Many times I come across patients who ask me to recommend fruits that will make them healthier or help heal them of a condition or the other. Some also come with lists and names of fruits that have been recommended to them by their healthcare providers or family and friends.
There are times when people can get some good results or health outcomes by eating one fruit or another, no doubt about that all because fruits have unique properties that make them potent foods against diseases. But a lot of the time, depending on one fruit does not help people fix health problems. So, it is not advisable to be hooked onto only one type of fruit for any desired result.
People tend to consume lots of certain fruits daily because of the belief that those fruits are the best for their conditions. This is a means by which they end up eating more sugar from such fruits.
There are those who do not eat sugar, as in table sugar because of its purported negative health effects. But the same people eat big bowls of fruits that they believe possess healing powers. Not knowing that those fruits also contain sugar. So, eating so much of the fruits is the same as eating a lot of sugar. The sugar in fruits is as bad as the table sugar that they avoid if consumed in large quantities at a go.
What we need to do daily is to focus on eating healthy well-balanced meals which give the body all the six food nutrients in the right proportions. These foods should be cooked by using a variety of ingredients from the various food groups. This helps in getting all the nutrients from those meals.
Fruits are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre; this is the same for almost all fruits. What apples can offer, oranges do offer as well. There might be slight differences from one fruit to the other but at the end of the day, they all help the human body in a similar fashion.
The person who will benefit from the positive health benefits of fruits is the one who eats them every day. It is therefore advisable that we all eat fruits daily. Eat them several times during the day. And remember to eat just small amounts each time.
One orange at a go is right, one apple at a go is right, two fingers of banana at a go is right, one coconut at a go is right; this list can go on and on, but the lesson here is that eating fruits a little at a time is what will help us and not eating so much of one particular fruit at a go.
Eat fruits several times during the day so you meet the day’s requirements. Eating fruits from between 3 to 5 times daily is good for most people, but again I repeat, make them small servings each time.
Also listen to your dietician’s advice on fruit intake as they will make recommendations based on your individual physiological and health needs.