CAN FRUIT BE PART OF A HEALTHY DIET TODAY?
Dietary
guidelines since Day One back in the late 1970s have recommended that we
eat fruit every day for our health and wellbeing. We have plenty of
choice to meet that target – not only are there hundreds of different
kinds of fruit but, in many cases, we can opt for fresh, frozen, canned
or dried. But, in today’s “obesogenic world”, as the headlines put it,
is fruit still a healthy choice, after all, it’s primarily comprised of
carbohydrates – in particular (gasp!) sugars.
Fruit nutrition With the exception of fat-rich avocadoes
and olives, carbohydrate is the primary source of energy in most fruit.
An average piece (150g) of fresh fruit gives us 10–20g available
carbohydrate, plus a little protein (less than 2g) and even less fat
(under 1g). When it comes to fibre (soluble and insoluble), an average
piece (150g) of unpeeled, fresh apple or pear or stone fruit provides
between 2–4g of fibre. Citrus is similar when peeled. A small handful
(30g) of dried fruit provides 1.5–3g fibre per serve, and melons only
0.5–1g per average slice (75 g). Most fruits are good sources of a
variety of vitamins and minerals – in particular vitamin C, potassium
and magnesium.
It’s the sugars in fruit that gets
people’s knickers in a knot these days. Crusading diet books in recent
years have tended to encourage the belief that fruit is full of fructose
and that’s simply not the case. The average fructose content of fruit
eaten in Australia and other Western nations is around 50% of the total
carbohydrate content, with the balance coming from glucose. Pome fruits
like apples and pears have more at around 65% of the total carbohydrate
content; stone fruits like apricot, cherries and plums have much less at
around 35%. It’s also worth keeping in mind that most fruits are mostly
water (that’s why fruit is refreshing). The carbohydrate content is
typically around 10% by weight.
The GI of most apples,
pears, citrus and stone fruits is low (under 55). Melons tend to be
medium to high GI (GI 68–78), but most will have a low GL because
melons are mostly water and have very little carbohydrate. Canning
fruits in sugary syrups typically raises their GI, but fruits canned in
100% fruit juice typically have a lower GI. Drying fruits doesn’t have
much of an effect on the GI of the fruit.
Fruit and health Systematic reviews of the best available scientific evidence in humans have found that regular whole fruit consumption:
- Is not associated with weight gain in either population studies or clinical trials. Indeed, population studies generally find that the more fruit we eat, the less we weigh.
- Is associated with a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- Is associated with a lower risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
- Is associated with a lower risk of depression.
- Finally, people who eat more fruit (and vegetables) on a regular basis may not only feel better – they actually look better!
- 150g (1 piece) of medium-sized fruit e.g. apple, banana, orange, pear
- 150g (2 pieces) of small fruit e.g. apricots, kiwi fruit, plums
- 150g (1 cup) diced, cooked or canned fruit
- 125ml (½ cup) 100% fruit juice
- 30g dried fruit. e.g. 4 dried apricot halves, 1½ tablespoons of sultanas
- Australians two years and over, consumed on average around 1.5 serves of fruit (including fruit juice and dried fruit) with fresh or canned contributing around 1 serve, and fruit juice and dried fruit 0.5 serve.
- Children on average consumed slightly more serves of fruit than adults (1.7 compared with 1.5).
Alan Barclay, PhD is a consultant dietitian and chef (Cert III). He worked for Diabetes Australia (NSW) from 1998–2014 . He is author/co-author of more than 30 scientific publications, and author/co-author of The good Carbs Cookbook (Murdoch Books), Reversing Diabetes (Murdoch Books), The Low GI Diet: Managing Type 2 Diabetes (Hachette Australia) and The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners (The Experiment, New York).
Contact: You can follow him on Twitter or check out his website.
