Is eating fruit always healthy?

«Fruits provide a wide variety of essential nutrients. Some of these act as regulatory elements by participating in enzymatic functions. In other words, their vitamins and minerals are necessary to activate intracellular processes.

They also provide water and especially soluble and insoluble fibers, which, in turn, have significant beneficial effects. Soluble fibers favor cardiovascular health, while insoluble fibers are exciting due to their high biological functionality for regulating health, nutrition, and intestinal transit.

Up to 60% of deaths worldwide are attributed to chronic non-communicable diseases (Cardiovascular, Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity), and epidemiological studies have shown a lower incidence of these diseases in populations with eating patterns that involve frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables. This has prompted global initiatives by the World Health Organization (WHO), or the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to promote their production and consumption».

Is it advisable to eat them at any time?

Yes, it is possible to eat fruits at any time of the day; however, since they do not provide protein or fat, their composition is mainly based on carbohydrates. Therefore, this should be taken into account in people with special diets that require restriction or control of carbohydrates due to a diagnosis of diabetes, obesity, and/or insulin resistance.

Is it better to take it in the morning?

«It is necessary to individualize each case. Very acidic or fibrous fruits consumed before bedtime may harm the sensitive or eroded gastric mucosa more. On the other hand, people with insulin resistance and a marked tendency to be overweight find that consuming them at night makes it more difficult to control the disease».

Why is it said that fruit consumption at night is not appropriate because it turns into sugar and is harmful to health?

«They are not converted into sugar, they are already sugars; the problem is that they are stored as fat in adipose tissue because at night it is not in the plan to ‘burn calories’, but that depends on many factors of individual metabolism and especially activity and physical condition.

It should not be generalized. A diabetic may find that the fruit unbalances his glycemia, an insulin-resistant may claim that it makes him fat, while an athlete may transform it into heat and movement. It is not advisable to make this a generalized fad.»

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Should the colors of the fruits (red, yellow, green) indicate your choice?

«Yes, colors indicate the type of antioxidant and/or vitamin predominant in the fruit. It is important to select a variety of fruits to offer your body a diversity of essential substances such as flavonoids, carotenoids, chlorophyll, and anthocyanins, which are required at the cellular level to prevent oxidation processes».

What are the most suitable and economical species for consumption?

“A recommended habit is to consume seasonal fruits both for their cost and freshness.”

Do fruits make people fat?

“Because they are recognized as healthy food, it is common to exaggerate their consumption, to use them in high-calorie preparations, or to add sugars. So they should be consumed in moderation depending on individual caloric requirements”.

What is the fruit top five?

“I must admit that orange is my favorite from a nutritional point of view. It has many antioxidants, and all fiber types significantly improve intestinal transit and have good satiety power. Secondly, although it is very caloric, I highlight the mango because it is very generous in micronutrients. In third place are purple plums for their contribution to antioxidants that prevent brain oxidation processes. In fourth place, guava for having one of the highest contents of vitamin C, and in fifth place, purple grapes for their contribution of resveratrol, an antioxidant recognized as a cardiovascular protector”.

Is it just as nutritious to consume them in juices?

“No. It’s not the same. In juices, they lose their magic. Although they keep their vitamins in juice, they cease to be fruits and become sweet water. Even without adding sugars, when they lose their structure, they offer their sugars already ready to be absorbed (predigested, with greater availability).

It is not in the body’s best interest to receive sugars quickly because its tendency is to transform them into fats in order to store them.

Juices can favor the elevation of triglycerides in the blood (hypertriglyceridemia) and obesity. It is necessary to respect the structure and fibers that nature gave them to absorb the carbohydrates gradually. In addition, more fruit is usually used to prepare the juice than you consume whole. And, of course, much of the fiber that is indispensable for the digestive system is lost in the juice”.

In terms of quantity, when is it too little, and when is it too much?

“Three fruits a day on average is a good recommendation. It is interesting to add that fruits have more or less ‘fattening’ power depending on their glycemic and insulinemic index. They are classified according to their sugar (fructose) content in percentages. They will have more or less calories depending on whether they have 5, 10, or 15% sugar. But be careful. It is not the only thing that counts.

There are fruits with low caloric intake, such as watermelon, but which have a high glycemic index; that is, they have the property of sharply raising blood sugar values (glycemia), which implies the subsequent release of insulin, which in some cases may be exaggerated or inconvenient. There are also famous ‘slimming’ fruits, such as pineapple, that, in reality, have very high glycemic and insulinemic indexes, so they are not recommended in case you want to control glycemia and/or insulin levels. So I suggest to be informed not only about the caloric intake but also about their glycemic index“.

Nestor Llabanero/Estampas

Coordinates:
Marta Hurtado Pulyoza
Clinical Nutritionist specializing in Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Photo: Depositphoto

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