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Category: > Health > Does Sugar From Fruit Make You Fat Or Help You Lose Weight?

Does Sugar From Fruit Make You Fat Or Help You Lose Weight?

Feb 15, 2016 Osha Key Save For Later Print

Last Updated: Oct 27, 2018

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Does Sugar From Fruit Make You Fat

I get the question a lot – “does sugar from fruit make you fat?”

The plain and simple answer is no, but let me explain.

Does Sugar From Fruit Make You Fat? The Ultimate Nutrition Dichotomy

Some experts claim that we should eat as much raw fruit as possible and eating it prevents and even heals diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other degenerative diseases.

On the other hand, other experts claim that fruit is absolutely detrimental to one’s health because it contains sugar, and apparently they consider any kind of sugar evil.

What a dichotomy!

Obviously, two different nutrition approaches couldn’t be more contradictory! They both can’t be right. So which one is correct?

Perhaps looking at the evidence would bring some clarity to the issue. So let’s see.

Looking At The Real Life Evidence

People who get their calorie intake primarily from fruit are called fruitarians. I’ve met quite a few long term fruitarians and none of them are fat! They’re all slim, fit and healthy, even though their sugar intake is extremely high.

On the other hand, I’ve also met a lot of people who avoid sugar and many of them seem to be fit and healthy too!

That’s where it gets really confusing. These two approaches are completely opposite, yet somehow both of them seem to be working to keep people slim and fit. Perhaps science has the answer?

Scientific Evidence

The experts who demonize fruit often like to quote some scientific studies. Tryng to find out the truth for myself, I’ve done a thorough research on their claims and their supporting evidence.

When I dig out those studies and read them fully, I see that they have been conducted using highly processed fructose (for example, this, this, this and that study) and never with whole fruit. The conclusions of those studies are therefore fundamentally flawed.

It is true that fruit contains fructose, but never in the concentration of the processed fructose found in many manufactured foods and drinks. It is often claimed that fructose damages liver. However, the study shows that industrial, not fruit fructose is associated with liver damage.

It seems that the buzz about fruit being bad for you is based on the false assumption that, because refined fructose is bad for your health and fruit contains naturally occurring fructose, therefore all fruit is bad for you. However, the study has shown that for weight loss achievement a moderate natural fructose diet was superior to a low-fructose diet.

One study which had been conducted for 24 years with almost 3.5 million people, concluded that the consumption of whole fruit actually lowered the risk of type-2 diabetes.

There is another study by Harvard University that also shows that whole fruit consumption lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Whole fruit contains water soluble and water insoluble fibres, antioxidants and other chemical compounds which slow down the sugar absorption into the bloodstream. They also contain copious amounts of antioxidants which are vital for cell protection and free radical neutralisation. On top of that, they are full of vitamins and minerals that are so important for our bodily functions.

At the same time, there is also evidence that a low sugar diet also helps with weight loss.

So where’s the truth?

The Dilemma Answered! Confusion Solved

After reading many scientific studies, trying different dietary approaches on myself (including both fruitarian and no sugar diet) and studying human metabolism (especially blood sugar regulation), I came to  a conclusion that it is the combination of too much fat and too much sugar in the bloodstream that creates adverse blood-sugar levels.

It is this combination, which is so prevalent in today’s processed foods and diets, that contributes most to modern day weight gain and diet related illness.

Last year the BBC broadcast a documentary on the “Fat v Sugar” topic.

Identical male twins, both practising doctors, young and healthy, went on month-long diets, one (“Fat twin”) eating nothing but animal protein and fat, the other (“Sugar twin”) only carbohydrates and sugars, including fruit and vegetables. They could eat as much as they wanted, and were closely monitored by researchers, and tested before, during and after the experiment.

“Sugar twin” consistently out-performed “Fat twin” on both mental and physical performance.

They both lost weight but “Sugar twin” lost only fat.  “Fat twin” lost more muscle than fat, which is a very unhealthy outcome.

The experiment corroborated the view that both approaches are effective for losing weight, that’s why people who swear by low carb diets are right in a way – you do lose weight when you restrict carbohydrates. But evidently at the expense of your long term health.

The tentative conclusion to the program, proposed following the month-long experiment, was that it is the sugar and fat combination in the modern Western diet that is most harmful to health. Citing previous laboratory research, the program pointed to the special potency of the ratio 50/50 fat/sugar in food, which is highly addictive because it seems to stimulate a basic biological reward system in our brain.

Understanding Blood Sugar Regulation

I see a lot of magazine articles and hear people talking about sugar as if it was some sort of evil. But you can only consider it evil if you don’t understand human metabolism and energy regulation.

First of all, everyone has blood sugar and without it we would simply die. Even people who have been water fasting for 4 weeks have blood sugar, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to survive. Even if you do not consume carbohydrates, your body turns fats and proteins into glucose in your body.

So sugar is not the problem, blood sugar swings are.

In a healthy body the glucose in blood is, with the help of insulin, transferred to the cells. But when there are too many lipids (fat) flowing in the bloodstream the glucose cannot be transmitted to the cells efficiently, therefore too much sugar (glucose) accumulates in the blood. The pancreas releases even more insulin which then leads to a drop in blood sugar. These imbalances and surges may cause you to have low energy, cravings for sugary food and drinks and mood swings. Also, in the long term, it may cause insulin resistance which leads to type-2 diabetes.

High levels of triglycerides (fat) are found in the blood streams of insulin resistant patients. This has historically been seen as a consequence of insulin resistance. However, according to the study, accumulation of triglycerides in the blood stream of insulin-resistant patients may not only be a consequence of insulin resistance, but could also be a cause.

This means that fat, not the sugar, is the primary culprit for diabetes.

In dealing with type 2 diabetes (a disease where the body produces too much insulin) it seems deceptively obvious that the solution is to reduce the patient’s intake of carbohydrates, because they turn to sugar in the body, and insulin is a sugar processing and regulating hormone. However, to my knowledge, this approach hasn’t cured anyone of the illness, just made it a little more manageable. It deals with the symptoms, not the causes of the disease.

In contrast, there is considerable evidence that diets low in fat and high in plant-based carbohydrates can heal type 2 diabetes (see in particular the work of Dr John McDougall and Dr Neal Barnard).

Studies (e.g. this, this and this study) show that vegan diets can treat and prevent type-2 diabetes. Even if you do not have or are not at risk of getting diabetes, these significant studies show that a vegan diet helps to balance blood sugar levels which is absolutely vital in reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.

The Best Solution For Weight Loss and Health

Based on the research and my experience of losing over 40 lbs of fat and guiding many other people to do the same, fruit is absolutely healthy and can be very beneficial in losing weight!

However, if you decide to have a high fruit diet, then it’s essential that you avoid or dramatically reduce meat, dairy and other fatty foods due to their effect on blood sugar regulation, as explained above.

So there you go! Now you can understand why so many nutrition approaches seem to be so contradictory and have enough information to decide which approach is best for you.

And yes, you can eat fruit if you want to be healthy and lose weight! One of the reasons I love fruit is that it’s the ultimate fast food. No preparation required, simply wash, peel, sometimes slice, and eat!

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Filed Under: Health, Weight Loss Tagged With: diabetes and fruit, does fruit make you fat, fruit sugars, sugar from fruit, weight loss, wellness

Osha Key

About the Author

Osha Key is a life lover, certified nutritionist, weight loss expert, the creator and founder of Become The Best of You. After losing 40 pounds, Osha is now on a mission to help women do the same. In her FREE ebook 'MASTERY IN WEIGHT LOSS. 44 Reasons Why People Fail At Weight Loss And How To Avoid Them', Osha teaches what has helped her lose 40 pounds of fat and keep it off. Go to Become The Best Of You & sign up for instant access (it's FREE!).

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Comments

  1. Su says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 9:06 am

    Hi there,
    Nice article. I admire that you are trying to clear peoples' confusion about this complicated topic. I just wanted to point out the importance of being specific when you speak about fat. People should understand that there is such a thing as healthy fat. Fat from avocados, nuts, seeds, cold pressed olive oil, unrefined coconut oil is actually provide your body with much needed omega-3 fats and important minerals, while also helping to keep you full for longer. These fats are VERY different from the fats found in refined, processed foods that you find in the grocery store, which is I believe what you are referring to in your article when you use the term "fat". We have to be very careful when discussing nutrition because as you are well aware, there are ample opportunities for people to get confused.

    There are PLENTY of studies showing the benefits of including healthy fats in your diet, when it comes to losing weight, and reducing risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Dr. Mark Hyman just did a whole summit (The Fat Summit) where he interviewed 30 world experts about fat. Some like Dr. Barnard believe in eating minimal fat, even healthy fat, and have studies to support his view, while many others believe it is beneficial to have some or a lot of healthy fat in the diet. But no matter their viewpoint on fat, they all agree that processed sugars (i.e. cakes, cookies, breads), both combined with and without unhealthy fats (i.e. fried foods, chips, etc.) is detrimental to health (mostly because of the huge blood sugar swings and cravings it causes, as you ,entioned). I think the bottom line people need to understand is that there is NO ONE DIET THAT IS PERFECT FOR EVERYONE. Our bodies are all different and how our bodies process different nutrients is different. So we should keep that in mind when experimenting with different diets for ourselves.

    Reply
  2. Axel Solares says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 10:34 am

    Very good article Osha! Everything here is so well explained and it is super nice that you have all the scientific background to support your conclusions. A few months ago I was avoiding fruits due to the fructose, but then I also started to read about the topic and also discovered that fruit is actually very beneficial. When I was in Singapore I was eating quite a lot of fruit and training a little bit, but these sessions were very intense and I could really endure them. After that, I stopped eating fruit and started to eat a lot of garbage again so I was tired all the time and, of course, I got fat!!! Now I am 76 (before I was 69) and I am going to eat fruit and to start training again to get back in shape.

    Thanks a lot for writing and publishing this article. It is very helpful!!! =D
    I hope you are doing great and I hope to see you again very soon!!! =)

    Axel

    Reply

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  1. 10 Medicinal Ginger Health Benefits | Thalassa Nutrition says:
    Dec 2, 2018 at 2:08 am

    […] notice some awesome benefits. I have plenty of ginger juice and smoothie recipes (great if you’re craving fruit), so to give you an example of how you could incorporate it in your diet for breakfast everyday, […]

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