Debunking Myths About Fruit

So in my last post, Processed Sugar vs Natural Sugar, we established that fuelling your body with high quality natural sources of sugar for energy will ensure a clean system and optimum health. Fruit from Mother Nature fits this brief perfectly. Many people aim to reduce or eliminate fruit from their diet though… why is this?

I can definitely relate to this concept. I used to be terrified of natural sugars from fruit! If you gave me an option to eat the worlds hottest chilli or eat fruit, I’d have chosen the chilli every time! I believed fruit was the enemy, that it was going to cause blood sugar imbalances and make me fat. This is what I was hearing and reading, but I wasn’t happy about it. Whenever I went to the markets the colourful and vibrant fruit would call out my name as I’d walk by and fight the desire to buy it. My natural instinct was to grab all different varieties of fruit, but would restrain myself to a few apples or berries (the low fructose fruit). To my delight after a ton of research and personal experience with candida and weight issues I discovered this was far from the truth.

I love the questions Dr. Doug Graham asks in his book The 80/10/10 Diet.

DO YOU KNOW ANYBODY WHOSE CANDIDA WAS CAUSED BY EATING FRUIT?

DO YOU KNOW ANYBODY WHOSE DIABETES WAS CAUSED BY EATING FRUIT?

IF EATING FRUIT DIDN’T CAUSE THESE PROBLEMS, WHY WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT AVOIDING THEM WOULD CORRECT IT?

MYTH NO. 1    Fruit Causes Candida/Yeast Overgrowth

Candida feeds on sugar is a fact which is only half true. The correct statement is candida feeds on excess sugar in the blood. Simple sugars digest extremely quickly by the body though, so how do they become stuck in the blood stream? Excess fat is actually the cause of this! It will line the blood not allowing the sugar to leave, eventuating in the sugar fermenting, attracting the candida which then feeds on it. Because all carbohydrate, fat, and protein that we eat is converted to simple sugar (glucose) if it is to be used by the cells for fuel, the way out of this cycle is not to eat less sugar, but to consume less fat. When fat levels drop, the sugar starts to get processed and distributed again, and the yeast levels drop because there is no longer excess sugar available.

MYTH NO. 2    Fruit Causes Type 2 Diabetes

In regards to diabetes what I’ll say is similar to the paragraph on candida as both are related to blood sugar imbalances. Again, excess fat is the cause of imbalance, not sugar. When fat levels in the blood rise, so does blood sugar, because excess fat inhibits insulin from performing its function of escorting sugar out of the bloodstream.

In a NutritionFacts.org video, Dr. Michael Greger explores the research done on fruit relating to diabetes and weight gain with this study showing that there was no change in blood sugar or weight in the patients who reduced their fruit intake.
Randomised trial on the effect of fruit restriction on patients with Type 2 Diabetes: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23497350
Check out the videos in the references below for more on this topic.

MYTH NO. 3    Fruit Makes You Fat

As for fruit making you fat… I now understand this concept is crazy! Yes they may be high in sugar, but who cares!? Our bodies need sugar, they run on sugar, and fruits are simple carbohydrates and provide us with a complete nutritional package of vitamins and minerals that are easy to digest and utilise. For some reason people seem to think fruit is high in calories when the opposite is in fact the truth. When I began a fruitarian lifestyle I had to learn to eat MORE than I was previously accustomed to, to ensure I was consuming adequate calories.

People who claim to have gained weight eating fruit probably have other issues going on including:

1. Have an excess amount of fat in the bloodstream. This causes the issues addressed above which can lead to weight gain.
2. Haven’t done a proper cleanse and their body is simply overloaded with toxins. This prevents the body from absorbing and utilising nutrients efficiently which in turn can lead to weight gain.

If fruit makes you fat, then I should be obese, along with all the other high carb, low-fat fruitarians whose diets consist of around 80% fruit 😉

Olivia xo

I’d love to hear from you! Does this article surprise or resonate with you? Have you had a personal experience like mine where you ran from fruit only to realise that it’s your friend? Share with a friend who you feel might find this article interesting.

References:
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-fruit-is-too-much/
http://www.forksoverknives.com/is-it-possible-to-eat-too-much-fruit/
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/what-causes-insulin-resistance/
http://www.forksoverknives.com/fat-insulin-resistance-blood-sugar/
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-spillover-effect-links-obesity-to-diabetes
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/if-fructose-is-bad-what-about-fruit/

This blog, its content and any linked material are presented for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or prescribing. Nothing contained in or accessible from this post should be considered to be medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or prescribing, or a promise of benefits, claim of cure, legal warranty, or guarantee of results to be achieved. Never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this blog or in any linked material. Olivia Budgen is not a medical doctor. Consult with a licensed healthcare professional before altering or discontinuing any current medications, treatment or care, or starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, or if you have or suspect you might have a health condition that requires medical attention.