When we think “summer”, visions of outdoor gatherings are conjured up, and at those food stations, lots of creative fruit dishes are served up. During the summer, it seems that watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe and grapes are frequent staples. Of course, year round, including the summer, we enjoy many other fruits.
Fruits, especially the skins, contain many “healthy” ingredients including fiber, nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins. However, fruits all contain sugar, with some, such as watermelon, more than others.
Looking at the beneficial components of fruits, we could alternatively obtain fiber, vitamins and anti-oxidants through the ingestion of 0 calorie fiber products and 0 calorie multivitamins. Most certainly, these alternatives do not have the great taste of fruit, but they deliver 0 sugar.
The other issue with “summer fruit” is that we tend to dress these up with a bunch of other caloric/fat containing products such as creams, marshmallows, etc. This will turn “healthy fruit” into a caloric nightmare.
So, the answer to the question posed in the subject of this blog: “Summer fruit” is not a great choice for weight control. However, with portion control and avoiding the “add-ons” we can all still enjoy summer fruit without this derailing our weight control efforts.
