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?

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.

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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