Custard apple, mangoes and banana have high calories:

Which fruits are high in calories which should be avoided?

A variety of fruits when consumed on regular basis can provide various vitamins and minerals in the diet. All fruits are low fat (except avocados) and high in fiber and other nutrients. Provided if you have diabetes or if you want to lose weight certain fruits which are high in carbohydrates can be taken in restricted amounts. There is no need to avoid any fruit unless you are allergic to any, because not one fruit or food can provide all the nutrients. To gain maximum vitamins and minerals you need to include all the seasonal fruits in the diet.

Fruits that are high in carbohydrates include custard apple, mangoes, sapota, and banana. Although the mentioned fruits provide more calories compared to other fruits, you need not avoid them completely. For example if you have diabetes then eating lots of mangoes can raise your blood sugar levels, but if mango is your favorite fruit which you only get to eat when the season comes then you can eat a slice or 2 from a mango (considering that as one serving). Definitely you need to avoid mango juice and mango milkshake as they are high in simple carbohydrates and can raise blood sugar levels rapidly (mango milkshake and juice is also high in calories so can be avoided by calorie conscious or overweight people). Grapes, both green grapes and red or purple grapes also have moderate amounts of carbohydrates and can be restricted to less than one serving. This way you may decrease the servings of a particular fruit but not avoid them completely.

Whole fruits when consumed are more nutritious then fruit juices and fruit milkshakes. This is for a simple reason as while extracting a fruit juice the major nutrient of the fruit - that is the fiber is been discarded. Also, most of the time extra sugar is being added in the fruit juice which makes it high in calories. In case of fruit milkshake besides extra sugar many people use milk (instead of low-fat milk) and cream which makes the milkshake high in calories.

When given a choice always choose to eat uncooked whole fruits preferably with skin to gain maximum nutritional benefits. Eating fruits when hungry or when you have a sweet tooth will not only help to satisfy your hunger but also help to satisfy your sweet tooth.

The simple carbohydrates present in fruits serves as an excellent brain food. However never club your fruits with a meal as the simple carbohydrates in them are easily digested in the body compared to other complex carbohydrates and proteins from the meal. So when fruits are eaten along with the meals, in the process of digestion they tend to decompose and the vital nutrients present in them are not readily available to the body.

Submitted on January 16, 2014