Should we stop eating/ serving fruit because of its sugar content?

This is one of the questions we get asked the most by teachers, cooks and parents, and the short answer to this is an emphatic “NO!” 

This is because, even though fruits do contain the natural sugar fructose, they are also really good for us, children and adults. Fruits offer several benefits to our health and provide us with vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fibre and essential nutrients which all play an important role in our body, and therefore should be included in our daily diet.

Other benefits connected to eating fresh fruits include:

• strengthening our immune system and helping us fight infections;

• maintaining a healthy digestive system;  

• helping to maintain a healthy weight, as they are low in calories;

• providing a nutritious and affordable addition to meals;

• reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, lowering cholesterol and certain cancers.

The Ministry of Health recommends at least 4 servings of fruits and vegetables a day for preschool children (2 servings of each vegetables and fruit). For school age children, the recommendation is the same as for adults, at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit). 
Basically, it’s the foods that are high in sugar, but contain minimal or no nutritional value – such as sugary drinks, confectionery, and highly processed, packaged foods – that we should avoid, not the nutritious, mighty fresh fruit.

Is there an exception?

Dried fruits should not be included in our daily servings of fruit and should be treated as ‘sometimes’ foods, as these are high in sugar and offer less nutritional value. Dried fruits have also been linked to tooth decay in young children as they can easily stick to teeth and are hard to remove. In the centre and at home, we should limit how often we serve dried fruits (a few times a week is fine) and offer it in smaller amounts.
Commercial fruit juices found in shops are very high in sugar and often have added flavourings, so should be avoided. Natural fruit juice, as opposed to eating the whole fruit, has had all the fibre and pulp removed through the juicing process. A smoothie, for example, where the whole fruit is blended and no fibre is lost, is a much better choice.