Fruits are an important part of any healthy diet and should be abundant in your kitchen at all times, especially when you are focusing on your nutrition intake, for example during pre-conception and pregnancy. Fruits can be very nutritious but they can contain high amounts of sugar. I am going to share with you some lower sugar fruits to eat throughout the day that won’t hijack your blood sugar levels but will still give you that great nutrition you want.Fruits are packed with essential nutrients and full of fiber. The fiber is what helps regulate bowel movements and helps curb cravings by regulating blood sugar. Fiber from the fruit helps slow the rate the sugar from the fruit enters your blood stream and this is why I do not recommend juicing all your fruits. A better option is to make a smoothie if you want your fruits in liquid form, you want the benefits of the whole fruit, not just the sugary juice inside.
Getting in a few cups of fruit a day will provide you with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to support all the organs and systems in your body. If you are pregnant it will also provide the baby with vitamins and minerals for growth and development and is a safe sweet treat for mom.
It is important when you can to pair the fruit with a little protein or fat. Some fat examples would be almond butter or sunflower seed butter and protein examples are lunch meat or jerky. When you eat fruit with fat or protein you’ll get a sustained energy boost to help start your morning or get you through a long afternoon. It is also a good idea to stay away from dried fruit when you can because the water has been taken out leaving only the sugar. This means you don’t get as full as easy and you are more likely to eat more fruit in this form which ultimately gives you more sugar.
I would focus on about 2-4 servings of a 1/2 cup of fruit a day .
It is ideal to keep your fruit serving to low sugar fruits so that you can keep the overall sugar in your diet low. When you eat lower sugar fruits, you can eat more. For example, I would suggest eating pineapple and bananas only occasionally and in smaller portions. I would focus on about 2-4 servings of a 1/2 cup of fruit a day, a bit less if you are trying to lose weight.I have seen many women switch to a more whole food diet approach and not loose any weight because they were eating way too much fruit, and thereby consuming high quantities of sugar. I sometimes bump up the 1/2 cup serving to 3/4 cup when eating the lower sugar fruits like berries because you can have more when the sugar content is low.
Fruits Lower in Sugar
- Lemon or Lime
- Rhubarb
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Cranberries
- Strawberries
- Papaya
- Watermelon
- Peaches
- Nectarines
- Blueberries
- Cantaloupes
- Honeydew melons
- Apples
- Guavas
- Apricots
- Grapefruit
Fruits Higher in Sugar
- Plums
- Oranges
- Kiwifruit
- Pears
- Pineapple
- Tangerines
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Pomegranates
- Mangos
- Figs
- Bananas
- Dried Fruit, such as dates, raisins, dried apricots, and prunes
I hope you enjoy this information on the role of fruit in a balanced whole food lifestyle, happy eating!