Sweetening Benefits of Fruit vs Sugar

Sharon Palmer, R.D.

The old way of thinking was that a gram of sugar was a gram of sugar, whether it came from fruit or high fructose corn syrup. But that rationale has come under fire recently. Evidence suggests that your body can tell the difference between nutritionally empty refined sugars and naturally occurring fruit sugars that come packaged with an arsenal of nutrients. And enlightened consumers are skipping the sugar bowl and turning to the culinary power of fruits to add a naturally sweet touch to foods.

The fact is we're eating too much sugar. According to Ruth Frechman, M.S., R.D., dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, Americans are consuming 16 percent of their total calories as added sugars. In the typical diet, the majority of sugars -- whether naturally occurring or refined -- come from added sugars at the table and in food and beverage processing, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2010 Dietary Guidelines. The major sources of added sugars in our diets are soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks (36 percent of added sugar intake;) grain-based desserts (13 percent,) sugar-sweetened fruit drinks (10 percent,) dairy-based desserts (6 percent,) and candy (6 percent).

Sugar was targeted as a primary health culprit in a 2009 American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement, which provided guidelines on added sugars in the diet, in order to help prevent obesity and cardiovascular disease. Evidence links excessive sugar intake with several metabolic abnormalities and adverse health conditions, overconsumption of discretionary calories, and shortfalls of essential nutrients. As a result, the AHA recommended an upper limit for daily added sugar intake: No more than 100 calories for women (about six teaspoons) and 150 calories (about nine teaspoons) for men. The 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines also took aim at added sugars, issuing a key recommendation that Americans should reduce consumption in order to lower the calorie content of their diet without compromising its nutrient adequacy.

New research also points out problems inherent in sugary diets. In a study published in October 2011 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers investigated the effects of consuming 25 percent of the daily calorie requirement either as glucose (the type of sugar your body uses for energy), fructose, or high fructose corn syrup. Within two weeks, the 48 adults who consumed fructose or high fructose corn syrup experienced heart disease risk factors such as higher levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoprotein-B (a protein that leads to plaques that cause vascular disease.) The subjects who consumed glucose had no such effects.

Fruit sugar vs. refined sugar. While you shouldn't worry about replacing all added sugar in your diet with fruit, there are benefits to be gained by replacing some of it, according to Jennie Brand-Miller, Ph.D., professor of human nutrition at the University of Sydney and a leading expert on the glycemic index, which is a ranking system for carbohydrate foods based on their impact on glucose levels. All types of sugar, whether they come from milk, fruit or a can of soda, are broken down by your body into metabolic building blocks. But refined sugars produce a rapid, high rise in blood glucose, compared with most whole fruits that produce a gradual rise in blood glucose.

Brand-Miller explains: "A gram of sugar in an apple might not behave exactly the same as a gram of sugar in a jellybean. The jellybean will be absorbed faster and elicit a higher insulin response, which suppresses fat oxidation and, maybe, over the longer term, encourages weight gain. The gram of sugar in the apple might also be more satiating than the gram in the jelly bean and suppress hunger for a longer period, encouraging better weight control."

The benefits of fruit over sugar extend beyond its glucose effects. "Skipping refined sugars and using the natural sweetness of whole fruits enhances the nutritional value of foods with a bounty of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and antioxidants," says Victoria Shanta Retelny, R.D., dietitian and author of "The Essential Guide to Healthy Healing Foods." "A big bonus in whole fruits is its high fiber content, which offers tighter blood sugar control in the body. Since fiber-rich foods are absorbed more slowly in the body, foods sweetened with whole fruit create a slower release of sugar into the bloodstream. This bodes well for fending off type 2 diabetes by not overworking the pancreas." In particular, fruits are high in soluble fiber, which is recommended by the Nutrition Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes as a preferred type of fiber because of its ability to reduce blood glucose levels after eating.

And let's not forget the power of fruit phytochemicals on health. In a randomized, placebo-controlled study published in the 2010 Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers investigated the effects of a strawberry beverage among 24 men and women with high blood lipids for 12 weeks. The subjects consumed a high-fat meal with either a strawberry beverage, which contained 10 grams of freeze-dried fruit, or a placebo beverage matched in calories. Blood lipid and oxidized stress levels were lower in the strawberry drink group compared with placebo. The researchers concluded that consuming strawberries with a meal might protect you from the oxidative burden you might normally experience after eating a high-fat meal.

Of course, strawberries aren't the only fruit packed with antioxidant properties. Try a variety of fruits, such as apples, berries, dates, raisins, figs, cherries, bananas and prunes, in lieu of sugar in your favorite recipes.

Fruit Sweetening Stars in the Kitchen

Check out this all-star lineup of versatile fruits that can help you skim the sugar from your diet.

Applesauce, unsweetened:

Add to breakfast cereals, sweeten baked goods like cakes and soft cookies. (See note on substitution.)

Bananas:

Mix into smoothies, non-fat plain yogurt, and use mashed to replace sugar in breads, cakes, puddings and cookies. (See note on substitution.)

Berries

(i.e. strawberries, blueberries, blackberries):

Slice into cereals, yogurt, smoothies, pies, and puddings. Puree to make a topping for pancakes and desserts.

Dates:

Chop into cookies, cakes, pies, and creamy desserts to replace sugar; puree and add to dressings, marinades and smoothies.

Dried, unsweetened fruit

(i.e. raisins, figs, cherries, berries, apricots):

Stir into hot cereal, granola, trail mix, puddings, pies, cookies and cakes.

Prunes:

Use in cereals and yogurts. Puree to create a sweetener to replace sugar in baked goods like pancakes, quick breads, cakes and cookies. (See note on substitution.)

Note:

When using this fruit in recipes, replace half of the required sugar with this fruit, and cut liquid by 1/4 cup.

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Health - Sweetening Benefits of Fruit vs Sugar