While studies suggest that high fructose intake may increase the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, consider which type of fructose is being tested: Naturally-occurring fructose vs. When you’re sucked into the chronic dieting vortex, a food as nourishing as a vitamin C-packed apples can be overshadowed by its sugar content. Somewhere along the way, maybe you read that fructose in fruit causes everything from weight gain to fatty liver disease. Image by Hannah Haston Fruit and Fatty Liver Disease To put that into context, one medium orange has roughly six grams of fructose. When you eat 3-6 grams of fructose at a time, the intestines will actually neutralize it and the fructose never makes its way to the liver. In excess, fructose can be toxic to the liver, but I’m talking about large, substantial quantities of fructose. Most fruits have 5-6 grams of fructose (some only have 3-4 grams), which is a small amount. The proportions of each vary, but most fruits are about half glucose and half fructose. Types of Sugar in Fruitįruit contains two types of sugar: Fructose and glucose. When we eat fruit, we are consuming a wide variety of nutrients, including fiber, antioxidants, and carbohydrates. However, as we begin to understand blood sugar and its impact on our bodies, it’s important to recognize how fruit is metabolized. Point blank: Natural fruits are associated with good health (not bad health). Image by Michelle Nash Natural Sugars in Fruit-Good or Bad for Your Health? After all, life’s too short not to enjoy this. And while not all sugar is created equal, the goal is not to restrict or feel deprived. That includes juicy grapes, ripe watermelon, and sweet peaches! Ultimately, it’s other kinds of sugar, like refined cane sugar and artificial sweeteners that can cause inflammation and other chronic diseases. When we strip away all the convoluted messages, confusing studies, and set aside our tendencies to overanalyze everything, we realize that what comes from our natural world is here to help, sustain, and satiate us. The truth is, fruit is healthy-no matter how diet culture tries to spin it. Fearing fruit is just another example of how diet messaging impacts our ability to make perfectly nutritious and wholesome choices for our bodies. Reading that, some of you might be thinking, of course fruit is healthy! But others might look at a banana and only see what diet culture sees: sugar and carbs. With her background and expertise, she specializes in women’s health, including fertility, hormone balance, and postpartum wellness.
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