Fruits are something that everyone loves to eat and the best thing about fruits is that will never put on extra calories by eating them. Without fruits, your diet will seem incomplete. Well, everyone knows that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Not just apple, but there are plenty of fruits that are good for your health. Fruit is a great snack, dessert, or addition to just about any meal. Experts suggest eating at least two servings of fruit a day to obtain all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
However, if you are planning to lose weight or you are counting calories, it is quite obvious to ask “how many calories are in fruit?” Well, fruits contain calories but in limited amount and it is not something dieters should worry about. Calories in fruit are extremely low due to a high water content, which not only helps hydrate you, but nourishes muscles and organs. Also, the calories in fruits are made up of mostly simple carbohydrates, some proteins, and typically very little fat. Also fruits contain many healthy nutrients – antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber. Fruit contains high amounts of fiber, which is great for the digestion and will help you to feel full faster. Eat fruits with their skin such as apple due to the fact that the skin part contains a lot of fiber. Fiber is good for your health.
A lot of people worry about the sugar content in fruit or the fat in fruits like avocados. But fruits are low in sugar and fat compared to other foods in our diets. For example, a fruit salad is a great dessert that contains only about 100 calories for one cup whereas a scoop of vanilla ice cream contains 260 calories. If you are on a weight loss program, there are many fruits to choose from which can make any low-calorie diet go from dull to delightful. Thus, you can always avoid the one that has got high calories. Best way to enjoy fruits when you want to lose weight fast is to eat a piece of fruit before your regular meals to help refrain from overeating.
When it comes to fruit and fruit juices it is always better to go for the whole fruits. Without the fiber, the health benefit of consuming fruits gets minimized.
Here is list of fruits (per 100 Grams) and their calories:
Apple - 56 calories
Banana – 153 calories
Chickoo – 94 calories
Cherries – 70 calories
Dates – 281 calories
Guava - 66 calories
Black Grapes - 45 calories
Litchis – 61 calories
Orange – 53 calories
Papaya – 32 calories
Peach – 50 calories
Pears - 51 calories
Pineapple – 46 calories
Plums – 56 calories
Pomegranate – 77 calories
Watermelon – 16 calories
Fig – 75 calories
Gooseberry – 59 calories
Jackfruit – 65 calories
Lemon – 57 calories
Lime – 59 calories
Mangoes (ripe) – 50 calories
Melon (musk), ½ medium – 37 calories
Raspberry – 55 calories
Passion fruit – 36 calories
Strawberries – 27 calories
Some useful tips to help you take full advantage of fruits:
• Never eat a fruit when your stomach is full. You can eat a fruit anytime but definitely not after a meal.
• After you eat some fruit, wait about 30 minutes before you eat your lunch or dinner.
• The best time to eat fruit is before the afternoon. They gradually increase the blood sugar level and awake the digestive system after night.
• Try not to eat fruit with foods that are hard to digest. This can cause stomach ache.
• Bananas and avocados are fruits that contain high calories. So it’s better not to eat them in the evening. If you want to eat them, do it in the afternoon when the digestive system is ready for it.
• If possible, prefer fresh fruit to frozen and canned ones because the processed fruit contain lots of sugar and, most likely, artificial preservatives, thus losing most of their nutritional value.
• Fresh fruit and vegetables that are in season are the best, as if they are eaten raw and as fresh as possible, valuable nutrients are less likely to be lost.
• Before eating a fruit, it should be thoroughly washed in water in order to remove, dirt, insects and pesticides.
• Never soak a fruit in water for long time as the vitamins and minerals will also be lost in this way.
So, start eating healthy fruits from today and get ready to enjoy the manifold benefits of fruits.