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Know your fruit facts

fruitimageHow much do you know about your fruit? Let’s do an experiment…just for fun. Take this quiz and test your fruit knowledge.

Which of the following fruit is highest in sugar and, thus, carb content? (Think, per serving.) Now, can you rank these fruits in order of sugar/carb count from lowest to highest?

A) Grapefruit

B) Blueberries

C) Raspberries

D) Peaches

E) Bananas

bananaimageThe answer: Bananas are the highest in sugar content and carb counts, and also in calories. One medium sized banana is 24 carbs and 105 calories. I don’t eat a lot of bananas for that reason, but when I do, it’s a real treat.

In terms of ranking from from lowest to highest sugar/carb count: Raspberries are the lowest at 3.5 carbs, grapefruit and blueberries each have 9 carbs (but they are also both high in antioxidants making them a fabulous go-to choice for those in fat loss mode); peaches are next at 12 carbs for one medium sized peach. So the ranking from lowest to highest is C)Raspberries, B) Blueberries, A) Grapefruit, D) Peaches and E) Bananas.

How did you do? Please feel free to share your results or observations below.

For the record, when I decided to get healthy and started my transformation, I didn’t know fruit was a carb! Yep, it’s true. So I certainly didn’t know the sugar or carb contents of fruit. Like many people I have talked to along this journey, I was under the misnomer that all fruit was good for me, all the time, and quantities didn’t matter much. I thought, if I just ate fruit, I would lose weight.

Basic fruit facts and why they matter

What I learned, is that some fruit is very high in sugar (albeit, natural sugar), and thus carbs. And since my goal was fat loss — burning stored fat and building muscle — I ate fruit only in moderation for the 18 months I was on the plan. And there were times that fruit was not on my plan at all.

Now that I am living in what I call “healthy lifestyle maintenance,” I eat more fruit. In fact, fruit is my dessert and I don’t worry as much about the higher sugar content of some fruit because it tastes great and natural fruit is good for me. It beats the brownie or cookie I would have eaten in the old days. However, when I am watching my weight or trying to get down to the lower end of my healthy range — like now, I do limit the high sugar fruits and fruit every day.

I came across this article titled: Low Carb Fruit List: The best and worst fruits and wanted to share it for those of you who might be curious or naive about fruit, like I was. Now, I’m fruit smart! Also, here is a link that allows you to check the sugar/carb content of just about any fruit. Have fun exploring!

Below are my all-time favorite fruits and the sugar/carb facts. What’s your favorite go-to fruit when dieting? How about when you’re not dieting? What do you love most about fruit?

1/2 grapefruit

½ cup fresh raspberries

½ cup fresh blueberries

½ cup sliced strawberries

1 medium peach

1 medium orange

1 medium banana

1 medium apple (red)

½ cup cantaloupe, cubed

2 Comments Post a comment
  1. Admiring the time and effort you put into your site and in depth information you offer.
    It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material.

    Fantastic read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.

    July 22, 2014

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