Diet

Fructose is getting lots of bad press these days.

In the 80’s fructose was the wonder sugar.

It was all natural, didn’t spike your blood sugar, and what could be better for you than fruit?

Then along came high fructose corn syrup and we learned that you can go too far.

It doesn’t spike your blood sugar because it is easier for your body to store it as fat than it is for your body to burn it.  Triglyceride levels increase the risk of heart attack and stroke

So what do we do about fruit?

Some fruit is very high in fructose (high fructose corn syrup is about 50% fructose)- dates are bout 30% fructose while apples are more like 6% fructose- blueberries, lychees, all dried fruits, grapes, persimmons, pomegranates, apples, pears and quinces are above 5%.

2.5-5% fructose foods include bananas, blackberries, cherries, raw figs, jack fruit, kiwi fruit, loquats, mandarin oranges, mangoes and star fruit.  2.5-1% white cabbage, carrots, eggplants, fennel, nectarines, passionfruit, peaches, plums, green olives, pumpkins, squash, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, turnips, black currants, chives, grapefruit, guava, honeydew melon, oranges, pineapple, raspberries, red chilies, shallots, strawberries, tangelos, tomatoes and watermelon.

Less than 1% fructose fruits are apricots, avocados, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, grapefruits, lemons, limes, rhubarb, celery, Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, green chilies, green peas, iceberg lettuce, mushrooms, parsley, parsnip, radishes, artichokes, asparagus, bean sprouts, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cranberries, endive, ginger, green beans, potatoes, pumpkins, snow peas, spinach, sweet corn, tamarillo fruit, watercress and zucchini.