how good is fruit for you?

Question
Hi, I'm just writing out of curiosity. A colleague from work said that too much fruit juice can be dangerous because of the sugar it contains. Normally, I drink about 2 glasses of fruit juice a day. But then, if fruit juices have too much sugar, what about fruit themselves? They probably have the same sugar as juice. So, how much fruit is ok to eat a day? Is 2 pears and a banana a day contributing to my health with their vitamins or just giving me loads of sugar with possible health problems after some 20 years?
I hope you can help me with this.
Thank you in advance,
Paulius Armonaitis

Answer
Hi Paulius,

Some fruit juices (particularly pear and apple) contain high amounts of a sugar called sorbitol. This form of sugar can be difficult for young children to absorb, and may cause intestinal upset or diarrhea if children are given too much of these juices. Other than that, my main concerns around juices are: 1. ensuring you are drinking 100% juice with no added sugar, 2. juice is very high in calories and natural sugars (even the unsweetened kind) - juices do have a lot more sugar than a serving of fruit, because it's so concentrated (if you think about it, it takes the juice from several oranges to make one glass of juice, so therefore you're getting the natural sugar from several oranges). I usually recommend no more than 8 oz of juice per day. You are better off eating the whole fruit instead, because the whole fruit contains more nutrients than the juice and has fibre as well, which the juice is lacking. The fruit will fill you up more too, so you won't eat as many calories. Eating 3 servings of fruit per day is fine (just make sure to eat at least 3 servings of vegetables as well!). I would recommend that you try to have more variety than just the pears and banana however, since eating a wide variety of fruits will give you the greatest health benefits.

Hope that helps!

Karen
www.getfitwithkaren.com  

1. Prev:I messed up my metabolism
2. Next:vegetarian supplements