The average American doesn't quite manage to get even two servings of fruit per day, according to USDA data.
That statistic's real health impact becomes clear when you consider that the most potent protection against cancer and other chronic diseases comes from getting 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday, according to AICR (less than one quarter of Americans accomplish this).
When you ask Americans in consumer surveys why they’re so fruit-phobic, their different complaints all boil down to one thing: whole fruit, they say, is a hassle.
Oranges? “Tough to peel.” Apples? “The skin gets caught in my teeth.” Peaches, apricots, nectarines, pears and plums? “Messy.” Fruits like melons, mangoes and kiwis, which require utensils to open or eat, earn points for flavor, but not for convenience: “Can’t eat them at my desk.”
And when it comes to having enough on hand? “Fruit always goes bad before I eat it.”
Fortunately, there are easy ways to overcome all of these seeming obstacles, but doing so means making some nutritional trade-offs.
Whether fresh, frozen or canned, every bite of whole fruit provides your body with the whole package: a varied arsenal of substances that seem to work together to promote health and prevent disease: vitamins, minerals, protective phytochemicals, fiber and water.
Wait: water is good for you, now?
Yes, indeed: the water (let’s just go ahead and call it juice) that makes many fruits so messy, that dribbles down your chin and gets your hands sticky, is filled with the good stuff that’s found in whatever you just bit into.
Ditto the apple skin that gets caught in your teeth, and the translucent pith that gives oranges their substance. That’s fiber -- what your grandmother used to call “roughage.” Many of an orange’s protective antioxidants, for example, are bound up inside its fibrous membranes.
The fiber in fruit has several other roles: it’s digested by the bacteria in our guts to form short-chain fatty acids, which may help defend against colon cancer. It also adds “bulk” that speeds the movement of food through the intestines, so potential carcinogens in what we eat spend less time in contact with the very sensitive tissues lining our colon.
The fiber and water contained in fruits contribute directly to a healthy diet. But the fiber-water combination does something else that is just as vital to good health, if a bit more indirect: it takes up space.
If that doesn’t sound particularly impressive, think about it in terms of energy density, a concept that’s attracting a great deal of attention from those who study nutrition and obesity nowadays.
Fruits and other plant foods are high in fiber and water, but comparatively low in energy -- or, to put it another way, in calories. As a result, eating whole fruits promotes a feeling of fullness without the hefty calorie payload that accompanies foods higher in fat.
The research into how a food’s energy density influences obesity is continually growing. Many scientists believe that the relatively low energy density of fruits and vegetables is one reason that people whose diets are rich in plant foods tend to be leaner (and have fewer cancers) than those whose diets are centered around highly energy-dense foods like meat and fat.
Plus, all the “hassle” with peels and juice and seeds means you have to take your time. Think of it as nature’s way to give your body a chance to realize that it’s full, ensuring that you don’t take in too many calories at once.
Fruit contains a lot of natural sugars, and the calories that come with them. Without fiber or water to fill you up and slow you down, those concentrated calories could add up quickly.
A dried fruit loses its juice, but retains much of its fiber and many of the vitamins it started with. Still, it becomes more energy dense in the process, which is why it’s a good idea to control your portions of those handy and easy-to-gobble-up dried cherries, apricots, cranberries, figs or plums.
Read the label to see how many calories you’re getting, and scan the ingredients while you’re at it. Some dried fruit makers add even more sugar, and, for certain fruits, chemicals like sulfites (which can cause reactions in people with asthma who are sensitive to them) to keep their product from turning brown.
Dried fruits are a good way to add variety to your fruit intake, and the fact that you can store them for months at a time will help see you through even the darkest winter.
Get rid of the juice, and you get dried fruit. Get rid of the fiber, on the other hand, and you’re left with juice. Pure juice can contain considerable amounts of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidant phytochemicals found in whole fruits.
But like drying, juicing a fruit also concentrates all of the calories into a very small volume, which is why that tiny glass of juice becomes energy-dense indeed. (See the chart, below.) Of course, once you start getting into sweetened or “cocktail” juices, the calorie content can soar even higher.
And when it comes to weight gain, a calorie is a calorie, no matter if it comes from a glass of fruit juice or a candy bar. That’s why AICR recommends opting for whole fruits whenever you can, with the occasional small glass of pure juice thrown in to mix things up.
But wait, you say: didn’t I just read somewhere about a study that showed that juice is just as good for you as whole fruits and vegetables? Click here for a bit of background on that study and juice's potential as a cancer-fighter.
1 Cup of Grapes |
|
1 Cup of |
62 calories |
493 calories |
154 calories |
0.8 grams of fiber |
6.1 grams of fiber |
0.3 grams of fiber |
14.9 grams of sugars |
97.7 grams of sugars |
37.6 grams of sugars |
Source: Hands, Elizabeth S. Nutrients in Food. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 1999.
* Although this chart compares equal amounts, note that a standard serving of dried fruit is smaller than a standard serving of whole fruit.
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is the only major cancer charity focusing exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. The Institute provides a wide range of consumer education programs that help millions of Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities, hospitals, and research centers across the U.S. The Institute has provided more than $70 million in funding for research in diet, nutrition and cancer. Visit the AICR Web site. AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.