I wasn't sure where to post this, but I'm curious... how important is fruit to my diet/nutrition?

I'm following Atkins (although it's probably modified Atkins, since I'm currently not counting/tracking my carbs). I get plenty of vegetables (I think), but I don't eat any fruit. Should I be?

I guess what got me thinking about this is a friend who takes Juice Plus+, which are pills you take (2 fruit, 2 veggie) that have 17 different fruits and veggies in them. Not sure how many servings this equals up to. See more info on this here Juice Plus+ Info and here More Juice Plus+ info.

Anyway, I've just been doing a lot of thinking lately and trying to find the answer to my lack of energy (was hoping ACV would help, but it didn't). My friend has big claims about this stuff... wonderful ways that it has affected her personally, and I believe her. But, I'm just not sure it's the right thing for me.

Seems to me it would be better to actually eat the real thing, ya know? But, like I said, I'm not currently eating any fruit. Berries are expensive. Not sure what to do about this. Also, my veggie intake although good serving-wise is limited in my variety.

What do you all think?

__________________
Debby

I believe you are so right about that! It is much better to eat the real thing, which incorporate real vitamins and minerals, plus all kinds of flavinoids, phytonutrients, and probably a number of undiscovered nutritional components. I just don't think you can pack that in a pill and expect your body to fully absorb it.

Have you looked at the bags of mixed frozen berries? They are not so expensive (especially at Trader Joes). If the frozen berries are blended with a bit of cream or half-and-half, they make a quite a decent soft-serve ice cream. Or, they can be made into a nice smoothie, too. If you think they are tart, just add a bit of Splenda or your sweetner of choice.

I tend to gravitate towards the same vegetables, too (cauliflower, zucchini, brocolli, summer squash, bell peppers, celery, and mixed salad greens). But, I suspect you are probably right about the benefits of variety - it's better to get more variety and, thus, a wider range of beneficial nutrients.

I did branch out a bit today. I ate a portobello mushroom (sauteed in olive oil and butter) for breakfast today instead of eggs. It was delicious. :fork:

__________________
~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Teelbee, Congrats to you for branching out!

Unfortunately, we don't have Trader Joe's here in Colorado. :( I sure wish we did since I've heard such great things about a lot of the items they carry, i.e., LC tortilla chips, almond flour. And, they don't ship stuff either.

I just bought some frozen strawberries from Albertsons. They were buy one get one free, so they ended up being $1.75 a pound. I still think that's pricey, but I'm on a tight budget too.

Quote:

If the frozen berries are blended with a bit of cream or half-and-half, they make a quite a decent soft-serve ice cream. Or, they can be made into a nice smoothie, too.

So... how do I do this? Suggestions please. Just put the strawberries and cream in a blender and mix? I need help. Thanks!

So... I still have the question... how important is fruit? Should I be eating it? And, if so... how many servings a day/week should I shoot for?

TIA,
Debby

__________________
Debby

Debby,

I think it really depends on the person for how important fruit is. I know several low carber's out there who haven't touched fruit since they've been on a lc plan. They start eating fruit and start seeing the scale move upwards, so they stop eating it for that reason. And the scale slides downwards once they eliminate the fruit.

I think fruit is okay to add in if you are ready for it and you can control how much you eat...but I don't think it's all that important for your daily regimen. I mean, you probably get the same amount of nutrients from eating a ton of vegetables, because veggies provide fiber and protein as well as fruits. So I guess it really depends on how important you think it is or how much variety you want.

For over a year, I kept on trying to add fruit in and just couldn't do it. I'd eat it with cheese, cream, peanut butter, nuts, etc...but I always got a dark, depressed feeling coming over me when I did that. Finally, I started eating it alone, and I didn't have those feelings anymore... and now I'm to the point I can eat two servings of fruit every other day (an apple is 2 servings of fruit, a banana is two servings of fruit) I'm also in maintenance mode so I can afford to eat a banana every other day...but I usually keep the banana to once a week...

Remember that an avocado is a fruit as well...you could probably have 1/2 of one of those twice a week...if you really want fruit as well...but I'm sure they're probably as expensive - if not more expensive - than the berries. And why do I keep on forgetting to buy one when I go to the store???!!??

Sheyla

Debby, since you're pregnant, you probably want to be following something like Atkins for life. IMHO, you should eat some fruit. Berries, melons, grapefruit, apples. You're not aiming for ketosis or even loss, at this time. I'm sure Summer will stop in and give more specific advice.

There is also an article at the Atkins site on pregnancy and nursing.

HTH.

__________________

Maggie,

Thanks for your thoughts. I wasn't pregnant (or at least if I was I didn't know it yet) when I posted about fruit. I do eat fruit now and have done a lot of reading on LCing while pregnant and nursing as well as having "talked" with Summer. She is a big help.

Too bad my old signature didn't stay on that post, but when you update your sig it gets changed everywhere. Sure hope people don't get confused on posts where I was talking about losing weight. Yikes! I sure hope noone thinks I would try to lose weight whilst preggers. Just trying to eat healthy and not gain too much.

__________________
Debby

Duh! Debby, I never looked at the date on your post. It had popped up in "new posts" listing because of a recent response.

I should have notice that it was a new response to a very old post.

__________________