Is Eating Fruit Like Eating Candy?

Is Eating Fruit Like Eating Candy?

In my opinion as a bariatric dietitian, no.

Is fruit nature’s candy?

Well, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t yet confused blueberries with blue jellybeans.

Many of my post-op WLS clients are nonetheless extremely nervous to incorporate fruit back into their diets.

Some have even been told ‘fruit is dirty’ by their providers.

Most feel they ought to avoid fruit-- like mosquitoes in Florida.

Now I think I know where this is coming from. Many folks with the best intentions believe the sweetness of fruit can prime the appetite-pump for MORE sweets—the high fructose kind.

If you feel fruit might lead you to return to sweets with wild abandon then you are better off skipping it.

But for those of you post op gastric sleeve and bypass clients, fully healed from surgery, and hankering for a small piece of watermelon to beat the heat or a tiny bowl of pineapple while vacationing in Hawaii, I say, enjoy.

When I became a dietitian I took a solemn vow that I would always encourage well-balanced nutrition. To me, that means recommending to my WLS clients: lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

I understand and encourage my clients to limit carbohydrates. I follow the bariatric plate guidelines and suggest 2 tablespoons of starch at lunch and dinner or, about 10 % of these meals.

It’s late summer. This is your opportunity to enjoy the starchy vegetables of the season like sweet potato, fresh summer corn or green peas.

And the delicious fruits of summer like Maine blueberries, Georgia peaches and succulent summer melon—in WLS portions.

Fruits and vegetables, especially the deeply colored varieties like beets, raspberries, kiwi and tomatoes, are packed with disease-fighting antioxidants and nutrients that are so vital to good health.

Plus, the loads of vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables are much better absorbed by our bodies than the version we get in supplements.

I know many pre-surgery eating habits need to change after surgery. I sincerely hope that doesn’t mean you have to avoid some of nature’s tastiest treats of the season.