Why do I want to limit your fruit intake? You may think I am out of my mind. Many people believe that fruits are inherently healthy, and they are correct to a degree. However, many Americans mistakenly lump fruits and vegetables together. The government slogan is “5 a day,” meaning five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. This often gives people the impression that fruits and vegetables are interchangeable, which is not correct.
Although fruits and vegetables share many similarities, they are also very different. Fruits are generally sweet, meaning they contain sugars, especially fructose. That is what makes them sweet. A pattern I see often is people who like sweets are eating fruits like candies but thinking they are eating healthy because they don’t differentiate between fruits and vegetables.
Our body can only process sugar, especially for fructose, at a limited rate. Excessive consumption means these sugars have to be converted mostly into visceral fats, the worst fat for our body as it causes inflammation.
So in my program, I specifically separated fruits and vegetables.I want you to eat AT LEAST 5 servings of vegetables a day and UNDER 2 servings of fruits. This ensures that you get enough vegetables and NOT substituting fruits for vegetables.
The health implications of this can be huge. Excessive sugar not only triggers fat storage and inflammation, they also have neurological effects. Too much sweetness in your food changes how you perceive foods. There are natural sweetness in vegetables, If you eat too much fruits, you will not taste the sweetness in vegetables, and it makes you dislike vegetables.
Hi my name is Victor Cheng. I practice acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Follow me for more health tips.
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