??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? Can we eat or not?
? Most of you would answer this as Yes without a second thought. But it is not as straight forward as that.
? That depends on many factors:
1️⃣ Type of Fruit
? Not all fruits are the same, some are sweeter than the other.
? Even the same fruit can have multiple varieties (like Red Apple, Green Apple etc) with different properties.
? All fruits contain 2 simple sugars: Glucose & Fructose (just like table sugar or honey).
? Fruits with more Fructose content are the sweeter ones.
? The Myth is that fructose is harmless as it doesn’t register on HbA1C & doesn’t spike insulin. It’s wrong! They are more harmful on the body especially the liver.
? Fruits like Mangos, Pineapple, Banana etc are the worst offenders when it comes to spiking your blood sugar levels.
? On the other hand, fruits like Avocado, Guava (semi ripe), Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Kiwi etc have minimal effect on Blood sugar levels.
2️⃣ How the Fruit is Eaten
? Fruits have Fibre (modern fruits have very less though). They control the spiking of blood sugar too quickly to an extent.
? But the moment you make Juices & Smoothies, all this goes out of the way & it essentially become a sugar water.
? Commercially available Fruit juices are even worse.
? Fruits > Fruit Juice
? Dried Fruits can be a villian in disguise. Devoid of Water content they are concentrated sugar bombs.
? Eating Semi ripe fruits are better than eating totally ripe ones.
3️⃣ How much Fruit do you eat
? This is common sense. If you are going to eat a lot of fruits throughout the day, it’s gonna be a problem.
? If you eat fruits in limited quantity (taking other factors into account) it’s not gonna be much of a problem.
4️⃣ What you eat the fruits with
? If you were eating Fruits with Yoghurt or Whey & Milk, the sugar spike will be minimal.
? On the contrary if you are eating Fruits with a sugary cereals, it becomes more harmful.
? Eating them with certain things can make them less or more harmful.
5️⃣ Your Metabolic Health
? This is the most important.
? If you are metabolically healthy, you can handle fruits (& carbs in general) much better than someone who’s metabolically compromised.
? For someone with Diabetes, PCOS or any such Metabolic conditions, fruits are as dangerous as Sugar!
? Being Natural doesn’t make them better in this regard.
? See if your blood markers are in order before deciding to gourge on Fruits. Take a good look in the mirror while you are at it.
? A younger person might be able to handle fruits without any problem, for the older person it might be a death wish!
6️⃣ Your Physical Activity
? Your Physical activities & muscle mass are your biggest shields against Metabolic illnesses.
? Muscles are Glucose sponges, they give you more leeway to consume Carbs.
? Don’t get thrown off by these super fit athletes & bodybuilders consuming fruits, they can tolerate it. You can’t!
? Physical activity gives you more Insulin sensitivity.
? Having Fruits post Workout might be the best strategy/time to consume fruits.
? On the whole, it is meaningless to give a YES or NO answer to “are Fruits healthy?”
? The better question would be “Are Fruits essential?”. The Answer is NO. There is no special nutrient in Fruits that make it an essential part of the Human diet. You can decide to consume them or not based on the factors mentioned above.
