Okay . . . so where does "fruit" fit into the story of carbohydrates???
Well . . . "fruit" just means the fleshy seed-associated structures of a plant that are sweet or sour and are edible in the raw state.
And "berries" are a subcategory of these simple fleshy fruits . . . Which means "all" berries are considered "fruit" . . . BUT . . . not all "fruits" are considered "berries".
You see . . . "fruits" are the reproductive organs of a flowering plant and "berries are just one of the subcategories of that "fruit".
Okay . . . so both are nutritionally sound and are needed in the diet for optimal health . . .
But . . . "if" we're "lacking" in our "good" bacteria as most of America's are with our Western diet . . . these foods can be the enemy of this battle of the bulge.
Why you ask???
Well . . .even though these elements contain many vitamins and mineral that the body needs for optimal health . . . most are very high in "natural" sugars. Therefore . . . becoming a "simple" carbohydrate that we spoke of the other day . . . becomes a "quick energy" food.
And even with "fruits" and berries" being low in calories . . . unlike the "refined" simple carbs . . . they are still sugar . . . and as I'm always telling you . . . "SUGAR" of any kind . . . is the main food source for "BAD" bacteria which is one of the may causes of weight gain.
So you can clearly see . . . it's a vicious cycle . . . we need the nutrients . . . but the body can't handle the "sugar" due to not having an ample supply of "good" bacteria to keep the "bad" bacteria in check.
And "fruit" that's high in "fructose" (sugar), when presented to the liver for processing . . . converts the fructose into "FAT". And unfortunately . . . bananas, pineapple, grapes and watermelon are some of the highest offenders to gaining weight for this reason.
So even though we "do" need to incorporate "fruit" and "berries" into our diet . . . we need to be mindful of which ones, when to eat them and how much to eat. Which we'll be talking about shortly.
How and when to eat what food. Dieting is really about "timing".
Tomorrow we'll continue with "complex" carbohydrates.
As always, feel free to contact me here