Can Too Much Fruit Stall Weight Loss?

Can fruit alone add to your calorie? How much should your calorie intake be per day? How much fruit intake is ideal? What is an optimum weight, and how to determine the optimum weight? Do you need weight loss or weight gain? Do fruits help in weight loss or gain?

With all these mind-mincing questions, we have the answers right here. Let’s get started with BMI (Body-mass index) first.

BMI gives you an idea about how healthy your weight is. Plenty of BMI calculators are available online to check if your weight is right per your height and weight.

The below table decodes the BMI for you.

BMI	Conclusion
Under 18.5	Underweight
18.5 - 24.9	Healthy weight
18.5 - 24.9	Overweight
>-= 30	Obesity

This chart will help you if you need weight loss and how much is based on your goal.

Now let’s turn to fruits.

Fruit and corns contain fructose, which is a natural sugar.

Fructose Leads to Weight Gain

It has caused many an eyebrow because of its effects on weight.

Most whole fruits contain fructose. Also, food product manufacturers convert fructose into a natural sweetener and use it in their products, such as soda, which creates health issues, including cholesterol and reduced insulin sensitivity.

Experts suggest fruit sugar in whole fruits does not cause many health problems. One of the healthy diet plans recommends an adult eat 2 to 2 and a half cups of fruits a day. In contrast, adults who consume 200-250 calories of sweetened beverages (which may contain fructose) can cause gain weight.

Fructose Effects on Liver

Fruit sugar is not an unmixed blessing. Fructose offers some specific ill effects if you consume it in excess.

Three Basic Sugar Sources

• Fructose from fruits

• Glucose from starchy food and fruits

• Sucrose, a.k.a table sugar, combines glucose and fructose

Liver Processes for Fructose, Glucose, and Sucrose

The liver breaks down fructose and glucose and

• Converts them into energy

• Converts them into fat

• Store it as glycogen

• Transfer them to other body parts when it has enough

The Liver Holds Excess Fructose

When the liver has enough, it transfers the excess glucose to other parts of the body, but note that it retains fructose regardless of whether it needs it. All fructose consumed settles in the liver. Problems creep in if you consume excessive fructose, especially from fructose-sweetened beverages.

It is where all the problems begin. When the liver has more fructose than it can handle, it sends out excess triglycerides leading to cardiovascular (heart) ailments. Some triglycerides retained in the liver increase the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes. All these can eventually lead to weight gain.

Fructose stored in the liver in high amounts can cause health problems, but researchers cannot say whether fructose consumed in lower amounts in our diet is more problematic than dietary sugar.

However, you need to be cautious when consuming any form of sugar. You should keep the overall sugar intake in check, particularly the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and beverages.

Benefits of Having Fruits in Your Daily Diet

You must include whole fruits in your general diet or a weight-loss diet because of their far-reaching health benefits.

Better Control of Your Weight

Fruits and fruit juices do not spike sugar as dramatically as other sugar-laden starchy food or sweetened beverages.

Better Control of Your Appetite

Fruits and fibers make you feel full and prevent you from overeating. It causes you to maintain your overall BMI and lower waist circumference. You cannot consume fruits in quantities. It requires time and effort and makes you feel full because of its fiber and water content. Hence, it makes a good weight-loss diet.

Protection Against Cancer

Research shows fruit intake can reduce cancer cases by 20,000 every year. The cancer-preventing attribute f fruit makes it essential to every diet plan.

Better Overall Health Condition

Fruit fiber intake mitigates the risk of premature death from all health-related causes. Fruit can help you meet the daily fiber requirement of 25 gm.

Better Heart and Cardiovascular Health

Dash diet helps reduce hypertension and blood pressure and improves blood lipids, which reduce the risk of heart disease and cardiovascular risks. The dash diet includes high fruit intake.

Cautions While Having Fruits in a Regular Diet

Fruit is not an unmixed blessing of mother nature. We must keep a tab on the following while adding fruits to our diets.

Weight Gain

Having any food or beverage in excess can cause weight gain. Add the food calories while preparing the daily calorie intake chart for a healthy BMI.

Discomfort While Digesting

The fiber is not easily digestible and takes time, which s why it makes you feel full quicker. If you have too much fibrous fruit too quickly, it can cause gas, bloating, and discomfort in the gut. Consume fruits slowly in a prescribed quantity.

Costly Diet

Fruits are not a poor man’s diet. Fresh fruits and unseasonal fruits are expensive in many countries. Make a budget plan to include fruits in your diet without overshooting your budget, and ensure you buy seasonal fruits, which are cheap and fresh to have for your health and digestion.

Conclusion

Fruits are nature’s blessing and gift to humankind. Avoid restricting fruit intake and always add fruit to your daily diet. Make a budget specifically for food intake for you and your family. Two servings of fresh fruits are usually enough to meet your daily goal. Fructose is not as serious a concern as table sugar. Berries can surely replace ice-creams. So enjoy nature’s bounty and avoid packaged fruit juices and sweetened beverages.