levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants. But blueberries do even more than that! An experiment into alzheimer’s was conducted on aging rats and showed that those who were fed blueberries displayed increased short-term memory and motor-skills. The research was expanded to human trials and found that ‘consistent supplementation with blueberries may…forestall or mitigate neurodegeneration’. This means that middle-aged readers should seriously consider adding blueberries to their diet. 4. RaisinsDried raisins are an easy and beneficial snack to eat throughout the day. They are filled with boron, a nutrient that is advantageous for energy levels, bone and muscle health, the immune system and the brain. In a similar study to the previously mentioned, just 3.2 milligrams of boron was found to increase the attention and memory of participants by up to ten percent. Raisins are considered one of the healthiest snacks you can have, but it isn’t the only source of boron. Apples and nuts are also rich in the nutrient and can improve brain function. 5. BroccoliBroccoli is another vegetable that usually finds itself on healthy food lists. As well as having a relatively high protein content, broccoli also contains a plant pigment called lutein, which has been linked to ‘crystallised intelligence’. Psychologists split intelligence into two types; fluid and crystallised. Fluid intelligence is the ability to solve new problems, independent of any knowledge from the past; while crystallised intelligence is used to solve problems based on memory and experience. Research shows that lutein can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease because of this. 6. AlmondsAs mentioned earlier, almonds contain omega-3 which benefits general brain health. However, almonds have another nutrient that helps brain function. Vitamin E is an antioxidant which has been found to decrease cognitive decline in later life, including attention and memory. Almonds are also filled with B vitamins and fatty acids, which can lower cholesterol and the chances of high blood pressure. Almonds provide a combination of Vitamin E, magnesium, potassium and calcium, which is proven to increase testosterone production. This is especially useful for middle-aged men as testosterone levels begin to drop due to a hormonal change known as andropause (similar to menopause). 7. Raw cacaoRaw cacao is another food that can help your body. For the brain, raw cacao has been shown to be beneficial in the following ways: protection (encouraging proteins that protect nerves) and growth (producing another protein that is used to grow and repair damaged nerves). High-flavanol cacao also dilates the blood-vessels, increasing blood flow to the brain and body. This effect is shared with blueberries and is part of the reason they are considered to be a ‘super food’. These seven foods are hugely beneficial and can certainly be good for your brain. Research into the effects of their contents shows that they can lower the risk of mental degeneration in later life as well as improve short-term cognitive function. It is important to remember that regardless of what you eat, if your brain is dehydrated then it will not function to its full capability. So make sure that while you’re filling your diet with brain-healthy foods, you are also drinking plenty of water. |
How much fruit should you eat to lose weight
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