Fruit is an important part of a healthy diet, but did you know you can actually eat too much? It’s true, eating too much fruit can actually increase your risk for heart attack and diabetes, and sabotage your weight loss goals. It can also cause a host of other problems like tooth decay.
When you eat too much fruit, you can raise your levels of serum triglycerides, which contribute to heart failure and heart attacks. If you’re at risk for this, eating a lot of fruit can make it a lot worse. High levels of fructose have also been linked to causing inflammation, raising blood pressure and damaging your kidneys. Another consequence is insulin resistance, so if you’re on the edge of getting diabetes, or have diabetes, a lot of fruit can make it worse.
Why Eating Too Much Fruit Is Bad For You: Cherries Are Delicious But Also Full Of Sugar
When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to remember that even though fruit has natural sugar, it’s still sugar. Eating a ton of sugary fruits (bananas, strawberries, and grapes have the highest sugar content) may seem like a good substitute for candy. While there will be some benefits, losing weight will not be one of them. Fruit juices, smoothies, and dried fruit are especially bad for weight loss. Removing the fiber means you drink mainly sugar. Fruits that aren’t so packed with sugar include berries, like blueberries and blackberries.
If you’re eating an almost fruit-exclusive diet (which is not super common) or not eating enough vegetables and protein alongside fruit, there are negative consequences. These include tooth decay, fatigue, bad skin, and even osteoporosis. This is because fruit lacks crucial vitamins like protein, B12, Vitamin D and Vitamin A. Fruit can be a good part of your diet, but it needs to be balanced. You need to choose the right fruit, like water-heavy watermelon, antioxidant-rich blueberries, and so on.
