This is a podcast episode of Ask the Health Expert with JJ Virgin titled "What About the Sugar in Fruit?" The episode interleaves sponsor/read advertisements (Earth Breeze, Wayfair, Pacifico, Monarch, Dick's Sporting Goods) with JJ Virgin answering a listener question about whether the sugar in fruit is okay to eat. JJ advises that whole fruit in moderation (about 1–2 servings or ~1 cup daily) provides vitamins, antioxidants and fiber; she warns against fruit transformed into juices, dried fruit, jams, syrups, and leathers (calling them "sugar bombs"), notes frozen fruit is often picked at peak ripeness, and recommends greener bananas for resistant starch rather than ripe, sweeter ones.
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But what about the sugar and fruit? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times best selling author, celebrity nutrition expert and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions, and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Today's question comes from Julianne Andrews on Insta. She asked, what about sugar and fruit? Is it okay to eat? Well, yes and no.
Julianne.
I'll be right back with the answer.
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You.
As the author of the Sugar Impact Diet, I literally wrote the book on sugar. Now fruit can be a double edged sword. On the positive side, if you're eating whole fruit in moderation, that means one to two servings a day of a piece of fruit or basically a cup, you get a lot of goodness, including vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. Plus frozen berries make your smoothie amazing. And another little hack, I love half of a frozen green banana. Remember, when they're greener, they're higher in gut, soothing fat, burning resistant starch, but when they get riper, they become sugar bombs. And speaking of sugar bombs, let me tell you, when you make a good thing bad, that's when you unwrap the fruit and turn it into juice. I think of fruit like that as a soda. And case in point, apple juice actually has more high fructose, more fructose content than a soda. Next up, how do you turn that fruit into a candy? You dry it so dried food's another one you want to get out there. Little sugar bombs. And then finally those apple butters and jams and then the syrups, they're just what they sound like. They're syrups, they're condensed sugar. So go for the fresh or go for the frozen because often the frozen is peaked, is picked at the peak of season. And avoid the sugar bombs of dried fruit, fruit, syrups, jams, leathers and juices. All right, there you go. This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetojay.com foreign.
Hello listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger, and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week, I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next reading. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately. And I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment, whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything. You'll learn something about yourself as a reader, and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to find out more.
