5 ms·

Not sure if minimal fruit counts as a healthy diet

gotrecruit 8y ago
fruit is not healthy for you, contrary to what you may have traditionally heard. you can get everything you need, vitamins and minerals wise, from vegetables, without the sugar that comes with fruits.
- vcjohnson 8y ago
  >fruit is not healthy for you https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/105/6/1462/4569801 https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/105/6/1462/4569801 Fruit consumption is inversely correlated with all-cause mortality as best we can tell. Probably something to be said about people who eat fruits being among the more health minded individuals as well and skewing results but it’s probably not “unhealthy” to eat fruits.
  - dalore 8y ago
    Correlation doesn't mean cause. Otherwise you would draw conclusions like divorce rates in Maine affected by margarine consumption. https://tylervigen.com/view_correlation?id=1703 https://tylervigen.com/view_correlation?id=1703 People consuming fruit could be more healthy individuals in general, exercising and avoiding other types of food which might have more effect than consuming fruit. So be careful about drawing conclusions from correlations or epidemiological studies as you have to consider other possibilities.
    - vcjohnson 8y ago
      But I didn’t imply causation? I literally gave the same “could be skewed due to healthier lifestyle choices” in my comment...
      - johnchristopher 8y ago
        Hey, you are on HN. The opportunity to shine the `correlation isn't causation` was too strong. /s
theptip 8y ago
It does, assuming you're getting enough vegetables; fruit is mostly sugar (high glycemic load which causes crashes, promotes diabetes, etc.), so not actually that good for you on the macronutrient level.
- anonuser123456 8y ago
  Uh not really. Most fruit is both low to medium GI and GL. Sugar in fruit is bound to fiber and bloodstream uptake is fairly slow. There is a negative correlation between RDA fruit consumption and diabetes.
  - dalore 8y ago
    Correlation does not equal causation. People who generally eat less fruit are people who usually ignore health advice in general, and would replace fruit with stuff like sugar or carbs. Eating too much fruit gives an overload of fructose, which also triggers an insulin response. If you eat the right meats, like liver, you get more vitamins and minerals then you would from fruit. So if you know what you are eating, it's fine to cut off fruit.
    - anonuser123456 8y ago
      >Eating too much fruit gives an overload of fructose, Note the operative modifier 'too much' You can eat your recommended daily intake of fruit in one sitting with no other food and still remain below high GL levels. Digestion is a complex process. Your model that anything containing fructose is bad is not supported by any data / analysis I am aware of, and contradicted by nearly all of it. Mammals process most of thier fructose consumption in their small intestines. Only high doses that overload this capacity lead to harmful spillover to the liver etc.
  - gassiss 8y ago
    I'm wondering why you're flagged. Yes, fruits have sugar (fructose), but when you're eating the fruit whole your comment is on point. The fiber in the fruit makes the sugar absorption slower. Of course if you're drinking 2L of juice a day you're gonna have a problem, as you would going ham on any kind of food. (ANY)

fruit is not healthy for you, contrary to what you may have traditionally heard. you can get everything you need, vitamins and minerals wise, from vegetables, without the sugar that comes with fruits.

vcjohnson 8y ago
>fruit is not healthy for you https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/105/6/1462/4569801 https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/105/6/1462/4569801 Fruit consumption is inversely correlated with all-cause mortality as best we can tell. Probably something to be said about people who eat fruits being among the more health minded individuals as well and skewing results but it’s probably not “unhealthy” to eat fruits.
- dalore 8y ago
  Correlation doesn't mean cause. Otherwise you would draw conclusions like divorce rates in Maine affected by margarine consumption. https://tylervigen.com/view_correlation?id=1703 https://tylervigen.com/view_correlation?id=1703 People consuming fruit could be more healthy individuals in general, exercising and avoiding other types of food which might have more effect than consuming fruit. So be careful about drawing conclusions from correlations or epidemiological studies as you have to consider other possibilities.
  - vcjohnson 8y ago
    But I didn’t imply causation? I literally gave the same “could be skewed due to healthier lifestyle choices” in my comment...
    - johnchristopher 8y ago
      Hey, you are on HN. The opportunity to shine the `correlation isn't causation` was too strong. /s

theptip 8y ago

It does, assuming you're getting enough vegetables; fruit is mostly sugar (high glycemic load which causes crashes, promotes diabetes, etc.), so not actually that good for you on the macronutrient level.

anonuser123456 8y ago
Uh not really. Most fruit is both low to medium GI and GL. Sugar in fruit is bound to fiber and bloodstream uptake is fairly slow. There is a negative correlation between RDA fruit consumption and diabetes.
- dalore 8y ago
  Correlation does not equal causation. People who generally eat less fruit are people who usually ignore health advice in general, and would replace fruit with stuff like sugar or carbs. Eating too much fruit gives an overload of fructose, which also triggers an insulin response. If you eat the right meats, like liver, you get more vitamins and minerals then you would from fruit. So if you know what you are eating, it's fine to cut off fruit.
  - anonuser123456 8y ago
    >Eating too much fruit gives an overload of fructose, Note the operative modifier 'too much' You can eat your recommended daily intake of fruit in one sitting with no other food and still remain below high GL levels. Digestion is a complex process. Your model that anything containing fructose is bad is not supported by any data / analysis I am aware of, and contradicted by nearly all of it. Mammals process most of thier fructose consumption in their small intestines. Only high doses that overload this capacity lead to harmful spillover to the liver etc.
- gassiss 8y ago
  I'm wondering why you're flagged. Yes, fruits have sugar (fructose), but when you're eating the fruit whole your comment is on point. The fiber in the fruit makes the sugar absorption slower. Of course if you're drinking 2L of juice a day you're gonna have a problem, as you would going ham on any kind of food. (ANY)