Does Fruit make you fat?

So should you remove fruit from your diet or still reach for that apple-a-day? Amy Lawrenson investigates.

The sweet tooth feeder

Fresh fruit is always a better choice than other sugary options such as low-fat yoghurts, chocolate or sweets. But eating fruit is only going to perpetuate your desire for more sweet food throughout the day. Sugar can be addictive and removing it from your diet altogether should help relieve the cravings. Go on a sugar detox and over time remove that daily need for sweet food should go. It will take a few weeks for your cravings to subside.

Avoid fruit juice and dried fruit

Fruit juice, according to Ian Marber is a disaster, as is dried fruit. Both are really high in calories and contain loads of sugar. For example, dates have 32 grams of fructose per 100 grams, compared with fresh pineapple that only has two grams per 100 grams.

If you are including dried fruit or juice in your diet in an attempt to be healthy, swap them for one portion of fresh fruit - oranges and raspberries are good picks (eaten with a little protein), salad or vegetables. You can also boost your health with calorie-free vitamin supplements.

If you're consuming dried fruit and fruit juice because you like them, then look at them as a treat.

Restrict fruit to 1-a-day

Fructose intake has quadrupled in the last 100 years, with the last 30 years seeing the highest rise. This has been mirrored by a similar rise in obesity. However Weight Watchers Pro Points allows you to eat as much fruit as you like. You may see a more impressive number on the scales come weigh-in day if you swap fruit for veg. And according to Ian Marber, this rule applies to everyone, not just dieters.

'Fruit and vegetables have been shoved together in a simple way,' says Ian Marber, The Food Doctor. 'My personal rule is 4 vegetable portions and 1 fruit portion each day.' he adds.

Apples and pears are a good choice, they contain higher levels of fibre than other fruits helping to promote a full feeling and prevent as much sugar potentially being stored as fat.

And remember, according to the NHS one portion of fruit is one medium-sized fruit (apple, banana), two small fruits (kiwi, plum) or a 5cm slice of pineapple or melon. Dried fruit should weight no more than 30g.

Avoid Processed foods

If we're being honest fruit alone is unlikely to make you fat. But we don't just eat fruit, do we? A lot of processed foods contain sugar and also 'glucose-fructose syrup' (also known as high-fructose corn syrup or HFCS) which can be found in yoghurts, juices, cereals, snack bars, cakes and biscuits (among others) meaning your diet, even if you think you eat healthy, is likely to be too high in sugar.

By unwittingly overdosing on sugar you're causing your body to become resistant to insulin so instead of converting sugar to energy it is simply storing it as fat.

'The needle on our fuel partitioning gauge will point towards fat storage, even if it didn't start out that way' adds Taubes.

Restrict your intake of processed foods and be wary of foods that have 'glucose-fructose syrup' high on the ingredients list.

Eat fruit with protein

Too much fruit can increase your daily calorie intake and cause you to feel bloated because as the fruits are digested they release ethanol and carbon monoxide which cause excess gas to build-up in the stomach. And this is on top of the fact that is doesn't even fill you up!

Ian Marber, The Food Doctor, recommends you avoid eating fruit alone and combine it with a little protein such as brazil nuts. The nuts will prevent that bloated feeling, while studies have shown that protein triggers the brain to think it is full.

What's in fruit that could make you fat?

After years of being told to get your five a day, all is not as it seems. Excess sugar (which fruit is rich in) is stored as fat - hardly diet friendly now is it?

Fruit is high in fructose, a simple sugar, which is broken down in your liver. Overworking your liver with too much fructose is not a good idea. 'Our livers respond to this flood of fructose by turning it into fat and shipping it to our fat tissue,' warns Dr Gary Taubes.

Glucose is also a key element in fruit: while simple carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice, potatoes, cereals and plenty of processed foods are really rich in it too. Your body needs glucose as it is converted by the insulin hormone into energy; high insulin levels signal to the brain that you have eaten and that you are full - a definite positive. On the downside, when insulin levels are raised, the body stops burning fat; too much sugar in your system and it won't be burned off which means you'll pile on the pounds. Oh, and when insulin levels spike way too high and too fast (if you've gorged on the sweet stuff...), your blood sugar levels can plummet causing you to feel hungry again (that 4pm feeling).
 
Because fructose is broken down in the liver and not sent out into the blood stream it doesn't raise your insulin levels as much as high-glucose foods, so you won't get that blood sugar slump. However Dr Carel Le Roux, consultant in metabolic medicine at Imperial College London warns that 'high insulin levels are one of the factors that dampen the appetite, but fructose doesn't trigger as much of an insulin response, so the brain won't get the message that you are full.'