Sugar in fruit

Fruit, one of the 5 core food groups, is also one of the most misunderstood. Core means central and the implication is that we all should be eating fruit regularly to stay healthy. However many people, including perfectly healthy people, are concerned about sugar in fruit.

Fruit contains naturally occurring sugars, which include glucose and fructose, in varying amounts. If you consult a food composition database you can find the average amount of sugar in different types and varieties of fruit, e.g. apple vs pear, pink lady apple vs Granny Smith apple. The key word here is average because there are multiple other factors that will change the actual amount of sugar in the piece of fruit you are currently holding in your hand. One of those factors is ripeness: the riper the fruit, the more sugar it contains.

Sugar in fruit – factors to consider

Portion size

A lot of the fear of fruit (most notably bananas) is based on the fact that some fruits are higher in sugar than others on a per 100g basis. Indeed, if you look at the sugar content per 100g, bananas have more sugar than pretty much all other fruits except for mangos and grapes, as shown in the graph below. However, we do not normally eat fruit in 100g lots, but in units more often than not. Comparisons per 100g have a time and a place, just not when comparing pieces of fresh fruit.

Size matters!

A more accurate and fair comparison of the energy and sugar content in fruit is done by looking at the numbers per typical serving size. For example, we normally eat regular-sized fruits like bananas, apples and oranges by the unit, and we typically eat smaller fruits like kiwifruit ad mandarins by the pair. Even small fruit like berries or fruit that is normally eaten diced like melons are measured by the cup. With these considerations, you can see that a medium banana is actually lower in sugar than a medium apple or pear, a couple of mandarins, kiwifruit or stone fruit, among other fruits. See the graph below for average numbers, keeping in mind that your portion sizes will not be exactly the same as the ones in the list.

Fresh vs dried

Dried fruit is considered by some as a one-for-one substitute for fresh fruit, however they are not created equal. The drying process by definition removes moisture, concentrating everything else in the fruit, including sugar. This means that in an equivalent weight, dried fruit will have much more sugar than its fresh counterpart. As seen in the table below, this means dried fruits have 3 to 6.5 times more sugar than their fresh counterparts and similar increases in energy.

Note that even though dates can be sold as fresh, most dates we encounter in supermarkets are actually dried and thus are high energy and sugar as other dried fruits.

This does not mean dried fruits are not healthy for anyone. People with blood sugar regulation issues, fatty liver or those looking to lose weight should opt for fresh fruit instead. Highly active people including children and athletes can eat a combination of both.

Solid vs liquid

Another important factor that influences how much sugar and energy from fruit we consume is the format. In general, most fruit juice will have more sugar than the actual fruit it came from, with the notable exception of apple juice (on average). As seen in the table below, the total sugar is 75%-100% higher in pineapple and orange juice than in the fresh fruit, respectively.

However, drinking vs eating fruit has other implications. First, we tend to drink juice way faster than we eat fruit and the fruit has been broken down and in many cases stripped of some of the fibre. This means that it is less filling and the sugar in the juice is readily available in our bloodstream. Again, this is not ideal for people who have issues with blood sugar regulation, fatty liver, or those who are looking to lower their energy intake to manage their weight.

Sugar in fruit – Summary and recommendations

• Fruit is not the enemy
• Fruit (alongside vegetable) consumption is associated with better health outcomes
• We can all be perfectly healthy eating around 2 servings of fruit per day, where 1 serving = 1 medium fruit (apple, banana, orange), 2 small fruit (kiwifruits, mandarins, nectarines, peaches) or 1 cup diced fruit or berries
• If you have issues with blood sugar regulation or weight, choose fresh fruit vs dried or fruit juice, and try to choose lower sugar fruit within your preferences, availability, etc.
• If you are a healthy and highly active individual, have a combination of fresh, dried and fruit juice

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