Evidence suggests that fruit is a healthy food. In particular, consuming more fruit may lower the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and may have weight loss effects. However, this is paradoxical, because fruit is generally high in sugar, and a high sugar diet is associated with an increased risk of disease. One possibility is that the fibre content within most fruits, offsets the detrimental effects of the sugar, or perhaps prevents those detrimental effects from manifesting. Another possibility is that the phytochemical antioxidants in the fruit provide another method of protecting from the damaging effects of the sugars. Not all fruit contains high amounts of sugar, and the exact sugar content not only varies from fruit to fruit, but also between different examples of the same fruit. Ripe fruit tends to be higher in sugar compared to unripe fruit for example. Green bananas contain high amounts of starch, and as the fruit ripens this turns to sugar. Eating overripe fruit may therefore provide more sugar to the diet that barely ripe fruit.
Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Protect Yourself
RdB
