The Truth About Fruits: Health Benefits, Nutritional Insights, and Key Considerations

Fruits: Key Benefits and Important Considerations

Key Foods:

Temperate and sub-tropical fruits: berries, apples/pears, stone fruits (peaches, apricots, and nectarines), citrus fruits, and melons. Tropical fruits: banana, papaya, mango, pineapple, and others.

Key Notes:

Fruits are rich in nutrients but also in natural sugars. Fructose, a fruit sugar, contributes to obesity and even liver failure. Particularly harmful is high fructose corn syrup, which is widely used in food manufacturing.

Fruits are nature's "fast foods." They can be eaten raw, without cooking or other preparation. When eaten on an empty stomach, fruits are very quickly digested, providing a fast supply of energy. Fruits are also packed with nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that protect against degenerative diseases.
Most fruits are juicy. The high water content means that fruits do not provide a lot of carbohydrates and calories. Yet the sweetness tells us that fruits contain fair amounts of sugar. The sweeter the fruit, the more sugar it contains.

There is a common misconception that fruits are "high-fibre foods." Not so. Very few fruits will provide as much fibre as, say, spinach or broccoli. Watery fruits like watermelon actually provide minimal fibre while more crunchy or chewy fruits like apples and bananas provide moderate amounts. Raisins are high in fibre, but that is because they are dehydrated into a concentrated form. One of the few truly high-fibre fruits is fig but it is not widely eaten.

Common Perceptions and Realities:

Fruits are widely perceived to be healthy. But they are not always the healthiest food choices. Two issues pertaining to fruits are worth noting:

• Forced Ripening: Because of commercial needs, almost all fruits are picked green and then force ripened just before they are put on sale - which could be many months later. Ethylene gas is mostly used for this process, and it is quite natural. A ripe fruit will emit ethylene and hasten the ripening of other fruits surrounding it.

Not many studies have been done on the nutritional differences between forced ripened and naturally ripened fruits. But experience tells us that naturally ripened fruits taste much better. And common sense tells us that this is a sign of superior nutrition.

• Pesticides: Some fruits are heavily treated with pesticides, preservatives, and other chemicals. An apple may be treated with more than 20 different chemicals. Berries also tend to be heavily treated. Peeling off the skin will remove most, but not all, of the chemicals. But the skin and the part immediately beneath is usually the most nutritious part of the fruit. Not all fruits can be peeled anyway.

Because of forced ripening, long storage, and other unnatural processes, some fruits lose significant portions of their nutrients. British nutritionist Patrick Holford once sent some oranges bought from the supermarket for nutritional analysis, and the results showed that some samples contained practically zero vitamin C. It is best to eat local fruits that are organically grown and freshly harvested after they have ripened naturally.