Marilyn Monroe might not have kept her svelte figure if she ate that much fruit on a regular basis!
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but do you know that too many apples a day may send you to the dentist?

Too much of a good thing can be bad, even for something as healthy as fruits. There is a reason why dieticians propose a recommended daily intake of fruits, rather than tell you that you can eat as much fruits as you like. Generally, it is agreed that the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables inclusive is five portions a day.

Certain types of fruits are high in natural sugars. You can easily tell which – the ones that taste sweet, like grapes, mandarin oranges, pears and bananas. While natural sugars are healthier than table sugar, and definitely make better snacks than chips, fruit sugars can contribute to tooth erosion and decay.

In addition, these sugars can contribute to your calorie count. Consuming many sweet fruits per day may eventually lead to health problems if you’re having existing health problems like obesity.

A health expert from Providence Health & Services explains clearly, the problem with eating more than the recommended intake of fruits.

“Let's say that you weigh 150 pounds, that you typically eat 2,000 calories per day, and that your goal is to get to that 500-calorie deficit by burning 200 calories through exercise and cutting 300 calories from your diet each day. That makes 1,700 calories your daily limit for what you can consume.

Fruit is about 80–100 calories per serving. A serving is one cup of fresh fruit or a half cup of canned fruit. (Yes, the exact calories vary, but these are a useful overall guideline.) You are eating about 7-1/2 servings of fruit per day. At an average of 90 calories per serving, that's 630 calories from fruit alone!”

This may sound unbelievable to health conscious people who consume fruits as a major part of their diet. Indeed, fruits are often regarded as the healthiest of the health pyramid along with vegetables, and they are always recommended as healthy alternatives over titbits like chips and chocolate. These facts still hold true, but one must bear in mind that following improvements in farming technologies, farmers have been using various methods such as hybridisation to make fruits larger and sweeter, and in turn more tasty, but less healthy.

Nevertheless, you should continue to eat fruits regularly, but consume it in moderation. Some people consume several servings of fruits in one meal and consider it their lunch, which is really an inadequate diet. Going overboard on one type of food causes you to miss out on the valuable properties of other foods.

Substitute more fruits for vegetables, as most vegetables are healthier in terms of calorie and sugar levels.

Choose more citrus fruits like oranges, which have less sugar content and lots of vitamins.

Explore a variety of fruits, instead of having say, 5 apples per day. There are so many different types of fruits sold in our local supermarkets and markets, such as watermelons, kiwi, strawberries, mango, avocado and cherries, just to name a few. Eating a greater variety of fruits makes your diet more enjoyable and interesting too.

Last but not least, remember to exercise and lead an active lifestyle. Eating fruits on a regular basis does not exempt you from frequent exercise. You would still need to maintain balance in other aspects of your life to enjoy a wholesome, healthy lifestyle.

Written by: Ng Mei Yi
Sources:
http://drbenkim.com/articles-fruit.html


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