Thread: Too much fruit????

On the official weight watchers forum (Core Plan), I've noticed several people suggesting that if you eat too much fruit then the natural sugars in the fruit will be detrimental to weight loss and that you should snack on vegetables rather than fruit.

For example, one person posted their food diary up and it had about 5 or 6 portions of fruit, along with various vegetables and other core foods. Several people commented that they were having too much fruit and needed to cut down, and i've seen comments like this a number of times on the same board.

The WW plan says that you can eat unlimited fruit and makes no mention of limiting fruit intake (not that i've seen anyway), so I was wondering what you all thought about it.

Personally I don't agree with it, as if the fruit in sugar was the same as ordinary sugar then we wouldn't be told to eat 5 portions a day!

Dont agree either,,, I think its clutching at straws to say too much fruit will slow your weight down, as long as it is in moderation,, coz I guess if you eat 3000cals worth of fruit and nothing else you still will gain weight.

Veggies are a healthier choice its true, coz too much fructose can be bad for your teeth when eaten in excess.

But going by your menus you are doing fab and have everything nicely in proportion.xx

It wasn't my menu's that were commented on, it was other people's - but i just didn't like the way that people were upholding this theory of too much fruit being bad, when it seems to have come from no reliable source!

The thing with fruit is that it would be extremely difficult to eat too much as it fills you up!

Yeah true,, although my OH manages to eat an entire watermelon in one sitting with a spoon. LOL

ps the teeth bit is a dental fact. xxx

Oh I don't dispute the bit about teeth! Fruid does contain a lot of natural acid which can affect the teeth.

Sure does,,, dentists have been going nuts since smoothies become popular. Personally I cant stand smoothies. *puke* xx

Actually eating too much fruit can be bad for you on a number of levels (but we are talking excessive amounts of fruit), aciditic fruits can ruin the enamel on your teeth. Because most fruits are not grown in their original "wild" environment they tend to be higher in sugar and therefore can affect your hormones that regulate your blood sugar; insulin, glucagon, and growth hormone.

At the end of the day too much sugar is too much sugar

However, fruit in moderation is extremely good for your health, its like anything if you over do it then its not good for you.

Yes, that would seem sensible to me - an excessive amount of fruit wouldn't be easy to consume, as you rightly say Jenny.

Unless you are diabetic of course - my mum was told she was eating too much fruit but then she was bingeing on it.

I like my fruit but I don't think I could manage more than 2 or 3 lots in a day.

Fruitarians (who live off fruit and veg that has naturally died and fallen off the tree or whatever they are grown on), often have loads of health issues associated with fruit like weight gain, diabetes etc but some will eat 5 bananas and half a dozen dates just for breakfast!!

And that's up to or over 10 points of anyone's allowance, depending on how big the nanas are!

And that will be where the weight gain comes from, I think if you are watching your weight then 1 small-medium banana a day max is more than enough - god 5 of them, I think I would be sick

I eat bout 8 kiwifruit a day... is that too much?

If you are still losing weight then I guess no its not too much do you have other fruits with it or just the Kiwi fruits?

Well the official line from WW head office is as follows:

There is no evidence to support the claim that eating too much fruit is ‘bad’ for your health, as long as you are eating a healthy balanced diet; eating foods from all the food groups to get the nutrients your body needs for good health i.e. not substituting other food groups with fruit and vegetables. Members can look from page 74 in Eat Wisley for more guidance on a healthy, balanced diet.

This food myth may have originated from advice for people who are diabetic, who need to be careful of the amount of fruit that they eat. For people with diabetes, contrary to popular belief, you can eat all types of fruit, but eating large quantities (several portions) at once, may raise blood glucose levels. This is particularly true for fruit juices. However, this does not apply for anyone who is not diabetic.

The Food Standards Agency says in reference to fruit juices that ; The sugars found naturally in whole fruit are less likely to cause tooth decay because the sugar is contained within the structure of the fruit. But, when fruit is juiced or blended, the sugar is released. Once released, these sugars can damage teeth, especially if fruit juice is drunk frequently. But fruit juice is still a healthy choice. One glass (150ml) counts as one of the five fruit and veg portions we should all be aiming for each day. To help keep teeth healthy, it's best to have fruit juice at mealtimes, particularly for children.

I hope that this helps clear up this food myth. Eating lots of fruit and vegetables is important for good heath and, as most of them are low in POINTS Values and high in fibre to help fill you up, increasing your intake when you are trying to lose weight can be really helpful.