7 Common Misconceptions About Eating Fruit

Fruits rich in vitamin C: Fruits rich in vitamin C include fresh jujubes, kiwis, hawthorns, pomelos, strawberries, and citrus fruits. In contrast, the vitamin C content in commonly eaten fruits like apples, pears, peaches, apricots, bananas, and grapes is very low. The part of the fruit with the highest nutrient content and best flavor is right near the skin. As long as the fruit is thoroughly washed, it is more scientific to eat it with the skin on.

In the eyes of women, fruits are the best代言 (spokesperson) for delicious food. Their mindset is: "There's no harm in eating fruit anyway"; "Eating more fruit can help with weight loss and beauty"; "Anyway..." If an authoritative expert were to solemnly point out that all these "anyway" statements are lies, how would women feel? These blind concepts are pushing fruits to the edge of being harmful...

Harmful Concept 1: It's always beneficial and harmless to eat fruit at any time.

Expert reminder: Fruit is not something that can be eaten indiscriminately because it contains relatively high amounts of organic acids and tannins. Some fruits also contain highly active proteases that can irritate and harm the stomach, leading to symptoms like stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea, and indigestion.

Practical strategy: Choose fruit based on individual needs. Harmful Concept 2: Fruit can replace vegetables.

Expert reminder: The amount of minerals and vitamins in fruits is far less than in vegetables. If you don't eat vegetables and rely only on fruit, it is absolutely insufficient to provide enough nutrients.

Inexpensive vegetables are sometimes superior to fruit. In terms of vitamin C content, inexpensive cabbage and radish have about 10 times more than apples, pears, or peaches. The vitamin C content in green peppers and cauliflower is 2-3 times that of strawberries and citrus fruits.

Where fruits are superior to vegetables. Fruits contain organic acids and aromatic substances that play an important role in stimulating appetite and helping with nutrient absorption. Furthermore, fruits do not require cooking, so there is no loss of nutrients.

Practical countermeasure: 500 grams of diverse vegetables are essential daily. Harmful Concept 3: Fruits contain a lot of vitamins.

Expert reminder: The vitamin C content in most fruits is not high, and the content of other vitamins is even more limited. There are 13 types of vitamins, which come from a variety of foods. It is extremely unwise to rely solely on fruit to provide all vitamins. For example, to meet the recommended daily intake of vitamin C, one would need to consume 5 kilograms of Fuji apples, which is an absolutely impossible task.

Fruits rich in vitamin C: Fruits rich in vitamin C include fresh jujubes, kiwis, hawthorns, pomelos, strawberries, and citrus fruits. In contrast, the vitamin C content in commonly eaten fruits like apples, pears, peaches, apricots, bananas, and grapes is very low.

Fruits rich in carotene: Mangoes are the fruit with the most carotene. Yellow fruits like citrus, yellow apricots, and pineapple also contain small amounts of carotene.

Practical strategy: Eat both common and wild fruits. Harmful Concept 4: Replacing meals with fruit is good for health and beauty.

Expert reminder: The human body needs nearly 50 different nutrients to survive, especially requiring more than 65 grams of protein and more than 20 grams of fat daily to maintain the renewal and repair of tissues and organs. Fruits contain over 85% water, but their protein content is less than 1%, and they contain almost no essential fatty acids, which far from meeting the body's nutritional needs.

Practical strategy: Use fruit as a supplement; it's tasty but don't overeat. Harmful Concept 5: Eating more fruit can help with weight loss.

Expert reminder: In reality, fruit is not a very low-calorie food. Because of its pleasant sweetness, its sugar content often reaches over 8%, and it consists of easily digestible monosaccharides and disaccharides. Although fruit has fewer calories than rice by weight, its sweet taste often makes it irresistible, and it's easy to overeat, leading to excessive sugar intake.

Practical strategy: For weight loss with fruit, method comes first. Harmful Concept 6: Peeling the fruit solves the pesticide problem.

Expert reminder: Many people worry about fruit being contaminated with pesticides and always peel the skin, thinking this can prevent contamination and allow for safe consumption. In fact, to control pests, many pesticides are applied to the roots, and some are injected directly into the bark to solve pest problems from the inside. The residues from these application methods obviously cannot be removed by peeling.

The part of the fruit with the highest nutrient content and best flavor is right near the skin. As long as the fruit is thoroughly washed, it is more scientific to eat it with the skin on.

Practical countermeasure: It's best to eat safe fruit skins. Harmful Concept 7: High-end imported fruits are more nutritious.

Expert reminder: Many people believe that expensive "foreign fruits" must have higher nutritional value, but this is not the case. Imported fruits begin to degrade nutrients during their journey, so their freshness is not ideal. Moreover, because they need to be transported long distances, they are often picked before they are fully ripe and preserved with chemical agents, which can affect the fruit's quality.

Practical countermeasure: Be a savvy shopper when buying fruit.

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