Real Fruit means Real Sugar.

Natural fruits are nature’s bounty! They come packed with water, sugars and nutrients; all in a form that is easily absorbed by our bodies. The water present in fruits is actually the closest to our body’s own water structure.
We are mostly water. So keeping ourselves hydrated through a medium that best matches us seems to be the most sensible way to us.

Before we break down the sugars – it is important to know why sugar can be damaging for the body. Not all sugars are created equal. Not all sugars are bad for us.

Sugar is broken down by our bodies to supply energy. Energy to our cells. Energy to perform our daily functions.

Glucose. Fructose. Sucrose. 

When broken down, sugar can either be in the form of fructose or glucose. Both follow different metabolic paths in our bodies.

Sucrose is made up of the simple sugars glucose and fructose. Combining simple sugars together, sucrose is harder to deal with and needs more work.

Sucrose, glucose and fructose are found naturally in many foods but also added to processed products.

Glucose is vital for life - giving our cells the necessary energy to perform its reparative and restorative actions. Direct sources of these simple sugars give us the best chance to efficiently manage the workload of the gut.

Fruits contain sugar in the form of fructose. Fructose is broken down by the liver into glucose molecules. This does not spike our insulin at all! Glucose on its own requires a spike in insulin to be digested.

In the case of blood sugar levels being saturated, the excess is stored by the liver as fat. But this is less likely in the case of fruit consumption. More on this later.

 

When the Insulin Spikes 

One of the major factors for diabetes and increasing sugar related issues are repeated spikes in insulin! When we regularly consume refined sugars (in the form of sucrose), we get a complicated mix of fructose and glucose to deal with. 
This requires insulin release to digest, with more sugar intake requiring higher levels of insulin release. As we consume more refined sugars, our resistance to insulin reduces, making it necessary for the body to release even more insulin.
This seems like one of those never ending rides!

There's nothing to win here, folks.
Eventually, this results in insulin insensitivity – leading up to imbalances and a plethora of health issues.
 

It is hard to consume too much fruit!

Fruits contain less sugar in terms of volume. This plus the fibre and nutrients present in the fruit slow down the digestion process. A slower digestion lets our body break down the nutrients and maximise the absorption.

The fibre also makes it harder to eat too much. A candy on the other hand is much easier to eat a lot of. It is quickly digested. The higher ratio of sugar in volume can very easily spike our insulin, sending the body into a sugar rush and the eventual crash!

 

Long term benefits of Real Fruits

A regular intake of natural fruits reduces our craving for refined sugar, making it less likely for us to approach that extra piece of cake or candy. Once we know how our body reacts to certain foods, it is easier to make reasonable dietary choices – instead of demonising all sugar and adding stress to our minds through restrictive eating.

 

Disclaimer: Once the food goes past the stomach into the small intestine, the type of sugar does not matter so much.

 If your blood already has a lot of sugar in it, it will treat any form of sugar intake as excess and store it as fat or muscle. This can be prevented by timing our intake of fruits and veggies.

 

When we eat matters! 

Fruits are best consumed after a gap – possibly as the first meal. This allows for the fruit sugars to be utilised for what they do best. It is also recommended to give a gap of about 30 minutes after consuming fruits – allowing the gut to concentrate of slowly absorbing the fruit nutrients and sugars – instead of abandoning all work to deal with the other types of food consumed right after. This gap ensures the fruit sugars are properly accounted for, instead of being stored away as just fats and blobs.

This is where spacing our meals comes in handy! 

It is important to rethink our approach to food. Not all foods are created equal. Unless we carry some allergies, it is good to have a balanced diet that does not restrict our diet. 

If it was created by nature itself, it must have some good for us. All we need to do is look at it with a little more clarity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sucrose-glucose-fructose#what-are-they?

2. https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2016/08/natural-vs-refined-sugars-what-is-the-difference

3. https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/difference-between-sucrose-glucose-fructose-8704.html

4. Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome by Dr Will Bullsiewicz, MD