5 Ways To Tell If You’re Eating Too Much Fruit

We always hear about the importance of eating our fruits and vegetables, and while you probably have never questioned if you’ve been eating too much broccoli, it’s hard not wonder if there’s a limit on how many grapes you can eat in a day. We’ve all seen those gorgeous Instagram posts of giant acai bowls topped with loads of banana, mangoes and berries, but as it delicious as it looks, are these meals really healthy?

Although fruit has its benefits, including important vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants, too much of the food group can raise your blood sugar levels, which can lead to fat storage, insulin resistance and potentially type 2 diabetes.

To make sure you’re getting the health benefits of fruit without going overboard, you want to make sure your intake isn’t anything too crazy. Here are five ways to tell if you are eating too much fruit.

1. You’re Loading Up Your Smoothies

“In your morning smoothie, there shouldn’t be more fruit on your cutting board than you would put in a bowl,” says Tiffany Newenhouse, RD. “Mixed fruit salads are great, but in smoothies sometimes we get carried away with different flavors. Aim for a protein, greens and one fruit.”

2. You Drink Mostly Juice

“If you’re consuming fruit in the juice form, you’re missing out on the fiber and thus the fullness factor you get from an apple when you just drink the juice,” says Newenhouse. Juices, especially those that are filled mostly with fruit, can have as much sugar as a soft drink. “[Instead of juice], eat the whole fruit, ” she says.

3. You Have Fruit With Every Meal

“I try to recommend one to two fruits a day,” says Newenhouse. “There’s no need to push you’re intake. Remember the 5-a-day rule is for fruit AND vegetables. Work harder to get your vegetables in instead, which have the fiber, vitamins and less sugar.”

4. You Eat It Mostly At Night

Fruits are filled with carbohydrates, which makes them a good source of fuel to get you through the day. However, eating a big bowl of fruit at night doesn’t give your body the time to burn off this fuel, which means these carbs just turn to fat. Stick to eating larger portions of fruit in the morning or afternoon, and just enjoy a bit in the evening.

5. You’re Always Craving Sugar

If your diet is generally healthy, yet you constantly crave sugar, your fruit intake may be to blame. The type of sugar found in fruits (fructose) triggers the release of ghrelin, a hunger-stimulating hormone that can cause you to crave even more fruit. Eating fruits along with healthy fats and proteins can help limit this effect.

Photo by rox sm