How much fruit is too much fruit?

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8/6/12 8:21 P

Thanks for all the replies! I guess I knew eating so much fruit couldn't be all good but I have still been within my calorie and nutrition ranges (though consistently on the high end of my carbohydrates) so I just needed some input. I eat VERY little additional sugar, mostly whole foods (no processed foods) but I could certainly use more vegetables. Grapes and bananas are just so easy for me, no fuss, no mess, just snack and go! It's definitely the sugar that my body is craving when I eat them but I know I need to wean myself off because even though it's naturally occurring, it is still overdoing it. Thanks again everyone!

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8/6/12 9:40 A

Try eating more fresh veggies like carrots, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes. You can have them with a bit of hummus and greek yogurt dip.

I try to keep fruit limited to what the old food pyramid said,2-4 servings a day. It's good as a dessert or a snack, but a couple pounds of fruit every days sounds expensive and high in carbs. Try aiming for lower calorie fruits as well - bananas and grapes are good once or twice a day, but they have a higher sugar content than apples and peaches.

Still, if you're overeating something, better that it's fruit and not potato chips or cookies.

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8/6/12 8:38 A

I think the answer to this question depends on a lot of factors. If you are a child with a fresh and young pancreas who does not eat any other sugar of any kind then it seems to me that there is no limit to how much fruit you can eat.....you will self regulate.

But, most of us are not children. Most of us eat other sources of sugar. Most of us have some degree of insulin resistance (even if there are no obvious symptoms) as a result of eating too much sugar and simple carbohydrates for far too many years. In this case, fruit is something that should be consumed in moderation. Veggies should be the greatest source of 'fruits and vegetables' and the lower-sugar fruits like berries and melons should be the main indulgences. But that is just my opinion. And please stay away from fruit juice! Liquid sugar is the worst kind to hit your body with.

If you eat any processed foods then there is almost certainly sugar in that. If you drink milk then there is sugar in that. If you eat sweets, treats, cake, soda there is massive amounts of sugar in those. They even put sugar in jerky! To expect your body to react well to the sugar in fruit when you don't expect it to tolerate cake, then you should think again. That said, there is a trade off. If you allow yourself a certain amount of sugar in a day, then you have to decide if it is in the form of fruit or cake or milk. Fruit is obviously the healthier choice thanks to all the other good things fruits have in them with milk coming in second.

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8/6/12 8:05 A

Oh man, I saw the title of this thread and it seemed like a question I'd post. I have to stop myself from eating about 10 servings of fruit a day. I would if I could. Raisins in my morning oatmeal (120 cals), banana morning snack (110), apple with lunch (80), grapes in the afternoon (100), cantaloupe after work (125), fruit salad with dinner (150 cals), snack on blueberries before bed (60 cals). Yep... That sounds like an enjoyable day to me. But as you can see, I outlined the problem. Literally half my daily allowance in calories, and every single carb, become acounted for.

Best way I found to help was replacing them with veggies. I tend to now have fruits as my snacks because they are sweet and I can just pull one out and eat it, while having a double serving of vegetables with my meals. You get 2-3 times the volume of say, green beans, as you do with fruit for only 40 calories as opposed to 100+. It stinks, but I try to only go for 3 fruits a day, although going over on fruit really isn't the worst thing in the world.

Also, to keep my carb levels in check with the amount of fruit I like to eat, It works out perfectly if I have complex carbs with 2 meals a day, not three. So if I have cereal for breakfast, I have to skip the brown rice at lunch or something. And If I'm planning on pasta for dinner, I should have eggs or something in the morning. The trick is just finding a balance that you can work with and still enjoy. Too much of a good thing can hinder you, unfortunately, but having a couple too many servings of fruit a day isn't the worst thing in the world.

Maybe you can work on portion sizes? I get carried away with things like grapes and blueberries because they are so delicious I can't stop eating them. But with an apple or peach or something, there is a definitive stopping point.

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8/6/12 7:18 A

I aim for 2-3 servings of fruit per day but it's quite easy to eat a lot more fruit than that! As long as the fruit isn't crowding out other important parts of your diet, it's ok. If you're eating fruit and skipping vegetables, then maybe make some changes.

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8/6/12 12:33 A

I'm a huge fruit eater, also. Never used to be, but then I discovered pineapple & cantaloupe. Now I eat at least 2 each a week. Also love red grapes & cherries.

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8/5/12 11:45 P

That's a lot of sugar and it makes me wonder, do you have candida?

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8/5/12 11:20 P

There's no magic amount that is "too much" but you need to look at it in context of your nutritional needs. If you're getting all your carbs from fruit, that doesn't leave much room for complex carbs (most of the carbs in your fruit will be fiber and fructose) from other sources. You might also be low on protein eating this much fruit. It's generally recommended to eat more veggies than fruit.

I usually have 3-4 servings in my morning smoothie, then may or may not have another serving later in the day.

You might consider eating other types of fruit, too. Berries and melons tend to be lower in sugar than grapes.

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8/5/12 10:08 P

I eat about 5 to 6 servings of fruits and veggies per day. I have a piece of fruit with each meal usually an apple, half banana, about 12 grapes, a peach.... Not more than that per serving. Bananas are very healthy, but they do contain lots of calories, so my advice would be to track all your food and see how it all adds up.

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8/5/12 9:11 P

That seems like A Lot of fruit, possibly too much depending on what else you're eating. If you're eating 2 lbs of grapes, that about 650 calories, 160 carbs, 155 g sugar. At 4 bananas a day, that's 420 calories, 108 g carbs, 60 g sugar. There's not a lot of room for much else after that and you want to be getting more balance I'd think, more protein for example.

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8/5/12 8:14 P

track all your food. it's perfectly fine to spend all your discretionary calories on fruit if you like fruit. but just make sure that what you're eating overall meets your needs. if they do, don't sweat having so much fruit. if you're eating so much fruit that you can't fit in the things that you need, then cut back the fruit until you can maximize your fruit intake and still get what you need in.

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8/5/12 8:07 P

I seem to have developed a slight addiction to grapes and bananas. I eat them ALL the time! They are my go-to snack everytime I need one. My friends say things like "at least you're not eating chips or cookies or something" but I'm wondering if there are any negatives to this. I will literally eat 3-4 bananas a day and/or sometimes almost 2 pounds of grapes.How much is too much? Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

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