Fruit Gets A Bad Rep!

Today, someone who knows I'm plant based at the gym, asked me if I eat much fruit. I told him I eat a lot of fruit. He asked if I worried about diabetes? I said no, consuming whole fruit does not cause diabetes. He had never heard that before but I'm so glad I gave him something to think about. He was always worried about fruit contributing to diabetes.

And he's not the only one. As paleo diets and keto diets gain in popularity, the misinformation about fruit will continue. But I look at it as a way to teach others and change misconceptions.

I too once believed that low carb would help me lose weight. It failed miserably. I didn't feel good eating this way. This was one of my many failed dietary attempts to lose weight.When I finally lost the weight, it wasn't with one of the fad diets but rather a lifestyle change, shifting to healthy whole food fruits and vegetables.

If fruit raised blood sugar, it would have been detected in the lab work I had for the past five years. I was most likely pre-diabetic before I lost the weight, although I can't prove it. But my lab work proves that the fruit I was consuming kept my blood sugar steady.

There are many videos that explain how fruit does not lead to diabetes. Just check out Dr. Michael Greger's video in nutritionfacts.org. He can explain the science much better than I can. But basically, it's the saturated fat that can lead to blood sugar problems. The insulin cannot get inside the muscle when there is too much saturated fat. The fat blocks the insulin from getting in and doing it's job.

I understand it's tough to change years of thinking and I get that. Ads for low carb are everywhere and it confuses people. More and more people think they will lose weight and get healthy on a low carb diet. Well you may lose weight, but I'm not sure how healthy it is long term.

In any case, I found an eating plan that works for me. It includes lots of healthy fruits and veggies and keeps my weight in check. It keeps me healthy as I work out 5 days a week.

By the way, just so you know, here's how much fruit I typically consume in a day... berries included in my breakfast, along with a ha;f a banana. I'll have the other half of banana with my salad at lunch. I will have two apples in the afternoon. Later in the evening I sometimes have another banana and some berries. I'm definitely not going hungry eating this way!