Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

Brian O'Driscoll

Fruit is a plant-based, whole food that just about anyone can embrace.  From children to picky eaters, the sweetness of fruit holds a special place in our hearts.  This is for good reason!  Before the invention of global commerce and modern food science, fruit and honey when in season were once our only readily available source of concentrated sweetness.

Fast forward to today, and those accustomed to sugary beverages, candy, and most baked goods may not think fruit is really all that sweet.  What a shame!  Unlike manufactured food products, fruit offers much more than sugar.  This week, we will explore fruit as a category of healthy food, discuss a few arguments against fruit consumption, and compare a few of the more popular fruits to see what nutrients they contain in their sweet, sweet flesh. 

The Nutritional Makeup of Fruit:

Before we jump into a discussion of fruit, let’s have a definition first.

A fruit is the ripened ovary of a flowering plant that contains seeds.  By definition, grains, beans, and nuts could be considered fruits.  For the sake of this article, I’m going to narrow that definition down a bit more.

For my purposes, I will define fruit as a sweet-tasting, ripened ovary of a flowering plant that is not categorized as a grain, bean, or nut.  Examples include berries, apples, bananas and plantains, pineapple, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, grapes, strawberries, etc.  While tomatoes, olives, and avocados are technically fruits, I will not include it in this article.  You may disagree with my choice. 

Inside fruits, we see some shared nutrients and a common lack of other nutrients.  Missing from fruit are fat and protein.  Usually present are carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids.  We will discuss flavonoids in a few weeks, but a quick summary is that flavonoids make your tissues stronger, reduce tissue damage from inflammation, and speed recovery. 

Let’s look at a few popular fruits to get more specific on their nutrients.

As always, I am using my free cronometer account to access the NCCFND database for all of the nutritional information below.  I encourage you to access this information to check my data and look into any other foods you are interested in learning more about. 

For the information below, I’m using a one cup serving size.  Finally, as with previous nutrient breakdowns, the Daily Value percentages are based upon a woman of childbearing age. 

Comparing Different Fruits: 

Apple - chopped fresh with skin - 1 cup - 65 Calories

• Carbohydrates: 17.26 g

• Fiber: 3 g (12%)

• Sugar: 12.99 g

• Vitamin B6: 0.05 mg (2.6%)

• Folate: 3.75 mg (0.9%)

• Vitamin C: 5.75 mg (9.6%)

• Vitamin E: 0.26 mg (1.3%)

• Vitamin K: 2.75 mcg (3.4%)

• Manganese: 0.04 mg (2.2%)

• Potassium: 133.75 mg (3.8%)

Banana - sliced fresh - 1 cup - 100 Calories:

• Carbohydrates: 25.7 g

• Fiber: 2.93 g (11.7%)

• Sugar: 13.76 g

• Vitamin B6: 0.41 mg (20.6%)

• Folate: 22.5 mg (5.6%)

• Vitamin C: 9.79 mg (16.3%)

• Vitamin E 0.15 mg (0.7%)

• Vitamin K: 0.56 mcg (0.7%)

• Manganese: 0.3 mg (15.2%)

• Potassium: 402.77 mg (11.5%)

Grapes - whole fresh - 1 cup - 104.19 Calories: 

• Carbohydrates: 27.33 g

• Fiber: 1.36 g (5.4%)

• Sugar: 23.38 g 

• Vitamin B6: 1.3 mg (6.5%)

• Folate: 3.02 mg (0.8%)

• Vitamin C: 4.83 mg (8.1%)

• Vitamin K: 22.05 mcg (27.6%)

• Manganese: 0.11 mg (5.4%)

• Potassium: 288.41 mg (8.2%)

Orange - fresh peeled - 1 cup slices - 63.45 Calories: 

• Carbohydrates: 15.86 g

• Fiber: 3.17 g (12.7%)

• Sugar: 12.99 g

• Vitamin B6: 0.08 mg (3.8%)

• Folate: 40.5 mg (10.1%)

• Vitamin C: 71.82 mg (119.7%)

• Vitamin K: 0 mcg (0%)

• Manganese: 0.03 mg (1.7%)

• Potassium: 244.36 mg (7%)

Blueberries - fresh whole - 1 cup - 84.36 Calories: 

• Carbohydrates: 21.45 g

• Fiber: 3.55 g (14.2%)

• Sugar: 14.74 g

• Vitamin B6: 0.08 mg (3.8%)

• Folate: 8.88 mg (2.2%)

• Vitamin C: 14.36 mg (23.9%)

• Vitamin K: 28.56 mcg (35.7%)

• Manganese: 0.5 mg (24.9%)

• Potassium: 113.96 mg (3.3%)
  
  

As you can see, just as with other food groups, different fruits have a wide range of nutrients.  Were you surprised by any of the information above?  We see some common knowledge playing out in the numbers: oranges are a great source of vitamin C, bananas contain a good amount of potassium, and grapes are little sugar bombs!

There is information missing however: those polyphenols are not represented here.  Grapes are a great source of resveratrol, apples contain a good amount of quercetin, and oranges are rich in hesperidin.  You may recognize some of these polyphenols from expensive supplement bottle labels.  Stay tuned for more information on polyphenols in a few weeks!  For now, know that all plant foods are rich in polyphenols, with brightly colored fruits and vegetables being particularly good sources. 

Applications: 

You already know what I’m going to say, but I’ll say it anyway.  Eat fruit.  Eat it in its natural and unprocessed form when you have access to it.  During the winter, enjoy frozen fruits and other lower sugar preserves such as apple sauce, dried fruit, and canned fruit. 

How much fruit you choose to eat depends on your access and your preferences.  Aim to eat more servings of vegetables than fruit; incorporate an adequate amount of fat, protein, and fiber; and be sure to stay hydrated.  

I like to aim for twice as many servings of vegetables as fruit each day, but that may not work for you.  Also, remember that what you eat will look different for you at different times in your life, different times of the year, and during different activities such as traveling or during celebrations.  Make sure you are eating food to nourish your body regularly, and then also be sure to enjoy your life and not let eating “correctly” become a major stressor.  Our health encompasses much more than our biology!

What about diabetes?

I’ve encountered many patients with diabetes who think they should avoid fruit due to the sugar content.  This worry is warranted, and some sugary fruits like grapes should be eaten sparingly.  However, most fruits, while containing a significant amount of carbohydrates, also have a low glycemic index.  

Foods with a low glycemic index tend to raise blood sugar slowly in a way your body can better keep up with.  This means no sugar spike and crash.  What makes fruit low glycemic?  Fiber.  Fiber will slow down your digestion, allowing you to absorb the calories much slower, leaving you feeling satisfied longer and keeping your blood sugar steady.

That being said, try to stick to portions that are around 15 grams of carbohydrate per serving.  In our example above, 1 cup of orange slices, ¾ cup blueberries, ½ cup grapes, ½ cup banana slices, or ¾ cup diced apples would all be around 15 grams of carbohydrates.  In comparison, 2 Tbsp of milk chocolate chips have about 15 grams of carbohydrates, would spike your sugar, send you into a sugar crash, and leave you hungry.

So much for the myth of no fruit for people with diabetes!

Next Week: 

Next week we will wrap up our exploration of specific food categories with the brassica (broccoli) family of vegetables.  This is a pretty diverse group of foods that have been selectively bred for their roots (kohlrabi), leaves (kale/cabbage), and their flowers (broccoli/cauliflower).  All of them started from a plant very similar to present-day wild mustard! 

To our health!