We asked a dietician to rank the best ways to eat fruit

Ugly fruit, sugar-filled fruit, faux-fruit bars. There’s so much fruit talk going on these days that the health benefits can get confusing. We ask a dietician to clear up the facts – and to recommend the best methods of including fruit in our daily diets.

Fruit is a great source of fibre, energy, vitamins and minerals, and we know that a balance of fruit and vegetables is crucial in a healthy diet. But if you’re anything like us, you’ll have caught wind of the debates surrounding its sugar content.

We asked Joel Feren, director of Hearty Nutrition and member of the Dieticians Association of Australia, to dish up the facts.

‘We need to differentiate between the sugars found in things like lollies, cordials and fruit juice – those types of processed foods – and the sugars found naturally in things like fruit and dairy,’ he explains.

We shouldn’t be throwing the baby out with the bathwater, he points out.

‘Yes, there’s some sugar in fruit, not a whole lot, but we shouldn’t be excluding it from our diet just because it contains a little bit.

‘Studies show that people who include more fruit in their diet are better able to maintain their weight, have less incidence of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, and even type 2 diabetes.’

He points out that the real challenge we’re facing is that people aren’t consuming enough fruit.

‘Worryingly, just 54 per cent of the population actually meet their fruit requirements. We’re really falling short.’

So how do we up our fruit intake in the healthiest way? We asked Joel to rank the benefits of four different ways to consume fruit.

Third place is a tie between dried fruit and tinned fruit (but only those canned in natural juices).

‘Dried fruit can certainly be included as part of a healthy diet,’ says Joel, as long as you stay mindful of portions.

‘It’s quite energy dense when you remove all the fluid from it. Generally, I recommend having a small handful of dried fruit [per day].’

Tinned fruits can be included as part of a dessert at the end of the night – Joel suggests having some custard or yoghurt with some tinned fruit on top.

Second place goes to frozen fruit, and berries are the real winners here for Joel. He includes a variety of these in his breakfast each morning, either with cereal or porridge.

But doesn’t fruit lose nutrients when it’s frozen?

‘There’s a lot of evidence to show that they [frozen fruits] can be more nutritious than fresh, because of cold storage,’ says Joel. He explains that when fruit is snap frozen, the nutrients are preserved.

First and foremost, Joel encourages his patients to eat fruit whole.

‘You’re missing out on key nutrients like fibre when you juice a fruit’, he explains.

‘Fruit’s a wonderful snack. You can take it anywhere, and rather than going for the chocolate bar or potato chips at 3pm in the afternoon, you can reach for the banana, or reach for an apple. That’s a great way of getting the extra fruit in and cutting back on some of those indulgent foods.’

Dieticians, he says, love to use the phrase ‘eat the rainbow’.

‘Eat as many different coloured fruits and vegetables as you can. If you like bananas, great, have an apple. Mix it up – go for berries, oranges. They’re all going to have different health benefits.’

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. We say it gets you a gold medal.

Staff writers come from a range of backgrounds including health, wellbeing, music, tech, culture and the arts. They spend their time researching the latest data and trends in the health market to deliver up-to-date information, helping everyday Australians live healthier lives. This is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.

Disclaimer:
The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as financial, medical, health, nutritional, tax or other advice. It does not take into account any individual’s personal situation or needs. You should consider obtaining professional advice from a financial adviser and/or tax specialist, or medical or health practitioner, in relation to your own circumstances and before acting on this information.