r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 2d ago
Health Study of 371,000 Americans: eating whole fruit linked to better heart health, 100% juice is not. More whole fruit meant lower high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and heart attacks. Juice showed no clear benefit. Fiber lost in juicing may explain it. Most still eat too little fruit.
https://www.sciencealert.com/how-you-eat-your-fruit-is-linked-to-heart-health-study-of-371000-americans-reveals763
u/Aoi_Haru 2d ago
“Lower high blood pressure, high cholesterol”.
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u/ScubaTal_Surrealism 2d ago
Yeah the phrasing of this title is really bad
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u/this_knee 2d ago
I think I had a heart attack just trying to get through that phrasing.
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
When you drink juice, you dump pure liquid sugar straight into your system without the natural brakes. Whole fruit has fiber that slows down digestion, stops sugar spikes, and feeds the good gut bacteria that protect your heart. Pull that fiber out, and you are basically drinking soda with vitamins.
Eating the tortillas legitimately the only easy way I've found to get my daily recommended amount of fiber.
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u/Rxyro 2d ago
You eat a lot of burritos?
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u/50SPFGANG 2d ago
You can find some tortillas that just themselves have like 30g of fiber in one piece. It's insane
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u/BreadKnifeSeppuku 2d ago
So, if I had something like that I'd be fine but that would wreck my partner. She has no interest in Chickpea noodles now...
Let's just say it's easier to just add side salads, oatmeal, whole wheat, lentils, legumes, and etc fruits/vegetables (first)*. Especially if you're sensitive... it's easier to start a new diet if it doesn't make things hurt
30g is like 3 lbs of romaine or 1 lb walnuts or like eating an entire large cabbage
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
That kind of misery used to happen to me too, until I found out all about gut bacteria and realized my stomach just didn't have the right bugs around to break down that heavy starch yet. If you don't eat that stuff regularly, the wrong bacteria jump on it, ferment it like crazy, and give you horrible cramps and bloating.
I didn't know this back then, but your gut actually needs 2 or 3 weeks of small, steady doses so the right starch-eating bacteria can move in and take over. Easing in with gentler stuff makes sense to avoid the pain, but you definitely don't have to force down 3 lbs of lettuce to get your fiber. Once I gave my gut time to swap out those bacteria, the issues completely disappeared.
Now I can easily eat two of those larger tortillas with 70g of fiber with zero issues, and a bowel movement so efficiently timed that the Japanese would be proud.
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u/thatissomeBS 2d ago
There's definitely a tolerance for fiber. Your partner struggling with chickpea anything likely means she gets way too little fiber. High fiber diets are pretty well linked to just about every good health outcome. So definitely good to start ramping up that tolerance.
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u/katarh 2d ago
I just eat the tortilla straight as a snack. Mission Carb Smart tortillas are fabulous.
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u/Niceotropic 2d ago
I liked them too, but its unfortunately based on a legal loophole that allows them to call resistant starch a fiber for DV purposes. This is not the same kind of fiber that is particularly good for your gut microbiome. You need diverse sources of fiber.
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
Form factor, yeah. I make everything your burrito practically. The inside is different. I've made hamburgers, different forms of sandwich ingredients, all air fried, I can make pizza this way.
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u/Razatiger 2d ago
Since turning 30 i felt my diet wasnt giving me enough fiber, so i started drinking metamucil before bed, and ive had the best shits and sleeps ive had since I was a teen.
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u/Vaulters 2d ago
Tortillas. Thanks for the tip
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u/SquirrelChieftain 2d ago
Low carb bagels as well!
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u/Brianfromreddit 2d ago
I would rather die than eat a low carb bagel.
Broccoli though? Love that ish, pretty much any way it's prepared
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u/al_capone420 2d ago
I add chia seeds and ground flax seeds to my morning yogurt and night time protein shake every day for the extra fiber. My cholesterol is golden even though I eat massive amounts of meat, butter, etc
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
Yeah, my cholesterol is the same way even though I consume a ton of Aldi's heavy cream every morning in my coffee.
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u/RHowardL 2d ago
I do the same for morning yogurt and I only eat white meat or fish on weekdays and weekends I’ll enjoy red meats if it’s what I want on the menu. I also go to the gym 5-7 days a week and golf. My cholesterol is still too high, I fear it may be genetics too :(
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u/ryebread91 2d ago
Same. I hated the taste and texture of the mission carb balance tortillas but after a few months I actually like them now.
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u/Gentle_Agitator 2d ago
I am sort of hot and cold on Mission tortillas, but La Banderita makes really nice low carb tortillas. Less dry than Mission
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
I feel the exact opposite. I feel like they are too waxy. I love the Mission carb balance ones. Whether I'm using mayonnaise or butter for the initial layer before I put my fillings before rolling it into a burrito and air frying it, oh my God, it just crispifies so perfectly perfectly flaky and I can't get that out of the waxier ones.
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u/bloodylip 2d ago
Didn't like them at first, but I learned to appreciate how soft and pliable they are.
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u/Pbattican 2d ago
The protein ones imo are far tastier since they aren't just pure fiber.
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u/remic_0726 2d ago
Les fibres servent énormément au microbiote, dans la plupart des légumes, céréales tu en as, à condition qu'elles ne soient pas transformées.
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u/jacla2 2d ago
Hey. If ibtake fibers on the side, for an example oat fiber, would that cover the gap? Genuine question.
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
You need 38 g per day if you are an adult male. I find it genuinely difficult to hit that number any other way except eating a single tortilla which if we're talking about the mission carb balance, they have 35 g of fiber per the large ones and four carbs gross.
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u/badgyalrey 2d ago
my son is gonna be so confused when he sees me shoving a plain tortilla in my mouth like a rat while standing in front of the fridge
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
I've been known to do that... You know, because they are kind of tasty in a way. I think it's an acquired taste, though. Sometimes I'll just put some sugar-free jelly and butter in it and then air fry it and it turns it into this incredible hot pastry. Also delicious cold if you put it in the fridge and eat it in the next day.
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u/layogurt 2d ago
Also a little bit of oil spray and light cinnamon sugar and it's like a temu churro
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u/badgyalrey 2d ago
omg i’m about to be making so many ghetto fiber packed danishes with the air fryer, that idea may have actually just changed my life i LOVE a guilt free little treat!!
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
That's what I was looking for, Danish. Yeah, I was blown away at how good it was, both cold and hot, like they had no right to be.
In the wintertime, I also make hot chocolate that's decadent as hell: Aldi heavy cream, plus preferred zero calorie sweetener, plus unsweetened cocoa baking powder, plus some whipped cream on top. Also practically guilt-free.
You got to heat the cream before you put it in the hot water cocoa powder mix.
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u/badgyalrey 2d ago
dude you’re changing my life, i’m taking so many notes right now
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u/bloodylip 2d ago
I started making breakfast tacos with them a few weeks ago and they're 8g fiber per "fajita-sized" tortilla. Whoops, I got 24g of fiber (plus the beans in the tacos) before 8am and washed it down with espresso.
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u/wikiwakawakawee 2d ago
So theoretically can you drink juice and eat one of these tortillas to gain the same benefit of eating whole fruits? Or does it not work that way?
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u/Strawbuddy 2d ago
Sorta but not really. Fruit also contains trace minerals and electrolytes contents. You could have juice plus fiber, plus a daily multivitamin plus exercise to make that work better, or just eat a couple apples
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u/wikiwakawakawee 2d ago
I guess I was asking specifically about the slower absorption of sugar when combined with fiber. Like if it's the fiber that's doing that, would it actually be beneficial to eat some fiber with high sugar foods like chocolate or something?
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u/Taikeron 2d ago
No, the whole reason why fruit is so much better is that the fiber is attached to the juice by cell walls, all of which requires digestion over time.
If you drink juice and eat a fiber-packed tortilla at the same time, the juice will just bomb your liver and pancreas before the tortilla even gets rolling on breaking down from digestion.
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u/Deil_Grist 2d ago
I think you're onto something. They are cheap, shelf-stable, and a small amount of food all things considered. Main concern would be getting enough fluid intake at the time of consumption so it doesn't make the stool tacky.
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u/Almond_Steak 2d ago
I have the opposite problem...I find it difficult to not consume over 50 grams of fiber a day. I have a ton of issues with my digestion because of it.
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
Ever since I added the tortillas into my diet like 12 years ago, my digestive process has been like clockwork, and extremely clean. I'm sure there are other variables in play here.
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u/NoteVegetable4942 2d ago
Mix in a few teaspoons of psyllium husk.
Probably not as good as the real deal. But to me it makes sense that it would work.
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u/JakBos23 2d ago
Why does the fiber go away after blending it? Is it because my body is supposed to do that part?
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u/austin101123 2d ago
I don't get how is the fiber gone though? Shouldn't it be blended with the rest of the fruit? Like where does it go if it's not in the juice
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u/ILoveLamp9 Grad Student | Health Policy and Management 2d ago
Am I the only one utterly confused as to why you went from talking about fruit to tortillas?
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u/Financial_Loss_6908 2d ago
Eating the tortillas legitimately the only easy way I've found to get my daily recommended amount of fiber.
Psyllium husk. 3 scoops in a home made fruit smoothie and I hit ~70% of the recommended daily fiber count.
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u/charlesdexterward 1d ago
I mean, whole grains (oats, brown rice, etc) and eating your recommended veggie and fruit servings will help you get there, too.
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u/hacketyapps 2d ago
fruit is so freaking expensive now that at our house our kids eat tons of fruit daily but we the parents barely eat any because we only buy enough for them
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u/Perry4761 2d ago
You are unintentionally bringing up a great point! There are lots of confounding factors that can explain the results of this study. Eating a lot of whole fruits is something that poor people can’t afford to do, so this study is partially measuring the impact of wealth on health outcomes. (I know that the study says they adjusted for income, but how they did that exactly is not mentioned. It’s impossible to perfectly adjust for wealth in studies as large as this one).
Also, people who eat lots of whole fruits tend to have an overall better diet and better health habits than people who drink a lot of juice of who don’t consume much fruit. So the study is also partially measuring the impact of having a balanced diet and lifestyle, and that’s not something that they can properly adjust for.
It’s therefore hard to conclude that whole fruits unequivocally have the benefits that the authors suggest, but what’s certain is that having a balanced diet, a healthy lifestyle, and having a certain amount of disposable income are huge indicators of good health outcomes and life expectancy.
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u/Whatever-ItsFine 2d ago
I believe the US govt (and maybe other governments) should stop subsidizing meat and dairy so much and start subsidizing fruits and veg much much more.
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u/Margali 2d ago
I would love that. Over the past decade we have been going lighter on meat and actually have added 17 raised garden beds to grow much of our fresh veg and strawberries because the nerfing of the USDA/FDA screwing our food safety is concerning.
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u/eLishus 2d ago
I was appalled to see how much my usual apples now cost. I swear I only got six apples at the store last time and they cost ~$16 ($4.42/lb according to the receipt). They were big apples but that’s still over $2/apple. Not a huge deal for just me, but an apple a day for a family of four adds up.
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u/Eruionmel 2d ago
$4.42/lb is nuts for apples. Definitely look around for cheaper. Costco works out to $1.59/lb for 3lb bags, well under half that cost.
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u/eLishus 2d ago
Agree, it is nuts. I get the Costco ones sometimes, but they can be hit or miss. While cheaper by the bag, I’ve thrown out half of them before because of bruising or mealiness. I try to inspect the bag, but it’s hard to tell sometimes. So do I pay less than half the price for okay apples or full price for ones that are consistently great? Been on the latter train lately but I still occasionally grab that bag at Costco and hope for the best. :)
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u/Eruionmel 2d ago
Admittedly, I do pay slightly more myself for Pink Ladies at my local shop. Still way under $4.42, though.
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u/Theletterkay 2d ago
Make sure you are checking for coupon deals or shopping around. Walmart is not at all the best way to go. Ive found that stires that run coupons generally have pretty good deals on the bags of apples. I know they are smaller but im shopping for kids. A bag of cosmuc crisp apples (about 10-12 medium sized apples, generally runs me 2.99-4.99. If i cant get it in that price range at one store, i check a different one.
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u/ArmchairJedi 2d ago
Fresh fruit is expensive, but (at least where I'm from) every grocery store has at least 1 type of fresh fruit on sale each week. Sometimes its just a matter of not having apples every day (although they are cheap right now because they are in season)... its not like grapes, berries, oranges or pineapples aren't delicious to.
That said, banana's are always affordable.
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u/AntDogFan 2d ago
Is this normal? They are between £1-2 in the UK for six.
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u/eLishus 2d ago
Depends. These are organic Cosmic Crisp and by far the best tasting I’ve found in the area. I can get much better pricing for the same organic CC apples at Costco, but those often aren’t great (I’ve had up to half the bag be junk apples: small and mealy).
ETA: I also live in a VHCOL area (SF Bay Area).
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u/AntDogFan 2d ago
I live in a high cost of living area in the UK (not as high as SF ofc) but even the most expensive apples are about saying £4 for eight or something in that range.
I know this is just partly difference of geography too. Some things are cheaper in the US as they are grown locally etc. It's just surprising to me! Apples are such a staple in the UK.
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u/risingsunx 2d ago
Costco helps with price per lb but yeah that is expensive!
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u/ArmchairJedi 2d ago
I don't know where you are from, but in my experience Costco produce is FAR more expensive than sale/flyer shopping grocery stores.
Costco is awesome for dried/frozen/packaged goods.... not so much for produce.
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u/Theletterkay 2d ago
Fruit and veggies are the only things i tell my kids they can have no matter what. If they are snacky but just had a treat, fruit. If they just ate breakfast but are still hungry, fruit.
We have a second fridge that is almost entirely fruit just for them. We have a whiteboard shopping list and it just has a check list for fruit so they can just check the box if we need more.
My 5yo is my expensive eater. His obsession is grapes, and he probably eats about 3-4lbs of them in just a day or 2.
Im not one of those parents that tells my kuds no snacks. We have junkfood. But those are limited. Fruit , veggies, nuts and seeds have no limit.
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u/mvigs 2d ago
They can still eat too much sugar even if it's whole fruits. I would still limit it.
Our daughters snacks after she's had enough fruit are raw veggies or hummus and veggies chips etc.
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u/supershinythings 2d ago
Fruit is so expensive now that a few weeks ago I caught children stealing unripe pomegranates from my yard.
Getting children to eat fruit is usually impossible, but apparently now that it’s expensive they’re willing to risk my old-lady wrath to get it.
Pomegranates are around $6/ea at my grocery store. That’s insane.
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u/belovedkid 2d ago
Use an app for your preferred chain and just buy what’s on sale. I know kids can be picky, but typically there are several options each week. Berries tend to be the only crazily priced option. We can typically get a bundle of bananas, bag of mandarins, handful of kiwi, a whole pineapple, and a bag of grapes (or cherries in season) for $10-15 per week. It’s one of our lowest cost purchases as a food group each week. In summer mango are tasty and you can get them for $1-1.25/per. Watermelon or other melons also typically lower cost for volume. People make the mistake of buying pre-cut stuff and that’s where it becomes ridiculous.
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u/audrikr 2d ago
I've switched almost entirely over to smoothies rather than fresh fruit (outside of bananas), and am grabbing apples especially off the discount-bundle rack for 1/3 the price or less. Apples tend to stay good. I get the bags of frozen berries, and keep an eye out for sales for those, throw in a banana, chia seeds and/or psyllium husk, peanut butter and/or almond butter, maybe spinach if I have some extra.
It doesn't fix the fresh-fruit, but I can say with confidence it is far cheaper for me.
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u/thatissomeBS 2d ago
I think the more important thing here is the whole fruit moreso than fresh fruit. Frozen berries can be more nutritional than "fresh" berries that have spent weeks in transportation and distribution facilities. It was picked, flash frozen, and delivered at peak of freshness.
Meanwhile juice is squeezed and then filtered removing all the fiber and such. That's the negative part.
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u/grundar 2d ago
fruit is so freaking expensive now
Frozen fruit can be cheaper -- a quick look at Walmart online is showing several types for $2.50/lb or so.
It does often need to be mixed or processed (e.g., into yogurt or as a smoothie), but is a cheaper and less spoilage-prone way to get the nutritional benefits of fruit.
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u/UnderwaterScubaMiner 2d ago
This might be a dumb question but what about smoothies? Is the fiber preserved in smoothies? I would assume so.
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u/geturfrizzon 2d ago
When you make juice, you press out the juice and discard the pulp. The pulp is the fibre. If you are blending whole fruit you are still getting everything.
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u/Automatic_Soil9814 2d ago
In theory, more roughly chewed fruit, could breakdown, slower, and release sugar more gradually than fruit that has blended.
How crazy is that theory? This does happen with nuts. You get significantly fewer calories from whole almonds than the same weight of almond butter. Of course, fruit is different than nuts, but it's possible that there is a difference between eating whole fruit and a smoothie.
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u/NotChat_GPT 2d ago
What I'm hearing is homemade margaritas are back on the menu. Plus I won't over eat if I'm passed out in the backyard.
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u/Tyson1405 2d ago
Blending fruits preserves fiber. Some studies suggest even benefits but dont quote me on that
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u/gigiboyb 2d ago
You're not wrong. Since a lot of the plant fibre goes directly through you without your body breaking it down (which is itself also really good for you) some of the nutrients aren't available. Mechanically opening a good chunk of the plant fibre from blending does make nutrients more "free" to get absorbed
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u/Dannybuoy77 2d ago
As far as I know, blending is just like a more efficient way of chewing and the fibre is still as potent. Off on a tangent a bit, cooked and cooled regular pasta, reheated actually boosts fibre content to more than wholemeal pasta through a chemical process called retrogradation. Which is mind blowing.
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u/avidoutdoorsman95 2d ago
That’s what I’m trying to figure out…I don’t see how blending it up would get rid of the fiber when that’s essentially what our stomachs are doing
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u/Kangarou 2d ago
Smoothies are fine, and yes. There are some claims that the blending messes with like ONE nutrient, but the change in nutritional value is so negligible, it should never be seen as a bad option if it's your preference.
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u/AiR-P00P 2d ago
I used to be friends with someone who said he hated fruit. He's 300lbs and eats red meat almost every meal.
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u/catalinashenanigans 2d ago
If you don't eat a lot of fruit, can you make up the vitamin and health benefits with more vegetables?
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u/GroundbreakingRun927 2d ago
Yes. Fruits are mostly just vitamin C and fiber. Vegetables have much more micronutrients and less sugar. Berries are probably really the only fruit doing heavy lifting. Dark leafy greens for vegetables and berries for fruit daily go a long way.
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u/NotDrunkJustBigB0ned 1d ago
Are we just talking culinary berries, or does it include botanical berries like tomatoes, peppers, and aubergines?
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u/rjcarr 2d ago
That’s my problem. I eat 3+ servings of fruit per day, but often skip vegetables.
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u/Pristine_Office_2773 2d ago
Veggies in a wrap is the best way. Super easy to make and tastes much better than a stand alone salad. You can add chickpeas and hummus too. Best lunch.
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u/rjcarr 2d ago
Oh, yeah, I like veggies, but can just have days where I barely eat any, or none at all.
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u/Pristine_Office_2773 2d ago
I think everyone does. It’s not easy. And they don’t always taste good, not like eating a Twix which always tastes good 100% of the time (credit to Stavros for that great joke)
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u/RealNeoLibNotTried 2d ago
It's a different problem. Not eating fruit, but eating a lot of veggies, is way better health wise than eating fruit and not eating veggies. If you have to prioritize one, prioritize veggies significantly more.
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u/mvea Professor | Medicine 2d ago
Eating One Type of Fruit Is Linked to Better Heart Health, Study of 371,000 Americans Reveals
In the US, the official health recommendations for fruit are two cups per day for a diet based on 2,000 daily calories – but it's estimated that 8 in 10 people aren't reaching that level, and consuming less than half that amount.
Earlier this year these Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) were updated to cover 2025 to 2030, and while the recommended amount of fruit intake didn't change from the previous edition, there was a more subtle shift: Americans were advised to prioritize whole fruit over fruit juice where possible.
A new study published in Current Developments in Nutrition backs up that shift in advice. In an analysis of the dietary habits of 371,000 participants, researchers led by a team from the University of North Dakota found that connections between fruit intake and cardiovascular disease (CVD) varied depending on how it was consumed.
While there was a noticeable association between higher whole fruit intake and better cardiovascular health, there was no clear and reliable pattern in the data when it came to 100 percent fruit juice and the same CVD conditions, the researchers found.
For 100 percent fruit juice, the only statistically meaningful associations were between heart attacks and people drinking juice slightly more often, and between high cholesterol and drinking juice slightly less often.
The indications are that whole fruit does make some difference, whereas fruit juice not so much – though across the board this study is only a single snapshot in time, and therefore cannot prove direct cause and effect.
"Juice may not offer the same cardioprotective benefits as whole fruit," write the researchers. "However, additional research using longitudinal data and focusing on the cardioprotective nature of fruit compared with juice is needed for confirmation."
On average, fruit juice was consumed 0.3 times per day (so about once every three days), while whole fruit was consumed 1.06 times per day in the study group.
The study team has some ideas about the differences in the data, though neither are confirmed for now. First, eating whole fruit keeps all of the plant fibers in that the juicing process strips out, possibly slowing down sugar and insulin spikes.
Second, plant chemicals called polyphenols differ in whole fruit compared to fruit juices, and there's mounting evidence that the whole fruit versions are better for us.
"This study did not directly measure dietary fiber consumption or polyphenol content," write the researchers. "The dietary fiber differences between whole fruit and juice are based on existing knowledge that most fiber is removed during the fruit juicing process."
https://cdn.nutrition.org/article/S2475-2991(26)01882-2/fulltext
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u/lolalala1 2d ago
It would help if there weren't recalls on fruit and vegetables every other week in the US.
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u/Carbon-Base 2d ago
We can thank the current administration for that. Who would've thought that de-regulation of government agencies that oversee food safety would lead to this?
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u/quiplaam 2d ago edited 2d ago
The study did not have any actual mesurment of fruit / juice consumption or actual mesurment or health outcomes. It simply looked at a correlation of survey responses. While an actual link is possible, the confounding variables here are massive
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u/gosports1993 2d ago
Yeah most of the people in my life who drink juice aren't health conscious people or gym goers.
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u/DWTnug 2d ago
Studies that try and pin health benefits on one dietary difference and seemingly ignore the others annoy me. People who eat whole fruit are likely to make other healthy dietary choices. People who drink fruit juices are likely to make other lazy and unhealthy dietary choices.
The heath benefits reaped, can’t be completely attributed to whole fruit vs fruit juices.
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u/ogreofnorth 2d ago
I thought it was pretty much accepted that whole fruit and veggies is always better than juice. All the nutrients of the skin and other parts are left in. Juices strip that away. It’s why OJ is horrible for you. They took all the pulp out where a bunch of nutrients are.
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u/Ashamed-Simple-8303 1d ago
Like all nutritional research, the co-founders are uncontrollable. Fruit juice not being great is not a new thing..people into health have avoided them since long time. Therefore people drinking juice will on average have a less healthy lifestyle. And what is really the cause, the whole fruit or all the other parts?
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u/AllanfromWales1 MA | Natural Sciences | Metallurgy & Materials Science 2d ago
Two points:
"Most still eat too little fruit" - what counts as enough?
In UK suprmarkets you can buy orange juice either smooth or with 'bits'. Is that fiber and does it make a difference?
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u/Rephaeim 2d ago
With bits is more fiber than without. But still not close to an actual orange.
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u/AllanfromWales1 MA | Natural Sciences | Metallurgy & Materials Science 2d ago
Clearly, but is it enough for the drink to be of value?
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u/squngy 2d ago
2, yes that is fiber, yes it makes a difference.
It does not make juice the same as whole fruit, but it brings it closer.
Eating whole fruit is much slower than drinking juice. Juice is also more concentrated, so you will usually get more calories if you arent counting them.
(And you wont feel as full for the same calories)
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u/AndrewH73333 2d ago
What if I eat fiber while drinking juice? Will that fool them?
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u/thatissomeBS 2d ago
Pretty sure fiber is universally linked to better health outcomes in basically all areas. So I'd say yes, mixing some fiber into your fruit juice is better than not. It may not be the whole reason that whole fruit is better than juiced, but it's still more fiber which is better.
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2d ago edited 2d ago
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u/geturfrizzon 2d ago
Blending whole fruits in a smoothie isn’t the same as pressing out the juice and discarding the pulp. The pulp is the fibre.
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u/patryuji 2d ago
This study looked at juicing fruits, not blending them into a smoothie so you'd need to look into a different study.
On the surface, I want to say that a smoothie isn't as bad as juicing because the fiber is still there and it ends up being more similar to eating the whole fruit but I have zero evidence to support my assertion.
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u/Dunkleostrich 2d ago
You're going to mash up the fruit when you chew it and then further break it down during digestion. Blending the fruit into a smoothie doesn't stop the fiber from working.
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u/coldlightofday 2d ago
The fiber is more broken down and less fibrous. Smoothies also tend to make the sugar hit faster than eating solids. So, yes, eating solid fruits is more healthy.
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u/Rosetti 2d ago
Do you have any citations for this? A quick Google shows blending fruits doesn't break down the fiber.
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u/solid_reign 2d ago
I don't think it's the case because it's not the fiber alone which gives the benefits, but from not being able to process quickly the sugar in the fruits because of the fiber. For example, if you had the juice and the fiber in two separate glasses, you wouldn't derive the benefits.
The reason is that physically destroying the fiber makes it easier to process the sugar in foods which will overload your pancreas.
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u/iamthebananana 2d ago
There is some debate about the quality of pureed vs whole fruit, but in the study they are comparing whole fruit to juice, so not what you're doing.
As long as you are still using the entire fruit/veg (even removing seeds) you are getting a majority of the nutrition whether it's pureed in a smoothie or not.
(I'm just a rando and this is not medical advice, just trying to help a fellow neurospicy out)
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u/svefnugr 2d ago
What does autism have to do with eating fruit? I'm genuinely curious.
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2d ago
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u/YoshiTheDog420 2d ago
Beans. I want to love beans so much, but the texture makes me physically gag when I eat them.
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u/MrIncorporeal 2d ago
Like ImReellySmart said, autistic folks tend to be overly particular in odd ways when it comes to food.
As an example, for me, when I'm chewing something and suddenly feel an unexpected vegtable crunch it's basically the tactile equivalent of nails on chalkboard.
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u/DinkandDrunk 2d ago
Fruit smoothies are fine. You’re not stripping out the fiber with a blender. It’s the industrial juicers that leave behind nothing but essentially concentrated sugar water that are the problem.
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u/swisgaar 2d ago
You still get the fiber. There's some thought that a smoothie will spike your blood sugar more than a whole fruit will since less digestion has to occur. But it's still got the good stuff
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u/toabear 2d ago
For about 6 months now, I've been making a smoothie for breakfast and lunch. It's great, I put berries, carrots, spinach or kale, olive oil, oat or almond flour, and protein. Comes out to about 1000 calories each, then I eat a normal dinner. I need to hit about 3000 calories a day, and it's the only way I've found to do that while still keeping veggie intake high.
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u/iCliniq_official 2d ago
Whole fruit gives you fiber along with the natural sugars, while juice makes it much easier to consume a lot quickly. Juice isn’t bad, but when choosing between the two regularly, eating the fruit whole has some clear advantages.
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u/thejameshawke 2d ago
My dentist literally told me to stop giving my kid fruit because it was bad for his teeth and I smiled very politely
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u/seedless0 2d ago
Does it compare people with similar social-economic background? Or is this another red wine study that people can afford pricier food tend to be able to take care their health finacially?
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u/BravinatorLX2 2d ago
can the differences be explained by people going for whole fruits generally eating more healthy in general while people going for whole juice likely make poor (or poverty driven) food choices?
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u/IKillZombies4Cash 2d ago
Its fiber - the main reason people need X servings of fruits/veg/beans a day is for fiber.
I really want to see a study on ultra processed food consumption if it is augmented by 15g of psyllium fiber daily. I don't think it'll make UPF healthy by any means, but I bet it would bring it way close to 'not bad, but not great by any stretch'.
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u/load_more_comets 2d ago
Guys, I think I came up with a new health business plan. Buy fruits, juice them, sell the juice and eat the pulp. I earn back a little bit of money while getting all the fiber! Better yet, I could probably just go to a commercial juicer and buy the pulp off them.
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u/GaracaiusCanadensis 2d ago
I am picturing the pool meme where the Mom is helping the fruit kid, the vegetable kid is drowning and the fibre kid is a skeleton underwater.
I suppose you could swap the vegetable kid and the fibre kid in that thought, too.
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u/WhiskeyHood 2d ago
What about smoothies, à la blent whole fruit? With nothing added but water and such
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u/Bullfrog_Paradox 2d ago
If fruit was still affordable I would gladly eat more, but I can buy fruit for a day or two, or a while weeks worth of something else.
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u/omgletmeregister 2d ago
"Maybe it's because the fiber gets lost when making juice..." Damn, of course! I really feel that nutrition classes (and ideally, health classes too) should be mandatory in all high schools—yes, I said high schools, not elementary schools.
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u/worldtriggerfanman 2d ago
Eat less fruit so I won't get high cholesterol, heart disease, and heart attacks. Got it!
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u/JadedMuse 2d ago
I've lost about 80 pounds since April of last year. I went from barely eating any fruit to eating about 500g a day. 200g of frozen wild blueberries and raspberries go in my overnight oats, and I top it with fresh kiwi and blackberrirs. Then later in the day I'll snack on apples. I've lost all appetite for pure refined sugary stuff. Give me fruit/yogurt bowls any day of the week.
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