What’s the Deal with Fruit? Is Fruit Healthy?

Fruit is absolutely healthy and can help you reach your goals – in the right quantities. 

They're full of nutrients, packed with fiber, and can make for a great snack or part of a protein-focused breakfast!

Personally, I blend up frozen mixed berries in my post-workout smoothie.

Just remember that fruit, like every other food, obeys the laws of thermodynamics.

So, simply be aware of the calories (and carb and fiber content if you’re following a lower-carb diet):

• Apple: 95 cal, 25g carbs, 4.4g fiber. 
• Banana: 105 cal, 27g carbs, 3.1g fiber. 
• Orange: 45 cal, 11g carbs, 2.3g fiber. 
• Pear: 100 cal, 28g carbs, 3g fiber. 
• Peach: 59 cal, 14g carbs, 2.3g fiber. 
• Strawberries (1 cup): 47 cal, 11g carbs, 3g fiber. 
• Pineapple (1 cup): 82 cal, 22g carbs, 2.3g fiber. 
• Grapes (1 cup): 62 cal, 16g carbs, 0.8g fiber. 
• Raspberries (1 cup): 65 cal, 15g carbs, 8 fiber. 

Where fruit can get you in trouble is if you start to move in the direction of “fruit-like”:

#1) Fruit juices (cranberry juice, orange juice, grape juice): these are high calorie, sugar-filled beverages. 

For example, here are the calories in one 8 oz  serving of: 

• Apple Juice: 103 calories, 22 g of sugar
• Orange Juice: 103 calories, 18 g of sugar
• Grape Juice: 136 calories, 32 g of sugar

#2) Dried fruit: notoriously easy to overeat because they are so small. Since the water has been taken out, all that’s left is the sugar and fiber. 

Here’s 1 serving of raisins, which is 108 calories and 21 g of sugar:

If you are saying “I eat 5x that many raisins when I eat them…” then multiply those calorie and sugar numbers by 5!

3) Fruit Smoothies: Just because it’s a fruit smoothie doesn’t mean it won’t make you fat! Have you seen the calorie count and sugar content of smoothies and ‘green drinks’? Yikes.

• Green Machine Naked Juice (15.2 oz or 450 ml bottle): 270 calories, 53 g of sugar.
• Smoothie King Banana Boat (20 oz or 591 ml smoothie): 450 calories, 70 g of sugar.

To recap: fruit is healthy, provided you stick to fresh or frozen and not fruit-like food, dried fruit, or canned fruit packed in syrup. 

If you enjoy a small glass of orange juice occasionally, or you pack a serving of raisins in your lunch and it makes life worth living, by all means! 

Just don’t chug OJ by the gallon, drink a 64 oz “real fruit smoothie,” and eat raisins by the handful and then wonder why you’re not losing weight.