There is so much media hype centred around food that people are genuinely confused about which foods are good or bad. Fruit gets a bad press. It isn’t bad for you and it won’t kill you, it also won’t make you unhealthy.

The Truth About Fructose

Food companies have found ways to extract and concentrate fructose, adding it to processed foods like fizzy drinks, sweets, and ice cream. The result? High-calorie foods with little to no nutrition. But not all fructose is the same. Many believe that fructose from fruit is just as harmful as the refined kind, but that’s not true.

Fruit naturally contains fructose, but it also comes with fibre, water, vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that support good health. Unlike processed foods, fruit provides nourishment, not just empty calories.

Fruit Digestives

It is important to remember that fruit digestives in the body is different to refined junk food. Because it is in its natural whole food state, the body will take longer to break it down, leaving us feeling fuller for longer, which means we’re less likely to overeat.

Chocolate

A chocolate bar, on the other hand, is mostly refined sugar and is digested much quicker – eating chocolate will leave us feeling less satisfied, which means we're more likely to reach for the next candy bar.

Naturally Occurring Fructose

We can see at least in theory that if we were to eat navel oranges to excess, we would still have a hard time getting close to the equivalent calorie or refined sugar load as the chocolate bar. For all those who are against sugar, the 4.7 grams of naturally occurring fructose is so small (not to mention digested and released slower) that it is highly improbable it would do you any harm.

However, if you were to eat two chocolate bars per day for a month, you will have eaten the equivalent energy stored in 2 kilograms (4.5 lbs) of body fat. Confectionery loses this match based on a very high calorie density with little nutritional value. (Source: drbillsukala.com)