Don't Fear the Fruit, Enjoy It

Don't Fear the Fruit, Enjoy ItAre you afraid that eating fruit will cause your blood sugar to spike? Let us bust that myth right now.Only ten percent of adults eat enough whole fruit daily despite the clear benefits of fruit.Eating fruit and Living Longer My 98-year-old dad eats fruit with breakfast for as long as I have known him. We would have grapefruit every morning. We even had those cute grapefruit spoons to wrestle the goodness out of the half grapefruit.Now, dad enjoys a mixed bit of fruit.In 28 studies with over 1.6 million people, each serving of fruit led to a 5% lower incidence of death (reference).Each serving of fruit8% less risk of heart disease3% lower risk of cancer200 grams (7 ounces) showed the lowest risk of cancer rates and deaths from cancer.Even the Low Carb Community is coming aroundThirty years ago, the low-carb community advised against whole fruits. Their rationale was that fruits spiked blood sugar, which caused insulin to rise, which caused fat storage. They even cautioned against eating carrots for the same reason. But now, even the most extreme members of that community proudly eat fruit.What 5 servings looks likeBreakfast with 1/2 cup of blueberriesMorning snack of one medium bananaLunch with one appleAfternoon snack of 1/2 cup of grapes (about 16)Evening snack of 1 clementineDon't forget the tomatoThe tomato is a fruit. Yes, the Supreme Court said, for taxation purposes, it is a vegetable, but it isn't.Other Benefits of Fruitpromoting long-term weight managementreducing the risk of heart diseasereducing the risk of type 2 diabetesdecreasing the risk of colon and lung cancerlowering the risk of depressionsuccessful aging (like dad)higher bone mineral densitydecreasing incidence of seborrheic dermatitisless constipationless irritable bowelless inflammatory bowelless diverticular diseaseless hemorrhoidsless stressFruit is not the enemy - but it is one of the easiest of the nine food groups to add to your Mediterranean Diet and one of the easiest and most delicious to add to the DASH diet. -----Produced by Simpler Media