One reason you probably don’t eat enough fruit is because it never seems to be available when you need it. Fruit is hard to find in restaurants, fast food shops or convenience stores, and it’s often more expensive than at the supermarket. One way to make sure you eat more fruit is to bring it along when you go out.
Do you think you need to say no to fruit because you have diabetes? Do you think the sugar in fruit will raise your blood glucose too fast or too high? These beliefs are common. However, when you read advice from the American Diabetes Association and the 2005 Dietary Guidelines and Food Pyramid, you see there’s no reason to forget about fruit. Quite the opposite is true. If you are like most Americans, you need to eat more fruit.
FRUIT: IT’S MAINLY CARBOHYDRATES
Yes, nearly all the calories from fruit are from sucrose, more simply known as sugar. Fruit raises blood glucose just like all foods that have carbohydrates. Along with fruit, the healthy sources of carbohydrates are starches, milk, yogurt and non-starchy vegetables. These are some of the foods nutrition experts say that most Americans aren’t eating enough of. Nutritionists recommend that these healthy foods play a central part of the meals and snacks you plan and eat.
FRUIT PACKS A NUTRITION AND HEALTH PUNCH
Fruits are packed with important nutrients that many Americans don’t get enough of, such as potassium, folate (folic acid), Vitamin A, Vitamin C and fiber. These are the nutrients that give fruit its nutritional punch. Research shows that fruit also packs a health punch. When people eat enough fruit, they have less chance of having a stroke or getting heart disease. People with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk for these two problems. So, eating fruit is just one more way to prevent them.
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
Studies show that only about 1-in-4 Americans eat enough fruit. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines and Food Pyramid strongly advise eating more fruit: 2 cups of fruit every day if you eat 2,000 calories a day. Two cups of fruit is about four servings (one serving equals 1/2 cup of canned fruit or a small piece of fruit). A medium-to-large apple, for example, equals about two servings or one cup. If you eat fewer calories, cut back by half a cup (to 1 1/2 cups). If you eat more calories, eat 1/2 cup more (to 2 1/2 cups). But you do need to pay attention to how much fruit you eat at one time. It’s easy to plow through a bowl of grapes or cherries in one sitting. Instead, put a portion in a separate bowl before you dig in. Also, buy the smaller pieces of fruit at the market. If the pieces are too large, eat just one half at a time. Your blood glucose levels will be more even if you spread your fruit servings out over the course of the day.
VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines and Food Pyramid also make the point that when it comes to fruit, the old expression “variety is the spice of life” holds true. Eat a wide variety of fruits to get all the nutrients you need: a banana in your cereal at breakfast, a tangerine at lunch and a serving of berries at night.
The various groups of fruits offer different nutrients. For example, oranges are a great source of Vitamin C, bananas offer potassium and berries add a few grams of fiber. Widen your fruit horizons by trying ones you’ve never tasted, such as kiwi, mango, papaya and star fruit. Nutrition experts learn more about the benefits of different fruits all the time. For example, a recent study using animal cells showed that cherries contain a natural chemical called anthocyanins. This chemical was found to increase the amount of insulin the beta cells make in the pancreas. Anthocyanins also are found in red grapes, strawberries and blueberries, but anthocyanins have not been studied in humans. So you can enjoy cherries for their wonderful flavor as well as for good nutrition. Check out the section “Fruits by the Nutrients” below to learn about the fruits that are good sources of important nutrients.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines suggests choosing from fresh, canned, frozen and dried fruit rather than fruit juice. Pieces of fruit contain some fiber, but juices don’t. Buy canned fruit packed in its own juice or with no sugar added. Buy frozen fruit that is not in sweet syrup or is sweetened with a no-calorie sweetener. If you do choose to drink juice, make sure it is 100 percent juice with no added sugar. Pack even more nutrition into juice by selecting one that is fortified with calcium and Vitamin D. Many Americans also don’t get their fill of these nutrients.
Add up all the health and nutrition benefits from fruit, and you can see why fruit is too important to skip. Don’t be afraid to try something new—and enjoy
FRUITS BY THE NUTRIENTS
Vitamin A (carotenoids)-Oranges, mangos, cantaloupe, apricots, red or pink grapefruits, canned plums
Vitamin C-Clementine, oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, kiwis, strawberries, papaya, cantaloupe
Folate (Folic Acid)- Oranges, orange juice
Potassium- Bananas, dried fruits, oranges, orange juice, cantaloupe, honeydew melon
Fiber-Berries (most types), dried plums (prunes), apricots and figs, pears.
TIPS TO FIT IN FRUIT
- Take one or two pieces of fruit to work or on the road. Eat a piece as part of your lunch or as a snack.
- Cut up a bunch of fruit and keep it in the refrigerator so it is ready to eat. Try a serving at breakfast or in the evening.
- Blend berries with skim milk or yogurt for a quick breakfast shake.
- Top cold cereal with a serving of fruit.
- Toss in chopped apple or a handful of raisins when you cook hot cereal.
- Keep dried fruit with you for a quick snack or pack it for all-day outing.
- Bake an apple. Top it with yogurt.
- Buy single pop-top cans of canned fruits (packed in its own juice) to pack in lunches, have for a snack or use when you run out of fresh fruit.
