When you cut out sugar, it’s expected that you’ll be avoiding Cola and Gummie Bears, but what about fruit?

Don’t worry – I don’t think you should cut out fresh fruit either. At least not forever… Here’s what you should know so you can still eat a juicy peach.

1. Can you eat fruit when you quit eating sugar?

• Believe it or not… yes, you can!
• We know fruit has sugar in it, but whole fresh fruit also has plenty of fiber and nutrients to help slow down the sugar damage to your liver and brain.
• Our bodies are designed to metabolize the amount of fructose contained in 1–2 small pieces of fruit a day. It’s other sources of added sugar you might want to reconsider.
• When you up the fruit intake, you should also up the veggies.

2. Why dried fruit and fruit juice is a no-no.

• Fresh fruit contains a lot of fluid, which helps fill us up when ingested. But dried fruit has had all of the water removed, concentrating the sugars (and not in a good way).
  • 1/2 a cup of fresh cranberries contains less than a teaspoon of sugar. But one cup of dried cranberries contains a whopping 9 teaspoons of sugar. What?
  • Dried fruit also contains preservatives and polyunsaturated oils to stop the fruit from sticking together.
  • Plus, while our full-alarm signal is triggered after eating one or two apricots, it’s nearly impossible to stop after one or two dried ones.
•  Fruit juice is a problem for similar reasons as dried fruit.
  • While smoothies are made by pureeing whole fruit and vegetables into a thick drink, juices involve extracting the juice only – tossing the nutrient-dense pulp.
  • Don’t try fruit juice from the stores. A single cup of orange can have 8–10 teaspoons of sugar (that’s as much as a can of Coke!). Don’t do it.

3. Great low-fructose fruits.

• I am a big supporter of all fruit. As long as it’s not dried or mashed into juice concentrate, whole fiber fruit is always going to be a better alternative for you than highly processed snacks.
• But if you’ve just recently cut back sugar and you want to continue sticking to low-fructose fruit (to keep from getting back on that sugar train) these are good options to stick with:
  • Kiwifruit.
  • Blueberries and raspberries.
  • Grapefruit/lemons/limes.
  • Honeydew melon.
  • Pear (with skin).
  • Coconut (although not coconut sugar).

4. The high-fructose fruits you might want to try and avoid.

• Just Eat Real Food. But while reducing your sugar intake, I recommend limiting the following fruit wherever possible; only because of their high fructose to glucose ratio.
  • Watermelon.
  • Grapes.
  • Bananas (stick to half a banana per serve).
  • Mangos (stick to half a mango per serve).

5. How I recommend eating fruit.

• Always eat fruit in its whole form.
• Eat fruit as part of a meal (with things like nuts, seeds, cheese and avocado).
• If you have fruit as a snack, add fat and protein.
• Eat fruit that’s in season.
• Opt for low-fructose fruit whenever you can.
• Stick to 1–2 pieces of fruit a day.

Click here to learn more about how to give up Sugar and still enjoy the sweet things in life.