We have always heard people saying that ” Eating more fruits is good for your health!”. In fact, eating too much fruit may not be good for your body. So, how should we eat fruit? Fruit contains the nutrients which are necessary to human body, thus, it is necessary to eat fruit, but don’t be overdose! Pay attention on the amount, glycemic index (GI value) and the eating method and you can eat fruit healthily.
Quantity – Don’t be overdosed
Fruit is a healthy food, but fruit contains fructose and purine. Once overdose, it is likely to increase gout. In addition, having too much fructose, it is easy to let blood sugar soar, interfere with the blood sugar control of diabetics, and fructose will also be converted into triglycerides, blood lipids and accumulate in the body, forming fatty liver or obesity.
But this does not mean that you should not eat fruit, because fruit is rich in nutrients necessary for human body, including minerals, vitamin C, etc., so it is necessary to eat fruit, just remember don’t be overdose! The amount of fruit in an adult’s day can be controlled in 2 to 4 portions. The quantity of each portion is about the size of a fist, such as 1 orange, 1 watermelon, 1/2 big banana, 13 grapes etc.
GI value: The key is the glycemic index
People always think that fruit which is not sweet can eat more. However, those fruit may have high glycemic index, like pineapple tastes sour, but its glycemic index is very high. When the GI value of the fruit in the stomach is high, the blood sugar will rise rapidly; the metabolism of the food will also be faster, which will prone to hunger and become appetite, and even increases the accumulation of fat.
According to the classification of Harvard Medical School, the GI value is below 55, which is a low GI food; between 56 and 69, it belongs to the middle GI food; if it is higher than 70, it is a high GI food. But this does not mean that fruits with high GI values cannot be eaten, fruits with high GI values can be eaten less, and can be matched with foods with low GI values. For example, some fruits with lower GI values, or whole grains such as brown rice, can be mixed with vegetables in a meal.
Eating Method: It is best to eat the fruit directly
In a busy society, many people choose to drink juice instead of eating fruit, but, when the juice is drunk, the blood sugar will rise quickly. Therefore, eating fruit directly is the best choice. Because when you chew fruit slowly, blood sugar is not easy to soar, and the fiber can also increase satiety. Others like to use dried fruit as a snack, but be careful about excessive sugar. Because the dried fruit is removed from the water during the production process, and sugar is added, these increase the sugar content of the same amount of food.
