Blog

4

I'm a newbie at this--officially one month Paleo on Wednesday.

I was wondering how much is too much fruit per day?!

I normally eat per day: (1) a banana with breakfast, which is normally with a quiche I make(eggs, coconut milk, bell pepper, onion, left over meat or bacon), and (2) an apple or pear(berries/grapes when in season) as part of a snack with meat (bacon, nitrate free salami or left over meat). Give or take having it on hand.

I definitely lack the energy without it.

flag

34 Answers

1 2 next
15

I eat about 2-5 pieces of fruit per day. That includes the real sweet stuff like bananas. The rest of my diet consists of greens, meat and fish. Most of my ancestors came from tropical Africa and my body feels right with this amount of fruit. I am not a fruit-phobe like so many paleo types.

link|flag
2 
Fructose has the same effect on people from te tropics as the arctic. Most of the fruit-phobes aren't afraid of fruit, but the fructose within. Some fruits like berries have natural compounds that help the body break down the fructose with less AGEs, personally I eat berries plenty, but won't touch a banana. There's not room here for explaining the science, best I can recommend is read more. I'm not saying all fruit is bad, but I am ABSOLUTELY saying not all of it is good. – Stephen-Aegis Dec 31 2010 at 13:09
3 
I just have to say something.....I think Lynn was being funny. Fruit-phobe is funny, even though I fall under the fruit-phobe category. – Aaron Curl Jan 1 2011 at 15:55
6 
Oh I read plenty of science. But at my ripe old age I've also learned to listen to my body. I've done the no-fruit thing, and the low-fruit thing, and really for me there's no difference in how I feel and function compared to when I eat more fruit. Giving up grains and dairy were really the things that improved my health. That and eating lot of good animal protein and fat. And there's no reason to be offended by the term "fruit-phobe." Being a "phobe" just means you are averse to something. If you mostly avoid fruit because you don't like it for whatever reason, you are a fruit-phobe.:-) – lynn Jan 4 2011 at 2:19
show 2 more comments
7

The rare grapefruit and berries once or twice a week at most.

Personally, if your energy is crashing without it, all the more reason to cut back.

That tells me something is wrong. Blood sugar issues most likely. I would try to find a balance to your blood sugar, try VLC for a while and teach your body to use ketones, once you've adapted, you'll find boundless energy prior to eating and you'll only desire those carbs for glycogen repletion post high intensity workouts.

Then a tuber is a much better choice than fructose.

link|flag
1 
Agreed; I feel much worse and have less energy when I eat fruit compared to potatoes. – Travis Culp Feb 3 2011 at 5:56
5

Our ancestors grew and developed in the tropics until some 50 thousands years ago, meaning only left for Europe_Asia in the last 3% of humanity time range. That means all of us should be fully adapted to eat plenty of fruit, as nearly all existing hunter gatherers do, still today. Also I do not buy the winter-summer division for fruit consumption, unless you actually inhabit a room without any heating, as the Tehuelche men in Patagonia or the Arctic Inuit did until one century ago, because in that case you would really be adapted to winter: Most Western people have a pseudo-winter these days, because rooms have very intense heating. I do accept though, if someone individually thinks that fruit consumption would make him bigger or raise his glucose blood level, that he keeps his consumption low as a personal choice, but please do not try to scare other people out of having some fruit!

link|flag
1 
I would be almost certain that most fruit available 50,000 years ago would be WAY less sweet than the selectively bred for sweetness fruit that has been available for the last couple of hundred years. Have you ever eaten wild plums? Or wild apples? Some berries are sweet (blackberries, wild strawberries) but they are VERY seasonal - 2 months of the year max. Our ancestors may well have eaten the fruit they found - but it would be much less likely to cause massive sugar spikes than almost any fruit available to us today. – andrew Mar 15 2011 at 18:53
1 
This "wild fruit is less sweet" thing is only partly true. Apples and plums are hybridized from almost inedible fruits. We are tropical animals and in most areas of tropics, fruit abounds, wild fruit, in large qualities and it is very sweet. I have seen it with my own eyes... on TV :-) I've seen Amazonian tribes get a HUGE load of BIG SWEET fruit from a tree and another time in the AUS bush, an aborigine showed a white dude a nice wild fruit "hmmm tastes like peach." There are thousands of fruits and most aren't cultivated cos they spoil easily or don't ship well. – Mike Jun 9 at 16:06
4

"daily"? my personal strategy is not to have them 'daily': something like day 1 - meat, day 2 - fish, day 3 - eggs, day 4 - a 'vegan day' (= only fruit or vegs)

link|flag
show 5 more comments
4

None... Maybe a few grape tomatoes in a salad once or twice a week. I'm living on fats and proteins, Panu style. If I'm around berries though, I will likely have a few, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, but rarely.

link|flag
4

I eat fruit several times a day, bananas, apples and oranges, sometimes grapes or peaches. Anti-fruit paleo types make as much sense to me as anti-meat vegans! Except for eskymos or other rare group living close to the north pole, most hunter gatherers in Africa, the Americas, and Asia did have large amounts of fruit.

link|flag
2 
Well many anti-fruit paleos....like me (I'm actually an anti sugar person) have accepted that fruit doesn't work for them individually. If you can eat that large amount of fruit and still maintain a lean muscled body like we were intended to have, then great for you. – Aaron Curl Jan 1 2011 at 16:05
show 1 more comment
3

Im very cautious on fruits, cause of the high sugar and the acid. So i nearly eat no fruit. Last week i eat some frozen durian. Two apples. I just got some cranberries. some dried sea-buckthorn. rosehips, some tomatos.

not dates, very cautious with hybrid farmed fruits, which are high sugar. I try to feel how my body react.

link|flag
show 4 more comments
3

It really depends on how active you are and the direction you are taking your body composition (are you trying to lose weight). Also your body will adjust to a lower carb intake overtime. Depending on your activity level a banana everyday with more fruit intake later in the day is probably a bit too much fructose. Now if that banana comes after a run or some other glycogen depleting activity it's probably fine. I would cut out that daily banana and replace it with something a little lower in sugar (berries or just drop the fruit all together).

link|flag
show 2 more comments
3

Avocados are the only fruit I eat. If you must eat it, choose low fructose varieties such as raspberries and strawberries. If your fat loss has stalled, your fructose intake is why.

link|flag
1 
Yeah, I just use this: nutritiondata.self.com There's a pulldown under the sugars where you can see the breakdown. You'd be surprised at some of the things that have a lot of it, like iceberg lettuce etc. My diet is pretty much meat and potatoes for every meal with 2 cups of spinach with dinner, so I estimate my daily fructose intake to be around 4 grams. The lower, the better. – Travis Culp Feb 4 2011 at 18:32
show 3 more comments
2

As with most every question in this forum, there will be a wide variety of answers based on each individual's experiences, research, etc. I understand (and believe) that we should keep fructose down, but if a person "looks/feels/performs" well with some fruit, is moderately active and is not trying to lean out, then a few servings a day is fine. If weight loss is a goal, then fruit is a source of sugar that is often overlooked and should probably be cut back. I have about half a banana every other day; berries with coconut milk nightly; and about one of those little clementine oranges daily. While a vegetable, I do tend to eat a decent amount of canned pumpkin as my carbohydrate staple.

link|flag
2

I am working on fat loss but I'm a recovering sugar-addict; I just try to limit fruit to not every day and only small portions each time I eat it. I never buy it in large quantities anymore, and I end of freezing extra so I don't snack on it. I also have noticed that if I eat fruit in the morning, I am hungrier and crave more sweet food all day.

When I eat fruit, I do 1/2-1 cup of berries or 1/2 of an apple. Very rarely I'll have banana slices as a treat, a red grapefruit or a tangelo. I LOVE dried fruit but don't buy it and only eat it occasionally now. If it's in the house, I'll snack on it.

I also agree that a good substitute for fruit is canned pumpkin. There is SO much you can do with it! Also, try rutabagas - they are naturally sweet and great in omelets, fried in sticks or shredded.

link|flag
2

Years back, I intentionally guzzled nearly one gallon per day of fresh, not from concentrate Naked brand orange juice. I used to brag about it. I worked breakfast shift room service at a hotel and we had access to pallets full of the stuff. Sold it for $3 per 10oz glass so the profit margin was so high that they didn't care if we drank a bunch. I kid you not. AT LEAST half a gallon a day, sometimes more. I truly thought it was healthy. Frightening.

Now I never ever drink juice, ever. I do eat choice fruits pretty much daily though. My favorite is blueberries, but I also love strawberries and an occassional slice of juicy honeydew melon is very refreshing. I'll also cut up a small banana and put it in a bowl and pour heavy cream all over it. Maybe sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon. Yum.

Oh! we bought bag of dried figs from Costco (yes I know that dried fruit is pretty questionable.. hopefully you all don't immediately downvote all my posts now). I limit my portions to no more than 4 or 5 tiny figs, and slice up some Kerrygold Dublier cheese. I tell you what... I was looking around for my gobblet of wine and some kind of throne. Maybe the little figs had hallucinogenic properties or something.

I just make sure I get lots and lots of quality fats and protein from red meats and dairy and some fish. Then the fruit is just a little treat for me. But I don't do apples, oranges, pears and stuff like that. Mostly berries.

link|flag
1

Berries maybe 3-4 times a week. pomegranates have been sneaking in lately too. I usually have them after fasting so the fructose goes toward replenishing liver glycogen.

link|flag
1

I used to be a fruit junkie and would easily plow through 4-5 servings a day. I've reduced it considerably, to about 2 servings a day, maybe a third thrown in once or twice a week.

I always have a banana with breakfast, and for my evening "dessert" I'll enjoy an apple or grapefruit or something. If I'm feeling particularly snacky, I'll sometimes split something with my fella, like filch a couple bites off a pear or steal a wedge of orange.

link|flag
1

In the Winter, I rarely eat fruit, unless I throw some organic frozen blueberries in my coconut pancakes. In the Summer, I probably eat berries of some sort or another three or four times a week - with a little organic heavy cream on top, of course!

I also enjoy pomegranates when they show up at the store, cantaloupes when in season, and the locally grown apples at the farmer's market in the fall.

Honestly though, the amount of fruit I eat now as compared to my SAD days is significantly less, but the amount of veggies I eat has increased.

link|flag
1

Is your goal to lose body fat? cut fruit particularly bananas. small quanities of berries are better, but you don't need fruit. and if you are managing weight loss, cutting fruit will keep your blood sugar down and your body in a fat burning mode.

If your goal is to gain or maintain weight fruit can be part of you diet provided you tolerate fructose.

link|flag
1

Hmm, I never eat bananas, way too sugary, not for weight loss for me but for the insulin spike, plus you should go easy on the fructose, it's really not good for your liver. I have the odd organic apple and blueberries, I have found my sweet tooth has dramactically dropped since eating "paleo" anyway. Blueberries now taste so different!

link|flag
1

I'm still learning as well. Many of the resources are split between "low carb" and moderate carb without much definition as to what that entails. I really like The Primal Blueprint because it offered more guidance. The "weight loss sweet spot" suggested by Sisson is between 50g and 100g. For "effortless weight maintenance" it's between 100g and 150g.

I'm in the later category but set a personal target of roughly 80g to 110g because of my build. I've added a few servings of fruit each day to get to this range.

link|flag
1

Very little to none. Mostly no fruit except when the local peaches are in season :-)) I am happiest eating as a carnivore.

link|flag
0

After reading the primal blueprint I decided to start living "healthier" I dropped all grains and refined sugars and stuck with LOADS of fruit. I ate maybe 2 bananas a day mixed with a lot of other fruit and still managed to loose around 14 kilos in a few months. Problem was that I was normal weight before starting primal. I looked like a skeleton until I upped my carb-intake even more.

I know what Robb claims sience says but... I don't want to be that skinny! :)

link|flag
show 2 more comments
0

..."Soft fleshy fruits tend to be acidic and do not require high bite forces to be broken down," explained Macho. "The enamel microstructure of A. anamensis indicates that their teeth were not well equipped to cope with acid erosion, but were well adapted to masticate an abrasive and hard diet."...

[1]: http://news.discovery.com/human/human-ancestor-diet-nuts.htmlhard diet."...hard diet."...

there are fruits eater and other eater. There is also some science on different monkey.They looked to their teeth and found that what kind of food they most likeable eat. They also have a alternative, if they`re most favourite food is not available.

link|flag
0

I eat about 1 fruit a week sometimes.

link|flag
0

I usually have some fruits after lunch or dinner...usually could be 1-2 oranges or 1 apple or a pear..depends on what I have in my pantry.

link|flag
0

The only fruit I eat is a handful of blueberries on Sunday morning with some heavy cream. Sometimes I will substitute raspberries. Other than that, I avoid all fruit.

link|flag
0

I eat fruit every day...mmostly berries and oranges

link|flag
0

Ask yourself why you want to eat fruit. Is it because of carbs, glucose? If so, then you can eat safe starches such as yams and sweet potatoes, cassava, potatoes, even white rice. These hardly have any fructose, so you'll get your glucose without exposing yourself to fructose.

I do eat some fruit ... about 40g daily -- mostly blueberries, cranbereies and raspberries. If you're T2 diabetic, it would make sense to consume a small serving of fruit rather than starches, since BG rise will be less with low GL fruits such as cranberries, and berries than with starches like white rice. Yes, you'll pay later with fructose. But if you keep fruit servings small, it's perhaps better than consuming starches which will simply skyrocket your BG.

link|flag
0

Don't eat fruit it's bad for your liver. Especially on weekends when you blend it into your alcohol. That fructose is bad news.

link|flag
0

love grapefruit, oranges, limes, bananas and berries regularly. whatever random other fruit i feel like, no daily set amount.

link|flag
0

i workout a lot. very hardcore. i lift weights every single day. i am trying to get leaner. i don't think paleo dieters should cut it out completely because we need some sort of carbohydrates in our diet. i like to eat fruit right before a workout. i like larabars a lot because they have 24g of carbs. gives me the spike i need. i have about 1-2 servings of fruit a day (including the larabar). i want to rip up so i am watching my intake. no more than 1-2 unless i am at an event & there is nothing else but fruit to pick on.

link|flag
0

I am also one of those people who has better energy when upping my fruit intake. I feel miserable when I'm LC or VLC, and feel especially miserable in ketosis. (Did Atkins before finding primal/paleo.)

I think often times in our quest for health, us paleo folks scrutinize and over analyze everything. I want to be healthy, that's why I'm paleo. But if I was out on my own and stumbled upon a naturally growing apple orchard, blackberry bush or whatever fruit bearing plant, you betcha I'd eat it without worry about whether my liver can handle it. Heck, I'd probably even gorge on it. Fructose may damage the liver, but I think the fructose in 2-3 servings of fruit is a lot easier to tolerate than chugging a liter of high fructose corn syrup.

Does that mean I get all of my nutrients from fruit instead of veggies? No. But I certainly do NOT feel guilty about eating 2 servings of fruit per day. Maybe if I had a huge weight loss goal I wouldn't, but I'm happy with my body.

I say do what makes your body feel best. Only you know how to do that.

link|flag
1 2 next

Your Answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.