The Great Fruit Debate: Do We Really Need It?
With the rise in low and no-carb diets, I often hear the question: “Do I really need to eat fruit?” or “Should I eat fruit? Isn’t it loaded with sugar?” One side says, no, we don’t need fruit while the other says, yes, we do need it. It’s the Great Fruit Debate.
Independent of the side you stand on, we can both agree that fruit has got a bad wrap in recent years.
I want to give you the facts to help you reach an educated decision about fruit. I’ll also talk about the sugar in fruit and how it affects your body so you can answer the question: Does consuming fruit make you fat?
Feel free to jump around the post by clicking on the section titles below.
Nutrients in fruits
The fruit nutrients chart
*Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
**Unless otherwise noted, nutrition content is based on one average-sized piece of fruit.
Apple
Calories 95 Total Fat 0.3 g (0%) Saturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 2 mg (0%) Potassium 195 mg (5%) Total Carbohydrate 25 g (8%) Dietary fiber 4.4 g (17%) Sugar 19 g (0%) Protein 0.5 g (1%) Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 14% Calcium 1% Iron 1% Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 2%
Banana
Calories 105 Total Fat 0.4 g (0%) Saturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 1 mg (0%) Potassium 422 mg (12%) Total Carbohydrate 27 g (9%) Dietary fiber 3.1 g (12%) Sugar 14 g (0%) Protein 1.3 g (2%) Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 17% Iron 1% Vitamin B-6 20% Magnesium 8%
Blackberry
Nutrition content for 1 cup of blackberries
Calories 62 Total Fat 0.7 g (1%) Saturated fat 0 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.4 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 1 mg (0%) Potassium 233 mg (6%) Total Carbohydrate 14 g (4%) Dietary fiber 8 g (32%) Sugar 7 g (0%) Protein 2 g (4%) Vitamin A 6% Vitamin C 50% Calcium 4% Iron 4% Magnesium 7%
Blueberry
Nutrition content for 1 cup of blueberries
Calories 85 Total Fat 0.5 g (0%) Saturated fat 0 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.2 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 1 mg (0%) Potassium 114 mg (3%) Total Carbohydrate 21 g (7%) Dietary fiber 3.6 g (14%) Sugar 15 g (0%) Protein 1.1 g (2%) Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 24% Iron 2% Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 2%
Cherry
Nutrition content for 1 cup of cherries (without pits)
Calories 77 Total Fat 0.5 g (0%) Saturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 5 mg (0%) Potassium 268 mg (7%) Total Carbohydrate 19 g (6%) Dietary fiber 2.5 g (10%) Sugar 13 g (0%) Protein 1.6 g (3%) Vitamin A 39% Vitamin C 25% Calcium 2% Iron 2% Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 3%
Orange
Calories 45 Total Fat 0.1 g (0%) Saturated fat 0 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 0 mg (0%) Potassium 174 mg (4%) Total Carbohydrate 11 g (3%) Dietary fiber 2.3 g (9%) Sugar 9 g (0%) Protein 0.9 g (1%) Vitamin A 4% Vitamin C 85% Calcium 3% Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 2%
Mango
Calories 201 Total Fat 1.3 g (2%) Saturated fat 0.3 g (1%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.2 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0.5 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 3 mg (0%) Potassium 564 mg (16%) Total Carbohydrate 50 g (16%) Dietary fiber 5 g (20%) Sugar 46 g (0%) Protein 2.8 g (5%) Vitamin A 72% Vitamin C 203% Calcium 3% Iron 2% Vitamin B-6 20% Magnesium 8%
Watermelon
Nutrition content for 1 cup of watermelon
Calories 46 Total Fat 0.2 g (0%) Saturated fat 0 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 2 mg (0%) Potassium 170 mg (4%) Total Carbohydrate 11 g (3%) Dietary fiber 0.6 g (2%) Sugar 9 g (0%) Protein 0.9 g (1%) Vitamin A 17% Vitamin C 20% Calcium 1% Iron 2% Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 3%
Strawberry
Nutrition content for 1 cup of strawberries
Calories 47 Total Fat 0.4 g (0%) Saturated fat 0 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.2 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 1 mg (0%) Potassium 220 mg (6%) Total Carbohydrate 11 g (3%) Dietary fiber 2.9 g (11%) Sugar 7 g (0%) Protein 1 g (2%) Vitamin C 141% Calcium 2% Iron 3% Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 4%
Grape
Nutrition content for 1 cup of grapes
Calories 62 Total Fat 0.3 g (0%) Saturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 2 mg (0%) Potassium 176 mg (5%) Total Carbohydrate 16 g (5%) Dietary fiber 0.8 g (3%) Sugar 15 g (0%) Protein 0.6 g (1%) Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 6% Calcium 1% Iron 1% Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 1%
Grapefruit
Nutrition content for 1/2 of a grapefruit
Calories 52 Total Fat 0.2 g (0%) Saturated fat 0 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 0 mg (0%) Potassium 166 mg (4%) Total Carbohydrate 13 g (4%) Dietary fiber 2 g (8%) Sugar 8 g (0%) Protein 0.9 g (1%) Vitamin A 28% Vitamin C 64% Calcium 2% Vitamin B-6 5% Magnesium 2%
Peach
Calories 59 Total Fat 0.4 g (0%) Saturated fat 0 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 0 mg (0%) Potassium 285 mg (8%) Total Carbohydrate 14 g (4%) Dietary fiber 2.3 g (9%) Sugar 13 g (0%) Protein 1.4 g (2%) Vitamin A 9% Vitamin C 16% Magnesium 3%
Pineapple
Nutrition content for 1 cup of pineapple
Calories 82 Total Fat 0.2 g (0%) Saturated fat 0 g (0%) Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g (0%) Monounsaturated fat 0 g (0%) Cholesterol 0 mg (0%) Sodium 2 mg (0%) Potassium 180 mg (5%) Total Carbohydrate 22 g (7%) Dietary fiber 2.3 g (9%) Sugar 16 g (0%) Protein 0.9 g (1%) Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 131% Calcium 2% Iron 2% Vitamin B-6 10% Magnesium 5%
Click here to download the Daily Vitamin Percentage in Fruit infographic.
Can we get these nutrients apart from fruit?
There’s a term called “reductionism”. In this context, I’m referring to nutritional reductionism. The idea behind this concept is to isolate the individual nutrients of a food and extract them for a supplement.
This allows you to get all the vitamins and minerals you might need by swallowing a few pills, right? Unfortunately, our bodies process vitamins, minerals, and nutrients differently when they are isolated.
As Dr. Colin T. Campbell explains, “Among specific chemicals, it is claimed that lycopene (high in tomatoes) and beta-carotene (in green leafy vegetables) prevent cancer, resveratrol (rich in grapes) prevents Alzheimer’s Disease, and beta-carotene improves eyesight. Yet, for each of these claims (and many more), the effects likely work in whole foods but not when these chemicals are consumed in isolation—indeed their isolated effects may be the reverse.
Let’s look at the example of consuming fiber from oats and other plant sources. In addition to keeping you regular it’s also been shown to help shed unwanted pounds and feed your gut flora – all good things.
To get your daily dose of fiber you could eat a bowl of oatmeal or take Metamucil which can cause bloating, stomach pain, and rectal bleeding. I’m going to stick with my daily oatmeal!
The magic bullet approach to nutrition has got us in trouble time and time again. There’s a reason that the vitamin C in an apple (at only 14% of our daily value) is more effective than the vitamin C of a tablet.
An apple is not the sum of its parts. It’s a great source of vitamin C not just because of the amount it contains but because of the perfect synergy of all the nutrients working together.
In fact, we’ve known the power of vitamin C for quite a while. But vitamin C apart from fruit has been shown to be ineffective. Vitamin C pills have not been shown to be effective against stroke, but citrus fruits have.
As NutritionFacts.org explains, “Studies show that eating a variety of whole plant foods increases the positive nutritional benefits above the sum of the individual plant components. Pills cannot mimic the effects of plant food nutrient synergies. Further, components in plant foods extracted out individually may lose their bioavailability or behave differently than when naturally contained in the plants.”
So, if I were to answer the question of whether we can just take a pill or supplement to get all the nutrients found in fruit, the answer would be: not well. Sure, you can get 100% of your daily amount of vitamin C by taking Emergen-C, but your body won’t utilize it as effectively as it would from an apple or mango. You’re better off actually eating the apple and mango.
Effects of not getting these nutrients from fruit
There’s a reason Dr. Atkins' nutritional supplements chapter was subtitled, “Don’t even think of getting along without them!” Dr. Atkins recommended a complex supplement protocol to protect against a diet lacking in key nutrients.
People on low-carb or no-carb diets lack many of these nutrients our bodies need on a daily basis to survive and thrive. One study showed shrinkage of measured muscle size among CrossFit trainees on a ketogenic diet.
In spite of their intense workout routine throughout the course of the three-month study, their leg muscles were shrinking.
Smaller leg muscles aren’t the only concern. Eliminating fruits and vegetables from our diets can lead to depression, lower immune function, and diabetes.
Will eating fruit make me fat?
Fruit has fructose and we’ve been told for some time that fructose is bad for us, right?
Wrong.
It’s the type of fructose. Industrial fructose, not fruit fructose, intake is associated with impaired liver function and obesity.
Fructose from fruit has actually been shown to improve weight loss efforts. As Dr. Greger explains, “Fructose from added sugars was associated with hypertension; fructose from natural fruits is not. If you compare the effects of a diet restricting fructose from both added sugars and fruit to one just restricting fructose from added sugars, the diet that kept the fruit did better. People lost more weight with the extra fruit present than if all fructose was restricted.”
Eating a half-cup of blueberries with a meal has actually been shown to blunt the detrimental effects of high glycemic foods.
In Harvard Health Letter they clearly defined the problem of fructose: “The nutritional problems of fructose and sugar come when they are added to foods. Fruit, on the other hand, is beneficial in almost any amount.”
One study asked the participants to eat twenty servings of fruit each day. And despite the fact they were consuming at least 200 grams of natural fructose each day (8 cans of soda worth) they didn’t experience any negative side effects for body weight, blood pressure, and insulin and lipid levels after three to six months.
In a recent interview, Dr. Cyrus Khambatta, a nutritional biochemist who’s made it his goal to help people reverse diabetes, admitted to eating as many as twenty mangoes a day.
Closing
Fruit is delicious! Nothing compares to biting into a perfectly ripe, Georgia peach in season or a dark pink watermelon on a hot summer day.
But many people will argue whether we need fruit. Given the nutritional content of fruit, we can agree it provides many key vitamins and minerals our body needs to survive and thrive. I think there’s a reason this nutrient-rich food was placed on this earth.
Has the fact that fruit is high in fructose scared you from eating it in the past? And what about now: does this information make you want to consume more of it?
About the author:
Kara Swanson is a certified nutritionist and founder of Life Well Lived. She is married to her best friend and the proud mother of three. Her passion is to make nutrition simple+easy+delicious!