Most fruits consist of carbohydrates, a small amount of protein and very little fat (Avocados being a notable exception).
Fruits also contain dietary fibre, vitamins and micro-nutrients. No one seems to be quite sure how much of these things we need, but we do know that if we don't get any of them, our body suffers.
So, fruit is 'good food'. But what very few people dare to say is that fruit is nearly 100% sugar. And it's not even all 'good' sugar.
Table sugar is sucrose, you know, 'bad' sugar. It is made from two simpler sugars called glucose (dextrose) ('bad sugar') and fructose ('good' sugar).
Glucose is digested, absorbed, transported to the liver, and released into the general blood stream. Many tissues take up glucose from the blood to use for energy; this process requires insulin.
Fructose is predominantly metabolized in the liver, but unlike glucose it does not require insulin to be used by the body. For this reason, it is thought to be 'healthier'.
1 medium apple contains:
2.9 g sucrose, 3.4 g glucose, 8.1 g fructose
1 medium orange:
6.0 g sucrose, 2.8 g glucose, 3.1 g fructose
1 medium peach:
4.7 g sucrose, 1.9 g glucose, 1.5 g fructose
1 medium plum:
1.0 g sucrose, 3.3 g glucose, 2.0 g fructose
1 medium banana:
2.8 g sucrose, 5.9 g glucose, 5.7 g fructose
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