Fruits and fruit juices aren’t necessarily extending your life. An unhealthy fruit seems like a cruel joke from nature, right?
All Foods Aren’t ‘Healthy’
The truth is: they aren’t all perfect. They do contain vitamins and minerals essential for survival, but they are usually PACKED with sugar – which isn’t too terrific.
The following fruits are discussed often as “healthy” fruits but contain so much sugar that they could negate their positive benefits when consumed too much…
- Lychees – 29 grams of sugar per cup (plus they’re low in fiber)
- Mangoes – 23 grams of sugar per cup (equivalent to a bag of Sour Patch Kids)
- Bananas – Not necessarily bad for you but they shouldn’t be chosen as a meal replacement too often as they contain 25% sugar (blueberries or raspberries offer greater benefits)
- Figs – 8 grams of sugar for one small fig (not great for blood glucose levels)
- Cherries – 18 grams of sugar per cup (really easy to overeat)
- Grapes – 15 grams of sugar per cup (a serving size is 17 grapes but it can be hard to stop there)
- Pineapple – 16 grams per cup (pineapple is good and bad because it contains manganese which helps control blood sugar)
- Coconut (Meat) – 27 grams of fat per cup (luckily, this is a healthy fat – but 27 grams of fat per cup is still extremely high)
Keep in mind that sugar-heavy fruits aren’t the enemy. It’s the lack of moderation that makes fruits bad.
If you want to get all the benefits of fruit without overdoing it on calories and carbs, mix and match the types of fruit you eat and spread out your fruit intake throughout the day.
Pair a healthy protein and a good source of fat with every fruit to promote better health and curb hunger for a longer period of time.
Dried Fruit Isn’t The Better Choice
Whole foods, like fruits, provide you with vital nutrients and necessary carbs to give you the energy you need to excel. But, store-bought dried fruit is the opposite of what you need.
Store-bought dried fruit is normally devoid of nutrients and contains even more added sugar.
Fruit Juices Are A ‘No From Us, Dog’
Many fruit juices are expected to be healthy because they’re “natural.”
However, the majority of the fruit juices you find in the supermarket contain little to no fruit at all – just chemicals that taste like fruit.
You’re drinking 100% chemically-flavored sugar water.
Even if fruit juice is made from the real thing, it may still be a bad idea. Fruit juice is like fruit, except with all the good stuff stripped away (like fiber, certain vitamins, and other naturally occurring minerals).
The Best Fruits
All nutritionists we surveyed agreed that berries and apples are the best fruits.
Apples and berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries) have high fiber content, which ticks off the boxes for optimal digestion and healthy blood glucose levels. Also, one raspberry/blueberry has roughly one calorie – that’s pretty sweet.
