Surely you have heard that fruits have sugar and that sugar is terrible for your body. Following the reasoning, you should not consume less to lose weight.
This way of thinking is wrong. Although it is accurate that they have glucose and fructose in their composition, and these molecules fall into the category of sugars, fruits are not going to make you fat; quite the opposite.
This article analyzes the sugars in fruits, details the amount of each with a table, and justifies why eating them does not mean that you will gain weight.
Do fruits have sugar? – Table with quantity in each one
Most fruits are high in glucose and fructose, two simple sugars.
However, because they are high in vegetable fiber, their glycemic index is low. Therefore, it is considered that fruits do not cause spikes in blood insulin levels and are one of the foods allowed to lose weight.
In addition, fruits are high in vitamins and minerals and micronutrients essential in a healthy diet. If you want to lose weight, not eating fruits is not the best idea.
In particular eating methods like the ketogenic diet or a low carb diet, most fruits are not allowed. This is because the sugar concentration in fruits is sufficient to bring a person out of ketosis.
Only low carb fruits are allowed in these methods. While they are a quick way to lose weight, it is not the healthiest in the long run. In most cases, eating fruits is better for your body.
The amount of sugar in fruits can be seen in the following table:
| Fruit | Portion | Fructose (g) | Total carbohydrates (g) | Fibra vegetal (g) |
| Apple | 1 unit | 10.8 | 25.0 | 4.4 |
| Peaches | 1 unit | 6 | 7.8 | 1.2 |
| Avocado | 1 unit | 0.4 | 17 | 13.5 |
| Banana | 1 unit | 7.1 | 27 | 3.1 |
| Blueberries | 1 cup | 7.4 | 21 | 3.6 |
| Cherries | 1 cup | 7.5 | 22 | 2.9 |
| Mango | half unit | 13.7 | 25 g | 2.7 |
| Dates | 3 units | 23 | 54 | 4.8 |
| Grapes | 1 cup | 12.4 | 27 | 1.4 |
| Papaya | 1 cup | 5.4 | 16 | 2.5 |
| Pears | 1 unit | 11.8 | 28 | 5.5 |
| Pomelo | 1 unit | 7 g | 13 | 2.7 |
| Kiwi | 1 unit | 3.1 | 10 | 2.1 |
| Pineapple – pineapple | 1 cup | 8.4 | 22 | 2.3 |
| Tomatoes | 1 unit | 1.7 | 5 | 1.5 |
| Oranges | 1 unit | 6.0 | 15.1 | 3.1 |
| Watermelon | 1 cup | 6.1 | 12.1 | 0.6 |
Table of sugar content in fruits. (1)
If fruits have sugar, then are they fattening?
Making a direct correlation between sugar in fruits and weight gain is a common nutrition mistake. To gain weight eating fruits, you should eat many of them.
Although fruits have sugar, they are low-calorie food with a high content of nutrients.
The problem with sugar is when it is isolated. In this case, it does not provide more than energy, and also, being remote causes increases in insulin levels. This can make you eat more and therefore gain weight.
In fruits, sugars are linked to fiber, and therefore this effect does not occur.
The glycemic load of fruits
The glycemic load of most fruits is medium. This means that although they have sugar in their composition, they are not capable of abruptly altering glucose levels.
Therefore it can be said that the sugar content of fruits is relatively low, and most of them are allowed even for people with diabetes—the exception: of grapes and some tropical fruits.
In addition, some fruits, such as bananas, vary in their sugar composition according to their degree of maturity. When fruits are more immature, they have more vegetable fiber content; they are transformed into glucose or fructose over time.
ABSTRACT
Fruits have fructose and glucose, two relatives of table sugar.
However, it is a myth that they are fattening. Fruits have fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Even on a sugar-free diet, eating up to 4 fruits per day is recommended.
Avoiding excess added sugar is essential for weight loss, and if it happens frequently, it can make you fat.
