I gotta be honest, I thought twice (maybe 3 times) about whether to write this article.
On one hand I want to educate all my readers and give them good advice which they can apply to their lives to become a fitter, healthier, and happier person.
But then on the other hand I don’t want to put people off making positive changes to their life.
What I mean by this is if someone has managed to cut out chocolate, cakes and crisps and replaced them by munching on fruit instead then that’s great but if in this article I say that fruit can make you fat this person could just think ‘What’s the point?!’ and get back to the cakes. I don’t want that and hopefully none of the readers will think that.
So Does Fruit Make You Fat?
This is quite a debate and I’ve seen this topic being talked about quite a lot recently.
The normal government eating advice says we should eat 5 portions a day? Government nutrition advice can’t be wrong can it? …..
Fruit is great, it’s absolutely delicious there’s loads of variety and it’s packed full of goodness and vitamins.
BUT
At the end of the day it is still a carbohydrate and as you know from previous posts if carbohydrates aren’t managed properly they can cause you to gain fat.
If you are having a ‘healthy’ fruit smoothie with 5+ pieces of fruit for brekkie every morning and you are not losing weight then that could be why. Whether it’s healthy natural fruit sugar or refined sugar it doesn’t matter when eaten in those quantities.
The most important factor in this question is ACTIVITY LEVELS
Basically the more you do the more fruit you can have. If you have a low body fat percentage are lean and exercise your ass off then you can pretty much have as much fruit as you want … good news for you!
But (there’s always a but)
If you aren’t quite so active and not as lean and are looking for fat loss then you need to limit your fruit intake. You don’t need to cut it out just limit it, 2 pieces a day is just about right I’d say if you are looking to lose fat.
Another factor in this is TYPE OF FRUIT
Ever heard of the GI scale? It stands for Glycemic index.
Without boring you with the sciency stuff the Glycemic index basically measures foods in order of the effect they have on your insulin levels, foods which have a big effect (high Glycemic) are more likely to lead to fat gain, those who have a low effect (low Glycemic) won’t cause you such a problem.
So with regards to fruit you want to really aim to eat more of the fruits which are low on the GI scale (low in sugar) rather than ones higher on the GI scale (high in sugar).
Fruit is stored in the liver and is used for energy, when you exercise at a high intensity the energy from fruit is depleted and replenished faster so it’s not stored as fat. If you didn’t exercise this way you wouldn’t use so much for energy so it’s gotta go somewhere (fat storage!).
To help you out here are a few tips to help you out when it comes to fruit:
- Avoid eating over ripe fruit on its own – These fruits contain loads more fructose (sugar) which can lead to fat storage. Add some protein or good fats to fruit to keep your blood sugar levels healthy. Easy way to do this? Handful of nuts or seeds with your fruit.
- Time your fruit intake – Perfect time for fruit is immediately after high intensity exercise, you body will love it and use it! Early in the morning is good too with a healthy protein or friendly fats.
5 Low GI fruits (Better):
- Apple
- Grapefruit
- Plums
- Cherries
- Berries
5 High GI fruits (Worse):
- Cantaloupe/Watermelon
- Mango
- Grapes
- Pineapple
- Banana
So does fruit make you fat?
No not compared to all of the other things that do make us fat.
Can it make you fatter?
Yes, if you eat too much of the stuff and don’t exercise enough it can lead to a fat spillover.
So just take on the advice you’ve learnt today and you will be able to enjoy your delicious fruit without having to worry about getting fatter! Eat more of the low carb low GI fruits and you won’t overdo it on the sugar.
Jamie ‘I Love Fruit’ Stedman
