Is Eating Fruit Making You Fat?
If you've read the most popular diet books for the past decade, then the answer is a resounding YES!
But is there scientific rationale for the demonization of something we've been told to eat daily?
Popular Diets' Fruit Philosophies
- The ever-popular Dukan diet shuns them - too high in carbs, says the good doctor.
- And no surprise that the darling of low carb, Gary Taubes recommends eschewing fruits.
- Ditto for Tim Ferris, author of "The 4-hour Body" who includes the avoidance of fruit as one of his "slow carb" diets 5 rules.
- And another new kid on the diet book block, "The 17-Day Diet", recommends not eating any fruit after 2:14pm, Eastern Standard Time (or something equally ridiculous).
- And let's not forget the scads of books based on the glycemic index scale - with a variety of fruits higher in glycemic index strictly verboten - the equivalent of drinking a blended snickers bar.
Does Research Agree?
Before looking at the data, we must apply context. Any category of food can be "fattening" in high enough amounts. Gorging on mangos, bananas and apples all day long will hinder any fat loss goal.
Also, having said fruit in the form of juice adds copious amounts of sugar and calories to the diet without yielding much in the way of nutrition - even though they count as "servings" of fruit.
While studies that examine strictly fruit intake and body composition are hard to come by, you know what's impossible to come by? Studies that show fruit consumption CAUSES weight gain.
Here's a study that showed a net fat loss with 3 apples or pears per day.
Add that to the multitude of studies showing vegetable and fruit consumption boosts health in many ways and you'd be hard-pressed to convince me to ditch my daily apple.
And if these authors are trying to play the "fruit-drives-insulin-and-insulin-makes-you-fat" card - wrong again! Doesn't happen when calories are kept in check and protein is adequate.
Eating a variety of fruits will give you a broad range of antioxidants and other phytonutrients that serve to lower disease risk. There is absolutely no need to eliminate them from your diet, not eat them after 1:18pm during a crescent moon when the dew point reaches 2.780, or in any other situation. Just don't go overboard.
Has fruit been part of your weight loss diet?
Image Credit: Flickr
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52 Comments
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Created / Updated: January 25, 2012
30 bananas a day hasn't made durianrider fat! LOL
ReplyI clicked on this link and I LOVED Durianriders message to eat more, move more and live more. For twenty five years I tried to starve myself lean and it never worked. Some of my comments below are really from the bitterness I feel towards the idea that it is better to "diet," which really means to "starve" than to exercise to get thin. In the long run this doesn't work. I am thinner than I have been in years and am eating more than I have for years. I am also active as he is. I am not against carbs or fats in nuts, however. He is right, fruit doesn't make people fat. My diet is becoming more and more plant based, but not eschewing plant fats, such as in nuts.
ReplySpectra's comments about processed foods has just given me an ah ha moment. Maybe it is *processed* fats and carbs that are particularly fattening, not the naturally occuring varieties of these. The fat in fast food and fried foods had often made me fat. It is because these contain a lot of trans fats. Frying food often hydrogenates the fats. But nuts which contain only healthy fats don't seem to fatten me. Similarly the naturally occuring sugar in fruit seems a lot less fattening than in refined sweet products which are also combined with other ingredients devoid of nutrition. Many processed sweets are full of trans fats as well. So maybe one reason I personally find I don't need to be either particularly low fat or low carb is that I have really decreased my consumption of the processed varieties of these.
ReplyThis is what drives me BONKERS about low carb diets. Fruit should never be banned. I understand avoiding refined carbs and even limiting whole carbs but FRUIT? You nailed it right on the head when you said that there is no evidence to even make the claim that fruit consumption leads to weight gain. That's the problem with lumping all carbs together. They don't all act the same. And yet there are low carb people out there that won't do research to find out that they are avoiding something that could help them. It's sad.
ReplyLow-carb diets do NOT eliminate fruit. It's a MYTH!
From day 1:
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Summer Squash
Peppers (red, green, yellow, orange, etc.)
Zucchini
Avocado
Eggplant
After first two-weeks:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Honeydew
Canteloupe
Kiwi
Cherries (limit to 14 in a serving)
For weight maintenance - any fruit is fine as long as it does not trigger cravings and/or spike BG's.
I am so tired to hearing low-carb eliminates fruit when it isn't true!
ReplyFructose seems to have a special effect on leptin sensitivity. If you push your fructose intake high enough, the calories stop mattering; once leptin sensitivity has been broken, you're almost certainly going to gain weight until you fix it again. However, it might be hard to get enough fructose to poison your endocrine system by eating whole fruit (fruit juice is a totally different story).
Another thing I've been wondering about is, given the slower digestion of whole fruit, whether our gut flora ferments some of the fructose into something else before it's absorbed into the body.
Also, fruit pectin is a soluble fiber that ferments into butyric acid (4-carbon saturated fat). For some reason, butyric acid seems to be a powerful metabolic regulator. Whatever health benefit you associate with fiber is likely the result of its fermentation to butyric acid or other short-chain saturated fatty acids.
ReplyI am in agreeance with you Ryan, have you checked out Jack Kruse's site? He is a Neuro Surgeon, and gives you, via the forums, all the info about how leptin resistance works. He also gives you the leptin re-set eating plan. You only have to do it for 6 - 8 weeks, then introduce the foods you aren't eating gradually. Great reading.
I did it for 4 - 5 days, after being fructose (almost) free for 12 months, and lost another 3 kilos, on top of the already 14 I had already lost.
Another book to add to your collection is Sweet Poison, and Sweet Poison:The Quit Plan, by David Gillespie.
This man changed my life. I am no longer hungry, after 40 odd years of never feeling full. My appetite control has finally returned, and I feel great. A lot of my little ailments have disappeared, and, I Feel Great!!
this book advocates eating 2 pieces of fruit per day, but to limit the higher fructose ones, like, apples, pears & bananas. Never drink fruit juice or eat dried fruit, which are both concentrated fructose, and omit honey, as it is 58% fructose. Instead of all those sticky sugary sweet things, try Rice Malt Syrup, very nice on porridge, and in cake baking, (using dextrose powder in place of sugar). See the forum for recipes, or better still, buy the book.
Happy eating everyone
Silver Angel
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ReplyIn related news, it has been discovered that water is toxic in large amounts.
Seriously, get real.
Replyuh, water IS toxic in high amounts. Ever heard of hyponatremia?? a.k.a drowning your cells??
Anywho, I agree that the idea of fruit making you fat is just ridiculous.
ReplyYes, my point exactly. I suppose my sarcasm didn't get through. My point was that ANYTHING, even things that are good and indeed essential for your health, is harmful in large amounts.
ReplyI think it goes to show that when one greatly restricts carbs, calories or fats that often nutrition suffers. Low fat and low cal restricts nuts and seeds which have innumerable health benefits as well. I consume lots of fruits, nuts and seeds. Instead of greatly restricting any macronutrient, I exercise everyday. If a person exercises a lot, they don't have to be too concerned about eliminating any kind of healthy food. Low carb, low fat OR low cal all become unnecessary. Moderation yes, but strict restriction of any of these, no.
ReplyAh, sweet sweet Dan. You are adorable!
I love fruit and nuts. Really, I do. And I exercise a lot - something I also love. But let me tell you, I can not out exercise my love of fruit and nuts. Believe me, I've tried. I will get a slow and steady weight creep if one or the other (and especially both) are every day food choices. For me, fruit and nuts are treats. And I've made peace with that and am a happy eater.
Everyone's body works a bit differently based on genetics and their lifestyle history. What works for you may not work for me. And what works for me might not work for you.
ReplyI DO count every calorie and bite that I eat. I weigh and measure everything I eat. I make sure that the number of calories I eat does not make me gain weight. I weigh myself everyday and keep on top of any weight gain. SURELY you could eat some nuts and certainly even more fruit if you could limit your portions. I eat three ounces of nuts everyday and two tablespoons of peanut butter. Maybe you can only tolerate one ounce of nuts. I think the health benefits are worth it. If the one ounce makes you gain weight, then you could also cut one slice of bread out each day- nuts are far better for you than bread is anyway. You gotta look at the total number of calories you eat for the day, not just one item or two. Most fresh fruit does not really have that many calories, except perhaps bananas and grapes- but these have far fewer per ounce than does candy or nuts. Dried fruit has a lot of calories per ounce, however. My point about exercise is not that it allows most people to eat whatever they want, but rather it enables people to eat a more normal, less restrictive diet than they could if they didn't exercise. My exercise program is very serious. I bicycle at least an hour every single day and my total mileage each week is about 140 miles. I also go on some long brisk walks and do strength training. This has greatly aided me in losing 95 pounds and in keeping off the weight. Exercise enables me to eat more healthy foods. I could hardly eat anything before I really started exercising seriously. I have increased my metabolism slowly over time. By the way, I read this one woman who was in the same Marathon as Joe D'Amico of McDonald's fame comment on the WEB that while training for this Marathon that she was losing weight on calories up to 3000 a day and that she is a *small woman.* That was the same number of calories that I, as a 6 foot tall man lost my weight on. Think about that when you think that calorie burn is all genetic.
ReplyI feel sorry for you if you have to count every last crumb that passes your lips. You shouldn't have to - and wouldn't have to if you ate the way you're designed to eat.
Tell me - what other mammal in the world has to count calories?
Rhetorical really - the answer is NONE - except the humans that buy into eating in ways that we are not designed to eat!
ReplyI find it helpful and since I have done it so long and know how many calories everything has, it really isn't that hard at all. Sometimes I do skip it when I go out to eat. One thing that I find very helpful about it is that it enables me to know just how much I can eat and stay on the same weight. I have kept my weight almost exactly around 160 for a year now- I have not been able to stay at one weight this long for over thirty years now. It also cuts down on mindless eating. Another reason I love counting calories is that it helped me to realize that I could eat more than I thought I could and still lose weight. I now can eat quite a bit of food and still maintain my weight. Exercise helps a person consume more in weight loss and in weight maintenance. It is similar to writing down every debit or check that I write in my checkbook. Before I did that, I would often overdraw my account. I haven't done it since then. I keep counting because I don't want to be 255 ever again.
ReplyI agree with Nemo, counting calories is crazy! You don't have to if you know how to eat the foods that are sating. (S)he makes a good point, no other mammals (and we are mammals) watch what they eat, diet to lose weight or exercise more if they put on a few, because they don't put on a few unles they're domesticated eating the crap we call food.
Once upon a time I clocked in at almost 300 and lost the weight ten years ago. My weight has remained within 5 pounds of my goal weight, 150, for the nine years since hitting my goal weight. I don't count calories. I don't exercise other than my normal everyday activities (and by that, I am active). If I had to count calories to stay this weight, I'd go mad.
ReplyI try very hard not to criticize another person for what they find works for them. But it seems like you and Nemo don't want to show the same consideration. What I do works for me, how does that hurt you? Balancing a checkbook takes no more effort, I suppose doing this also drives you crazy. Counting carbs instead must be what other mammals do. I must hurt you by what I do in my personal life. Maybe I should not comment anymore since I hurt others by my comments.
ReplyI was thinking that counting calories would drive me crazy if I wasn't eating that many calories- I consume well over 3000 each day and don't gain weight. Counting calories would be a pain if I had to consume 1500 or so to stay at the same weight. I don't think I could eat so much and stay so thin if I didn't exercise as much as I do. I would rather exercise than go on a highly restrictive diet. John stone fitness talks about counting calories to measure increases in metabolism from exercise. I count calories to be careful in increasing the amount I eat- exercising is slowly increasing the amount I can eat.
ReplyI need to keep my daily intake around 1500 calories in addition to vigorously exercising 3x a week on top of my daily activity. It's doable.
ReplyMaybe for you. They say males should not even eat fewer than 1500 calories a day. I would rather exercise a lot and eat than eating less and exercising less. I don't use up all these extra calories on candy anyway. A lot of them are used up on nuts- up to 800 of them. Look at my comment about the the *small* woman who lost weight on up to 3000 calories a day training for a Marathon. She trained for the same Marathon as Joe D'Amico who was written about on Diet Blog.
ReplyBah, I run 70-80 miles a week, watch what I eat,, and still have 30 lb to lose... I gained that 30 lb in a 2.5 month period when some medical issues popped up, but I wish just exercise would make it go away. I know I was eating around 2000 Calories a day when I was running 80-90 miles a week and was thinner before the medical issues.
3000, as if. She's a lucky small woman. That's not everybody.
ReplyI certainly am not trying to say what number of calories each person can eat. I hope, however, you agree with me and not Maggie and Nemo that it is crucial to track what one eats to know how many calories given ones activity level one can eat to lose weight and how many to maintain one weight. Exercise needs to be daily to be effective for weight control, I never found a few days a week that effective. There still needs to be dietary restraint, but many people can only eat a lot less if they just diet.
ReplyI agree with you.
I find it amazing people don't regard other human behaviours which are not in nature (money, balancing checkbooks, working in offices with technology) as unnatural and thus we shouldn't do it.
The way our bodies are designed/evolved is for us to hunt animals or to forage. If you live in the woods, go hunting for berries and animals or fish (without a fishing rod), then counting calories is stupid. [Like born survivor thingy but for life]
IF you buy your food from anywhere including the supermarket/farmer's market/any other type of market, if you do actively engage in modern sedentary activities like taking a bus, working on a computer all day, sitting down in a classroom all day, maybe walking the occasional two steps before sitting down again, then counting calories is smart. You DO want to take care of your body, don't you?
The difference is this:
In one scenario, there's a limit on food and in order to get the food you must exercise. Furthermore, you may starve for several days so you'll need an excess of calories just in case.
In the other, there's a shortage of exercise but abundance of food. Therefore you need to make sure that you get the correct exercise/food limits. The best way to do this is to count calories. It's not stupid, it's not obsessive, it's smart.
ReplyAlso, as regards to the other person who didn't believe your 3000kcal a day assertion. You mentioned you were a male. Males normally have to eat around 2500kcal to maintain their weight (some more, some less, all depending on weight and height). You aren't trying to lose weight, you are maintaining your weight. You also mentioned you exercise a lot (I'm assuming more than 3x a day, considering the conversation above), therefore I would assume you burn around 500kcal [which isn't that difficult]. Therefore it makes sense.
I don't count calories that come from unprocessed foods. I only count the calories/portion sizes from processed food because the calories are packed in pretty densely in most of that stuff. When we eat fruits, veggies, nuts, eggs, and lean meats and fish, we don't really NEED to count calories too closely. Seriously, I consume something like 4 servings of nuts a day--I don't really count them, but they aren't making me fat, so I see no reason to start counting them.
ReplyI am REALLY glad you've found something that's working for you. A 95lb weight loss is no joke. Congratulations! I'm 75lbs down and have kept it off for five years so I have an idea of the kind of work that making a change like that takes. :)
I'm just coming at this from the perspective that bodies are different. People are different. What works for you isn't going to be the magic bullet for someone else. For me, sadly, I killed a few too many beta cells in my pancreas to do well on a higher carb diet. Likely, my liver didn't do so well either (insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease go hand in hand). And so I'm carb sensitive and a little less efficient when it comes to fructose metabolism. And I'm totally cool with that. This is the body I have and it's a good one and I'm grateful for it. And I'm happy to treat it right.
I LIKE how I eat. I know, I know. Some people, you tell them "you can't eat that" and they go all kinds of squirrell-y and they crash and burn. I'm the opposite. Tell me I can eat whatever I want in moderation... Yeah. Not a good scene. I don't do moderation. So, a lower carb paleo approach to eating just clicked. Yay! But again, my magic bullet isn't everyone's. And I know most people as active as I am (this year, I'm top 20 in my region for the CrossFit games and I qualified for nationals in powerlifting) would crash and burn on as few carbs as I seem to be able to get away with.
So, if there's someone else out there who wants to try to take out nuts or fruit to see how they do, I say give it a shot. You won't know unless you try it as to whether or not it will be of benefit.
ReplyIt seems like both nuts and fruits are allowed on a Paleo diet. Nuts are not that high in carbs- what problem do you have with them? I thought fat that is high in nuts is not a problem on a Paleo diet. And fruit like strawberries and cantaloupe aren't really that high in carbs. Grapes and bananas are. Of course fruit juice, esp. grape juice is VERY high in carbs and in calories.
ReplyI relooked it up and yes, only grains, legumes and dairy are off the Paleo diet, not fruit nor nuts. I find that neither fat nor carbs make me fat now that I am much more active- I am neither in the low fat nor low carb camp. I do believe in "calories" but I don't think really low calorie diets are that healthy. I do calorie "balancing," not restriction. If I agree with Taubes on anything, it is that it is not a good idea to go into starvation mode caused by low calorie diets. Previously when I tried to lose weight, I would over restrict my diet too much and I would only lose so much weight. Calorie counting prevents me from eating too little or too much.
ReplyPaleo isn't one size fits all. You can customize it for your own body based on how you look/feel/perform. You can do a higher carb approach (sweet potatoes, yams, casava, squash, etc as well as some fruit) or you can ratchet down your carbs, too. Mark Sissons, the folks at Whole9 and Robb Wolf all recommend playing around with different approaches to find what works for you.
Most paleo approaches caution against too many nuts. Nuts tend to be high in omega 6's, which is something we try and reduce with a paleo approach in order to get to a 2:1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids. I tend to get pretty inflamed and find my recovery from workouts isn't as quick if I get my fats from nut sources. I tend to stick with coconut oil/milk, EVOO, avocados etc for my added fats. Macadamia nuts and walnuts have decent n3:n6 ratios so if I do go for some nuts, I usually stick with those (and they're pretty yummy, too).
Again, with fruit, the paleo approach goes with the whole idea that fruit was only in season for a limited time so it was never really a fruit free-for-all. Fruit is fine but , again, it depends on your body. Veggies of all sorts tend more to be the carb sources of choice. Matt Lalonde's recommendations around fruit is to try and limit fructose consumption to around 50g a day, which is about the amount that a healthy liver can metabolize.
ReplyFine, if that works for you. I learned something new about Paleo. I don't want to come across like Maggie and call others crazy when what they find works is different from me. I am sorry if I sounded like her.
ReplyMy original comment about exercise making low carb unneccessary does not mean they or low fat don't work. It rather means the more one exercises the less restrictive their diet has to be. People lose weight all the time without exercise by low fat, low carb or low calorie, but they have to be much more careful about what they eat than I find I have to be, since I exercise a lot. Look at Joe D'Amico, mentioned on this blog who ate at McDonalds everyday while training for a Marathon. If he didn't exercise so much he would surely gain weight. Many people would lose weight if they stopped going to McDonalds, but exercising to his level makes not going there unnecessary to not gain weight.
ReplyAny food high on the glycemic index is bad and causes a rise in blood sugar. Stick with fresh vegetables, especially green ones, and avoid the sugar and calories in fruit.
ReplyMost of the unhealthy people I know do not eat a diet high in veggies and fruit. I challenge these fruit naysayers to produce one person who is obese because of a diet high in whole fruits (not juices).
ReplyAs Ryan pointed out, fructose does get metabolized slightly differently than other carbs and can mess with your insulin levels if you eat enough of it. However--I don't think fruit in its natural state will cause problems with insulin levels. The problems arise when you take out the fiber and the water in the fruit and/or add sugar to the fruit: juices, dried fruits, fruits canned in syrup, etc. are a whole different story than eating a fresh orange with your breakfast. I eat 1-2 servings of fruit a day and it hasn't hindered my weight loss/weight maintenance at all.
ReplyWhat also doesn't make sense is to fixate on the sugar but ignore the fiber. Fruit juices, etc., don't have the fiber that is found in whole fruit. It doesn't even make sense to assume that whole fruit would be digested in the same way as pure sugar.
ReplyThank you Mike, it's hard enough to get people to eat fruit, without having confusing diets demonizing fruit consumption. Surely the nutritional benefits outweigh any potential reduction in fat loss efficiency.
ReplySeeing an article like this makes me a little bit mad, I have been on a weight loss mission for just over a year and have shed more than 30 kilos in total and still have another 8 to go, I eat fruit and lots of it and I dont think at all it has hindered it at all, People dont eat enough of it and I see it especially at work, my idea of a post workout food, is yoghurt , banana and some kind of other fruit and that certainly is rewarding for me, Fruit cannot make you fat and I firmly believe this, so I am going to keep eating fruit & vegetables and live a long healthy life! :)
ReplyTaubes actually does not recommend "eschewing" fruit per se, he points out correctly that our obsession with fruit as an essential item is wrong, and that modern varieties contain far more sugar than the wild varieties humans evolved to eat, and only then seasonally.
ReplyA major problem is that most "fruit" nowadays is supplied in cartons of juice, this is a huge oversupply of sugar – you might as well drink coco-cola for all the good it will do you.
He points out that fruit sugar is half sucrose, which, when in the blood, converts partly to glucose, which competes with ascorbic acid (Vit. C) for absorption, making the supposed key benefit of fruit far less effective. It is also half fructose which is particularly fattening as well as, and in combination with, the insulinic effects of glucose.
Our ancestors ate berries seasonally, not tubs of orange juice, but got their main supply of C Vit. - without the sugar from liver.
Liver contains almost every vitamin and is a true superfood.
I don't think too many people disagree that fruit *juice* has too much sugar. Even 100% Grape juice, for instance, has more calories and sugar per fluid ounce than a regular soft drink. Of course, watch portions sizes of dried fruit as well. The fiber and pulp in a whole fruit makes it much lower glycemic than the juice. Yes, indeed, liver is truly a highly nutritious food. One thing to watch for however, is that it can have such high levels of Vitamin A, that a person can get a toxic amount of it. Possibly it would good to consume about twice a week, rather than everyday because of this.
ReplyVitamin A toxicity is actually extremely hard to get. Basically, you either need massive supplementation or livers from polar animals. Health authorities, for whatever reason, are overly paranoid about the possibility of VitA overdose.
ReplyI think what I heard was exactly what you said- polar animal livers can have toxic amounts of Vitamin A.
ReplyYeah, unless you're eating polar bears or seals, don't worry about Vitamin A. Health authorities set the "tolerable upper limit" for Vitamin A at 10,000 IU, but there are people who take 50,000 or even 100,000 IU as part of their daily regimen without hurting themselves. I don't know why the paranoia about Vitamin A is so exaggerated.
ReplyI found this quote from Wikipedia.
"The liver of certain animals — including the polar bear, seal, walrus,[7] and husky — is unsafe to eat because it is extraordinarily high in vitamin A. This danger has long been known to the Inuit and has been recognized by Europeans since at least 1597 when Gerrit de Veer wrote in his diary that, while taking refuge in the winter in Nova Zemlya, he and his men became severely ill after eating polar bear liver.[8] In 1913, Antarctic explorers Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were both poisoned (and Mertz died) from eating the liver of their sled dogs.[9]
I don't think this is a problem with the kind of liver that most people will eat- so maybe one can eat these kinds of liver everyday. Liver is very nutritious, and unless one is Vegetarian, it is also a good idea to consume Cod Liver Oil.
ReplyGreat post Mike, I like that "just don't go overboard" part.
ReplyI have no weight issues myself, but it makes me kind of sad to see how many people (especially young adults) go for all kinds of books and studies, while forgetting two very simple things - 1. moderation at the table and 2. regular physical activity. If you "don't go overboard" with your plate, you'll have no problems with fat. Basically you should burn more calories than you put into your body and that's it. As for a weight loss diet, I remember my first months after my kids were born; fruit helped me big time, both with loosing extra fat, but also in getting the necessary nutrients. My favorite fruit is the apple.
The idea of cutting out fruit is crazy talk. Even if you want to lose weight - especially if you want to lose weight - food still needs to be enjoyable and healthy and fruit is both of those things. Also, it's hard to overeat fruit. There's something about it that's very satiating.
ReplySo, you can't overeat fruit??
ReplySo why am I constantly overeating it, why does it make my sugar cravings unbearable? I used to be losing weight on a balanced diet with a good amount of protein (all healthy foods, of course). Then I tried the low-fat raw vegan diet, which means I was basically eating fruit ... and vegetables and vegetable juices.
I must admit my skin had never looked better and at times, I felt excellent. But it also triggered uncontrollable binging on food (especially forbidden refined sweets), and I felt hungry almost all the time. =/
It just didn't seem like fruit filled me up for long. It's almost unbearable to be on such a diet.
So what do you think went wrong ? Should I just eat a bit less fruit?
this article is pretty ridiculous.. I've switched my diet to eating only fruit for lunches until i'm no longer hungry and have immediately seen results. I've lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks, thats 5 lbs a week WITH NO EXERCISE! I'm just now adding in the exercise to build up my endurance again
Reply"this article is pretty ridiculous" aaah wasn't that the point of the article? Mike concluded that you can eat fruit and lose weight. I think you read the title and made an assumption as to what the article was about. Just saying :-)
ReplyEveryone is different. I could never be a nutrition counselor because I would NEVER recommend a single diet plan to anyone unless it was medically necessary to do so (via allergies or genetic condition). No textbook diet fits one person. Everyone's nutritional needs vary - from vitamins and amount of protein needed to maintain muscle mass for your activity level, to number of calories to sustain yourself to ounces of water to prevent dehydration. We all vary - and it all varies even to lose weight.
Like myself, I have salicylate sensitivity and an allergy to aspirin - so I kinda put myself on the Feingold program. Oh look, a lot of the foods very high in salicylic acids are the ones recommended only in the low carb diets, and the ones lower in salicylic acid are the ones often higher in natural sugars and "should be eaten in moderation". At this point I have no choice to eat those fruits instead and avoid the rest like the plague if I don't want to swell up like a balloon or have massive stomach and intestinal cramping and balance the rest of my diet around those fruits to prevent weight gain or achieve weight loss because of the sugars from those fruits... because I LIKE the nutritional gains from those fruits! As for the fruits I'm missing out on... (and nuts, and spices - google "foods high in salicylic acid" and you'll find a LIVESTRONG article with a general list) I can get their benefits from elsewhere in the wide, wide nutritional world if I play it safe in the moderation world. Thankfully I live in an international hub here in the US, so I have easy access to a wide array of items, cultivars, and heirlooms, should I feel the need.
I'll stick to eating a (red delicious) apple and small lower-calorie meals throughout the day, having lots of water, eating grilled chicken at night over a bed of nice homemade pasta I learned to make in culinary school for an early dinner. :) I don't fear my carbs, and I also enjoy my size three pants and 45 pound net weight loss since the start of the year.
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