Should I cut out fruit because of the high sugar content?
The past few years have seen a positive deluge of anti-sugar messages. What started out as a public health initiative trying to get people to cut back on their sugar consumption, has morphed into the demonization of a basic energy source, complete with an almost religious fervour from the anti-sugar brigade that would have you believe sugar is a toxic poison blighting the lives of millions.
The truth? As with any substance, it’s the dose that’ll kill you, not the poison. While sugar is not a particularly nutrient dense substance, and it’s true that most of us are eating too much of it (the UK National diet and Nutrition survey in 2014 estimated most adults get around 12.1% of their daily energy intake from added sugar, as opposed to the 5% that’s recommended) it’s certainly not the devil.
Let’s all take a moment to remember how much good demonising all types of fat (the heart-healthy unsaturated fats, as well as saturated fat) for decades did us? That’s right – not much. We cut out essential fats like plant oils and nuts while still failing to reduce our overall calorie consumption.
The same thing seems to be happening with sugar. For me the saddest thing about the current anti-sugar fall out is the vilification of fruit thanks to its high fructose content. It feels like a similar attitide to the one that saw us shunning all types of fat, even those with health benefits. And so, in defence of fruit….
Let’s start with the nutritional 101 on sugar.
One of the issues is the fact that most people talk about ‘cutting out’ or ‘quitting’ sugar without really understanding what that means.
Newsflash – it’s nigh on impossible to completely cut all sugar from your diet. The body breaks down all carbohydrates (and where necessary fats and proteins too) into glucose molecules which are the body’s main source of energy. In fact, our brains can only use glucose for fuel. Glucose molecules are the building blocks for everything from refined and complex carbohydrates (potatoes, wholegrains etc) to beans, legumes, alcohol, vegetables and fruit.
While sugar is not in itself very nutrient dense, it’s still a very valuable source of energy. If you’re an endurance athlete, or a type 1 diabetic, you’ll know only too well the merits of sugar. Gram for gram, sugar is as energy dense as protein (4 kcal/g), and significantly less calorific than the same amount of fat (9kcal/g). Plus, I like to think that every now and again a slice of cake is good for the soul…
What people mean when they tell you they’re quitting sugar, is usually that they’re trying to cut out free or ‘added’ sugars, added by whoever’s making or processing your food, not the entire CHO (carbohydrate) group.
The main difference among types of sugar is the speed at which the body can break down the food and start using the glucose for energy. The more refined or simple the type of sugar is that you’re eating, the quicker your body can start using it. Sugar is sugar in the body’s eyes, regardless of whether it’s white and granulated, or a supposedly unrefined 'healthier' alternative (agave syrup anyone?).
So should I avoid fruit to reduce my sugar intake?
Fruit comes in for a hard time as it’s naturally high in sugar, although this varies considerably depending on the type of fruit (from 1.5% in blackberries, to up to 19% in jackfruit). When it comes to the type of sugar in fruit, this is roughly 40-55% fructose. For reference, table sugar (sucrose), is 50:50 fructose and glucose. Although both fructose and glucose are simple sugars, or ‘monosaccarides’, fructose is digested differently to glucose as it goes directly to the liver for processing. Glucose on the other hand, starts to be broken down in the stomach, where it requires insulin to be released before it can be fully absorbed and metabolised.
For this reason fructose doesn’t cause the blood sugar spikes (and resultant crashes) that can happen when you eat other simple sugars. Although there is some debate around whether this different digestive process is any worse for you, there is limited evidence to suggest fructose is especially bad for you. A lot of the fructose we eat is converted into glucose by the body anyway, and much of the controversy stems from the high fructose-corn syrup (HFCS) that is added liberally to many processed foods and condiments, rather than the fructose found naturally in whole fruit.
The sugar found in fruit is an intrinsic sugar – naturally contained within the cells of the fruit – rather than added later during processing. As a result when we eat fruit we’re not just eating fructose. Whole fruit contains a vast array of nutrients, water, vitamins, minerals, and of course fibre which is essential for a healthy digestive system and helps to keep us full.
Bananas are rich in potassium, citrus fruits with their high vitamin C content have long been used to prevent scurvy, and mangos are an excellent source of vitamin A. Dried fruit too – although higher in sugar, and therefore calories thanks to its concentrated form – can still be an excellent source of micronutrients. Three dried apricots provides over 6% of the RDA for iron in women (11.5% for adult men), and dried figs are a good vegan source of calcium.
But as sugar’s addictive and can be calorific, I really should cut it all out, right?
Well, not really.
It’s claimed that sugar is as addictive as substances like nicotine and cocaine, due to its rapid absorption in the body, the pleasure centres in our brain that it stimulates, and the fact we crave it.
But most studies to date have been done in test tubes, or in animals, and not in humans. Many things stimulate dopamine in our brains (like kittens!) that we don’t claim addiction for. At the moment there is no hard scientific evidence that sugar causes withdrawal symptoms similar to those seen with other addictive substances.
Most people don't sit at home eating pure caster sugar out of the bag with a spoon. People may lose weight when they cut back on added sugar, but that’s likely because they’re cutting out highly processed, high-fat high-sugar combination foods like doughnuts and biscuits, or fizzy drinks that pack a calorific punch without leaving you feeling full.
Yes, fruit is high in sugar. But that’s not the full picture given the other nutrients it contains, and besides it would be very hard to overdo your sugar intake with fruit alone. In fact, the type of sugars found naturally in fruit and vegetables aren’t included in the amount of sugar the UK government recommends we should eat each day, as they’re intrinsic sugars rather than added sugar.
Vilifying fruit is not the answer.
Given that only 30% of UK adults get their 5-a-day, eating fruit should absolutely be encouraged. It’s a fantastic source of vitamins and minerals, not to mention high in fibre (another essential the majority of us don’t get enough of). Most of us could do with eating more fruit, although as with most things nutrition, it’s obviously an individual thing. If you have IBS you may need to watch your overall intake. And if you’re trying to lose weight, you might want to keep an eye on how much juice and dried fruit you eat; if it’s tinned, freeze-dried, juiced, or dried, expect the sugar content to be higher than in whole, unprocessed fruit.
But singling out individual diet components and single nutrients as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for us is too simplistic an approach in 99% of cases.* All demonising foods does is encourage unhealthy and disordered eating patterns.
While there’s no denying sugar’s link to poor dental health, or the fact that many of us would be better off swapping out some sugary foods for starchy carbohydrates like wholegrains, sugar in and of itself is not the devil. Nor is it the sole culprit responsible for rising levels of obesity. So eat fruit. Enjoy it. And don’t sweat it.
*The 1% is for transfat – a sort of franken fat that is definitely not something we should be eating much of.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3708747/pdf/1743-7075-10-45.pdf