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| Should we be afraid of fruit? |
With sugar being seen by many as public health enemy number one, you may be wondering if you need to cut down on fruit, too
THE UK’S RELATIONSHIP with sugar is rapidly turning sour. In 2014,
anti-sugar academic Dr Aseem Malhorta, from campaign group Action on
Sugar, hit the headlines with his claim that sugar is ‘worse’ than
tobacco and should be heavily taxed. His words, bolstered by the growing
global ‘no sugar’ movement, have already inspired a number of diets
designed to help us cut down, or even cut out, the 238tsp sugar each
person consumes, on average, every week.
If you’re looking to reduce your sugar intake, limiting the contents
of your biscuit tin is a no-brainer. But what should you do when it
comes to the fruit bowl? A banana, after all, contains 21g sugar – the
equivalent of 5tsp. That’s more white stuff than you get in a standard
37g bag of Maltesers (which, incidentally, contains 19.7g sugar). This
begs the question: should we be eating a whole lot less fruit? We asked
our panel of experts for their verdict…
A healthy diet can include sugar
Most experts agree that sugar when included as part of a healthy,
balanced diet doesn’t pose any danger to our health. ‘The fact is, right
now there’s no evidence sugar is related to an increased risk of
disease,’ explains HFG expert and nutritionist Amanda Ursell. ‘So
there’s no reason to go sugar-free if you’re including it as part of a
balanced diet.’ HFG expert Tracy Kelly, clinical nutritionist at
Diabetes UK, agrees: ‘While our bodies don’t really need foods that are
high in sugar, such as confectionery and sugar-sweetened drinks, eating
or drinking them can still form part of a healthy, balanced diet if we
don’t have too many.’
Fruit provides a lot of vitamins, minerals and fibre, which can help protect against stroke and heart disease
But it’s the calories that count
That’s not to say you should swap your usual portion of fruit for a
couple of Krispy Kreme doughnuts! The key is balance. ‘Sugar that’s
added to food and drink, by us or by manufacturers, contributes to our
overall calorie intake,’ says Tracy. ‘And consuming too many calories,
including those from sugar and fat, can significantly increase our risk
of becoming overweight, which in turn increases our risk of developing
type 2 diabetes and other health conditions.’
This is where the benefits of fruit shine through. While fruit may
contain varying quantities of natural sugar called fructose, most
varieties are still reasonably low in calories and come with a whole
raft of nutrients that fight disease and keep us feeling and looking
good. ‘Fruit provides a lot of vitamins, minerals and fibre, which can
help protect against stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure and may
lower the risk of certain cancers,’ confirms Tracy.
The trouble with juice
But there is one area where experts say the relationship between
sugar and fruit is more complicated – and that’s juice. Fruit juice has
come under fire from Dr Susan Jebb, head of the Diet and Obesity
Research Group at the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research
unit in Cambridge, was quoted as saying it should come off the
five-a-day list because of the large amounts of sugar it contains. Dr
Jebb later clarified her position. ‘You can only count 150ml fruit juice
as a portion – anything more than this does not count,’ she confirms.
‘And five-a-day does not include “fruit drinks” with added sugar.’
Clearly, the problem with fruit juice is that it doesn’t contain the
healthy fibre you get from eating the whole fruit. Plus, drinking fruit
juice doesn’t fill you up in the same way, so it can be an all-too-quick
way to take in excess calories.
Don’t ditch a diet ally
Nutritionist Amanda Ursell says the main message is: fruit is fine.
And according to statistics from the Health Survey for England, most of
us should find reasons to eat more fruit, not less – figures show that
only 29% of women, 24% of men and 18% of children are getting their
five-a-day.
So don’t get hung up on the sugar in fruit – the fruit bowl is most
definitely your health ally. And a far better choice than the biscuit
tin when you want to satisfy a sweet tooth.
