If you want to improve your metabolic health, you’ll ultimately need to cut excess sugar.
The question is, should this include fruit?
You’ll get different answers depending on who you ask.
There are staunch proponents on both sides of the fruit debate, and plenty of studies to back up each. But only you can decide what’s right for your diet.
Here’s what you should know so you can come to your own conclusions.
A closer look at both sides
According to MyPlate, the average adult should get around two cups of fruit each day. This might sound like a lot to those on keto or carnivore, but very little to those on plant-based diets.
It’s easy to see why this topic is so polarizing.
If fruit has sugar, and sugar is bad, wouldn’t eating more fruit be bad for metabolic health?
On the flip side of this, fruit is technically a whole, real food. So is something that’s ‘natural’ capable of harming our metabolic health?
Let’s look.
The benefits of fruit
- Eating fruit isn’t the same as eating processed sugar (which is no surprise to anyone). The accompanying vitamins, minerals, and fiber may positively affect the gut microbiome.
- Fructose may lead to smaller blood sugar spikes compared to other sweeteners. Some people consider it ‘healthier sugar’ because of its lower glycemic load.
- Fruit may aid weight loss efforts. This might be because it produces feelings of satiety and provides more micronutrients to power metabolic pathways.
Things to consider about fruit
- Fruit may be sweeter than it used to be. It may also contain fewer nutrients as well. One study suggests you’d have to eat eight oranges to get the same amount of vitamin C as an orange grown in the 1920s.
- High fructose consumption can impact brain health and cognition. Research suggests it may lead to brain insulin resistance, reduced neurogenesis, and impaired learning and memory formation.
- For those with existing metabolic conditions, high fruit intake may lead to poorer metabolic health. In a randomized study, patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on a high fruit diet gained more weight, developed more liver fat, and experienced higher blood sugar levels compared to those on low fruit diets.
This mostly enforces what we already know. Excess sugar is bad for your metabolic health, and if you’re metabolically compromised, it may hurt you even more.
But we also see that eating fruit is not the same as eating processed sugar. Added fructose is different from whole, real fruit, which can positively affect satiety and support healthier gut microbiota.
My take?
If you’re currently struggling with metabolic syndrome, you may want to be more strict about eating fruit and avoid high-sugar fruit altogether until you’ve improved insulin sensitivity and regulated your blood sugar.
But if you’re metabolically healthy, the occasional apple won’t push you over the edge. It’s certainly a much better treat than processed foods and packaged sweets. If you time your fruit consumption before gym trips or physical activity, you may not experience dramatic blood sugar spikes either.
Fitting fruit into a metabolically healthy lifestyle
Fruit isn’t the reason Americans are so metabolically unwell. But too much fruit isn’t good for any diet, especially not for recovering diabetics or those suffering with metabolic syndrome.
That’s why I advise my patients to:
Get a CGM
The best way to fit fruit into a metabolically healthy diet is to track how it impacts your body specifically. That means investing in a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to see how certain foods impact your blood sugar.
With a CGM, you can:
- See how your blood sugar levels rise and fall after eating
- Look for patterns in your glucose when you change your eating habits
- Test different kinds of fruit at different times of day to see how timing impacts your health
Remember: things that are ‘bad’ for a recovering diabetic are not necessarily ‘bad’ for those who are metabolically healthy.
The only way to know how fruit healthily fits into your diet is to check your metabolic health markers and see how your body responds.
Choose lower glycemic options
Not all fruit contains the same amount of sugar. Some are vastly more sweet and contain fewer nutrients as well.
Bananas, for example, are fairly high in sugars and carbohydrates. They do offer some amount of potassium, but you can technically get more from four ounces of salmon or a cup of plain yogurt (both of which are far less likely to spike your blood sugar).
There are plenty of fruits that fall on the lower glycemic index, many of which are low carb. You might want to consider:
- Coconut
- Berries (blackberry, blueberry, raspberries)
- Avocado
- Watermelon
- Grapefruit
But again, even low glycemic fruits can spike your blood sugar — which is why it’s such a good idea to buy a CGM.
Avoid processed fruit
Sugar-sweetened fruits are perhaps the most obvious of these, especially candied versions (like crystallized orange slices). However, you should also keep an eye on less healthy options like:
- Fruit juice. Compared ounce for ounce, some 100% fruit juices contain more sugar than soda. Fruit juice concentrates also contain less-than-natural ingredients like preservatives, artificial colorants, and processed sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup. We also know that beverages containing HFCS may induce diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
- Canned fruit. Most, if not all, canned fruits are preserved with high fructose corn syrup — which is not ideal for improving metabolic health. If you need something more ‘shelf stable,’ you might want to opt for frozen fruit. Just keep an eye on the ingredients label and avoid brands with added sweeteners.
- Dried fruit. Dried fruit is much easier to overeat than whole fruit. Most fruits and berries are ~80% water or more, which means dried versions are much smaller and compact (and easier to overeat as a result). Approach with caution.
Coming to your own conclusions
Reclaiming metabolic health is largely a personal decision. That includes whether or not you add fruit to your diet.
You might avoid it completely, or focus on low-glycemic options. Either way, the choice is up to you.
Not sure how strict you should be about fruit? Take my free metabolic health quiz to see where you’re at.
