Is eating fruit really effective for losing weight? Be careful about high blood lipids! Nutritionist Zhang Silan: You must know the fruit calorie trap

Eating fruits and vegetables is good for health. "5 fruits and vegetables a day" and "579 fruits and vegetables" are healthy eating slogans that are very familiar to everyone. However, many people are not clear about the meaning of "5" and "579" in fruits and vegetables and the portion distribution. Some people even think that vegetables and fruits are the same and can replace vegetables with fruits. Some people are not wary of fruits and often eat a lot of them, thinking that they can lose weight. Unexpectedly, they gain weight more and more. They don't even realize that eating too much fruit will increase triglycerides and unbalance nutrition. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with eating vegetables and fruits. The problem lies in the distribution of vegetable and fruit portions. You must not ignore the sequelae of eating too much fruit.

I love eating fruits too much, but I have high blood lipids

Fruits taste sweeter than vegetables and have better flavor. Therefore, many people who do not eat vegetables are willing to eat fruits. However, fruits have a high fructose content, which will be converted into triglycerides after entering the human body, causing high blood lipids. Cathay Hospital nutritionist Zhang Silan said that a patient once asked with doubt: "Why am I a vegetarian, but my triglycerides are still too high?" After further investigation, it was found that the patient often ate a lot of fruit, which converted fructose into glucose and triglycerides in the body, resulting in high blood lipids. "There was also a mother who could eat a pound of lychees every night. After eating it for several days, she checked and found that her triglyceride levels suddenly soared!" Zhang Silan said that this was because all the fruits were converted into fat and stored. Therefore, as long as you change your eating habits of eating a lot of fruits and consume the required daily amount, you can improve the phenomenon of high triglycerides.

Fruits taste sweeter than vegetables and have better flavor. Therefore, many people who do not eat vegetables are willing to eat fruits. However, fruits have a high fructose content, which will be converted into triglycerides after entering the human body, causing high blood lipids.

Vegetables and fruits cannot replace each other

In order to lose weight, Ms. Li decided to skip dinner and eat fruit instead, hoping to reduce the accumulation of starch, protein and other foods in dinner into fat in the body. She has maintained this habit for a while, but still cannot lose weight. It turned out that she never expected that excessive fruit would also bring excessive calories. No wonder the number on the scale never went down. Zhang Silan said that the above is an actual example she encountered in the hospital weight loss class. Many people think that fruits are nutritious and low in calories, so they eat them without hesitation, but they get fatter and fatter, and even cause a burden on the body. Some people know the "5 fruits and vegetables a day", but because vegetables are more troublesome to wash and cook, they replace vegetables with fruits, but unknowingly eat too much fruit.

Fruits and vegetables mainly provide the human body with nutrients such as vitamin C and fiber. The vitamin C content of fruits is generally higher than that of vegetables, but the fiber content of vegetables is mostly higher than that of fruits. Although the nutrition and ingredients of the two seem to be similar, Zhang Silan still said that vegetables and fruits cannot replace each other. The main consideration lies in the "sugar content", which causes the calories provided by the two to be different.

She said that one serving of vegetables has 25 calories and 5 grams of sugar, but one serving of fruit has 15 grams of sugar. If you eat less vegetables and make up for it by eating more fruit, it will easily lead to the problem of excessive sugar intake. Therefore, in a daily diet, it is recommended that you use the colors of fruits and vegetables to match and complement each other. For example, if you don’t eat blue-purple vegetables, you can choose blueberries and grapes as fruits to supplement them, but it is not recommended to replace each other in terms of portion size.

You must know the calorie trap of fruits

Don't forget that fruits also have calories, and the sweeter the fruit, the higher the calories. Because among the three major nutrients, fruits do not contain fat and protein, so their "sugar content" is the main factor affecting the level of calories. Some people think that fruits with high water content have lower calories. Nutritionists explain that the two are not necessarily related.

However, unless there is a sugar meter for accurate measurement, it is difficult for the general public to know the actual sugar content of fruit. Zhang Silan suggested that if patients with chronic diseases or diabetes eat relatively sweet fruits, they should remind themselves to eat even less than the standard amount to avoid increasing the burden on the body. Although fruits contain fructose, diabetics do not need to worry too much. Just control the amount of food you eat and basically maintain two servings a day. It was mentioned earlier that fruits do not contain fat, but there are two exceptions: durian and avocado. So they do not taste sweet, but because they contain a lot of fat, they are high in calories.

It was mentioned earlier that fruits do not contain fat, but there are two exceptions: durian and avocado. So they do not taste sweet, but because they contain a lot of fat, they are high in calories.

Don’t believe in the single fruit diet anymore

The "3-Day Apple Diet" is widely circulated on the Internet. As long as you eat apples for 3 consecutive days without limiting the amount, you can lose 3 to 5 kilograms. Regarding this type of single fruit weight loss method, nutritionists say that eating only the same kind of food for several days in a row will lead to an imbalance of nutrients. Although the total calorie intake does not exceed one day's intake, all of them come from sugars, and other nutrients such as protein and minerals cannot be absorbed. The nutrition is insufficient and it is easy to fail due to boredom.

This weight loss method is very effective in the short term, just like the very low-calorie weight loss method. For example, if you consume 800 calories, you have to eat 13 apples a day to get 800 calories. You should be full by eating 13 apples a day, but you will only get about the calories of one lunch box. Therefore, the calories are very low and you will lose weight quickly, but what you will consume is muscle and water, and because there is no protein provided to the body, your metabolism will get worse and worse. What if you hold on for 3 days and then quickly resume your normal diet? Nutritionists warn that doing so will quickly lead to weight regain, the more you lose weight, the fatter you get, and your muscles will be consumed, and your metabolism will slow down. Even if you have three meals a day normally, the calories you consume will easily be stored as fat in the body, affecting your body shape. It is really not worth it.

Dried fruits and fruit juice are the easiest to consume in excess

The nutrients in dried or pickled fruits will be destroyed by light and heat during the manufacturing process. Phytochemicals are most afraid of light and heat. In addition, the size of dried fruits becomes smaller, so it is easy to overeat when eating, and the more you eat, the more you eat. Zhang Silan gave an example, comparing grapes and raisins, 10 grapes and 10 raisins are both about 1 serving of fruit, but people often cannot stop eating 10 raisins, and may eat 20 at a time, unknowingly eating 2 servings of fruit. In addition, some dried fruits will add plum powder and other seasonings, so the calories will become higher.

It is common for office workers to replace coffee and bubble tea with freshly squeezed juice to increase their fiber intake, but the important thing to note is "don't drink too much". Zhang Silan reminded that the first key to drinking fruit juice is not to remove the residue and retain the fiber of the fruit; the second key point is to control the amount consumed. For example, if there are four people in a family, provide each person with one serving of fruit, which is about the amount of one apple, one guava, one pineapple, and one pear. Do not add excessive amounts of fruit just to make it taste better, otherwise, the calorie intake will also increase.

For example, orange juice commonly sold at fruit stalls requires 4 to 5 oranges to make 1 250cc cup of orange juice. It is easy to finish 1 cup of this juice, but the implicit fruit serving (4 to 5 oranges) exceeds the daily requirement of an adult woman. In addition, you cannot ingest the fiber in the fruit by just drinking juice, so it is best to eat fresh fruit.

You can't get the fiber from fruit just by drinking juice, so it's best to eat fresh fruit.

2 servings of fruit a day, how to combine them?

When it comes to choosing fruits, it is of course better to choose seasonal ones, not only because seasonal fruits have the highest nutritional value, but also have the least diseases and pests, so less pesticides are used and the price is cheaper. We recommend that you eat as diverse a diet as possible. Taiwan is a fruit kingdom, and with farmers improving their technology and importing fruits, Taiwanese people have access to sweet and delicious fruits all year round. If you're worried about eating too many high-calorie fruits in a day, you might want to learn a little about the production seasons of various fruits, and then pair them with fruits that are in season all year round, such as guava and bananas.

For example, the coming summer is the season when fruits and melons are in abundance. If you have poor gastrointestinal function or allergies and are worried that eating too much cool watermelon or cantaloupe will aggravate your symptoms, you can choose one of the two servings of fruit a day as melons and fruits, and the other as a combination of fruits that are in abundance all year round. This way, you can get a variety of nutrients in a balanced way. If you want to be more particular, try to eat vegetables and fruits of five colors. Zhang Silan said that you can check your own plate. If you do not eat blue or purple vegetables that day, you can choose purple grapes to supplement them. If you only eat a little carrot, you can eat some red strawberries, apples, etc. to match the fruits.

Multiple types and colors, the smartest way to eat

When housewives go shopping, they often buy large quantities because "a basket costs NT$100" or "7 pieces cost NT$100", which results in the family eating the same kind of fruit for a week. Nutritionists recommend that when shopping, it is best to pick 3 kinds of fruit, and buy 3 to 5 pieces of each. Each time you eat, try to combine the 3 fruits into a portion for one person, so that you can get the nutrition of 3 kinds of fruits at once.

The fruits that are produced in abundance in summer are usually sweeter. What is more worrying is that if diabetic patients eat too much, their blood sugar level will easily become unstable, aggravating their condition, which is something they need to pay more attention to. In fact, even if you eat it continuously, as long as you don't eat too much, you can eat the fruit according to your physical condition (for example, people who have had allergies due to mangoes or have had diarrhea from eating too much watermelon should just eat a little). Basically, there is no problem. If you consume a variety of foods, your nutrition will be more complete and better.

Moreover, because different fruits and vegetables contain different phytochemicals, it is best to consume a balanced variety of fruits and vegetables. Phytochemicals refer to natural compounds found in plants. Different phytochemicals give fruits and vegetables their special colors and flavors. For example, red apple peels contain quercetin, orange carrots contain β-carotene, and blue-purple grapes contain anthocyanins. Although these phytochemicals are not essential to the human body, recent studies have confirmed that they are related to the prevention of cancer and chronic diseases. The Taiwan Cancer Foundation therefore recommends that people should consume a balanced diet of various fruits and vegetables.

By Dai Qiaolan

For the full content, please see [Evergreen Monthly 374]