Will Eating Too Many Fruits Make Me Fat?

One likely reason that fruit can play an important role in weight loss has to do with its place as a healthier substitute for other sweets. For example, even though a banana contains 14 grams of sugar, that’s still far less sugar (not to mention fat) than a chocolate bar, a cookie, or a piece of cake. Plus, fruits contain large amounts of antioxidants and fiber, which likely also factor into weight loss.

A Part of a Balanced Diet

Constantly gorging yourself on high-sugar fruits is unlikely to help you lose as much weight as if you chose to snack on vegetables instead.

That said, fruits are an important part of a balanced diet when eaten in moderation, and for people who have a serious sweet tooth, they can be a great step in reducing sugar intake, especially if you find yourself drawn to high calorie, high fat desserts.

If you already eat a very healthy diet and get more than the recommended daily servings of fruit, then cutting out sugary fruits in favor of lower calorie and lower sugar vegetables may be of some help in spurring further weight loss.

However, in the words of Madelyn Fernstrom, the director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, “few people are over-consuming natural fructose by eating fruit.”

So, before you begin to cut back on fruit, make sure you’re getting enough of the crucial antioxidants and vitamins that it contains.

Have you cut back on fruit because you’re nervous about gaining weight?

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