Is The Sugar In Fruit Healthy For Us?

Sugar: it's in everything we eat, we love it, and it's absolutely killing us. Deaths from type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease have all been linked to sugar intake, and yet our national consumption has never been higher. Thank goodness we had nutrition expert and bestselling author Cynthia Sass on the show to help navigate us through this sugar nightmare. Whole vs. Concentrate Sugar seems inescapable in processed foods, but what about fruits, or other foods that are naturally sweet? "According to American Heart Association (the strictest guide on sugar intake)," says Cynthia, "sugar from whole fruit is healthy and there are no restrictions." The line is fine though, as the emphasis is on whole fruit. Once you start consuming fruit in concentrate, the sugar content grows from natural to dangerous. “A single smoothie may have several servings of fruit,” Cynthia says, “but you would never sit down and eat five cups of fruit at once.” Because you're drinking these larger portions, your body is able to consume far more sugar than it would normally be able to consume at once. Dried And Multiplied This doesn't just apply to liquid concentrate. “With dried fruit,” Cynthia explains, “you have to be very careful of portion size. If you took a tennis ball sized amount of grapes, and shrunk them down, and took all the water out, you'd end up with a golf ball sized amount of raisins. But if you eat a tennis ball sized amount of raisins, you're essentially eating...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news