Do you avoid fruit due to your concern about the sugar content? Sadly, many people do not actually realize that processed sugar and natural sugars found in fruit are far from being the same.Sugars contained in fresh fruits, referred to as fructose, are naturally occurring and the Additionally, fruits have other benefits including vitamins and fiber. Phenols, an antioxidant, found in many fruits can also aid with warding off such ailments as cancer and heart disease.
Refined table sugar has 4 calories per gram and offers no additional nutritional content. This type of sugar is generally added to foods to enhance taste. When you consume large amounts of refined sugar, the body must release insulin to handle the sudden increase of glucose in the blood stream. When this occurs, the sugar level drops and the body then craves more sugar to replace what was dispersed previously. This repeated cycle can cause the body to eventually start storing this sugar in fat cells. This can lead to obesity and diabetes along with a host of other health issues.
Be health conscious. Try to consume your sugars from fruits to gain the added health benefits. Myplate can help you determine your daily fruit intake with the table below.
| Daily Recommendation* | ||
| Children | 2-3 years old
4-8 years old |
1 cup
1 to 1 ½ cups |
| Girls | 9-13 years old
14-18 years old |
1 ½ cups
1 ½ cups |
| Boys | 9-13 years old
14-18 years old |
1 ½ cups
2 cups |
| Women | 19-30 years old
31-50 years old 51+ years old |
2 cups
1 ½ cups 1 ½ cups |
| Men | 19-30 years old
31-50 years old 51+ years old |
2 cups
2 cups 2 cups |
0
