Are you intending to diet only with fruits? Think about it again. The reason is that although fruits are full of nutrients, they lack specific vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients that the body needs for optimal health.
Therefore, consider adding vegetables to the mix to keep your diet varied and prevent nutrient deficiencies.
Why the Fruit Diet?
The fruit diet pushes as a way to lose weight, cure diseases, and get rid of toxins. Unfortunately, most claims have no scientific evidence.
For example, a 30-year study of 182,145 women published in the International Journal of Cancer showed that higher fruit and vegetable intake could protect against breast cancer.
Women who consumed more than five and a half servings of fruits and vegetables daily had a lower risk of developing breast cancer than those who ate less than two and a half servings per day.
A January 2016 meta-analysis in the Annals of Oncology states that a diet of carotenoids and other phytonutrients in vegetables and fruits may lower the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Another study, which appeared in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention in May 2016, has linked this food to lower levels of pancreatic cancer.
However, there are no studies that show that a fruit diet alone can prevent or treat cancer and other diseases. Fruits can protect against disease when consuming them as part of a balanced diet.
In addition, a fruit diet for two weeks is unlikely to have great benefits for your health due to its short duration. The key to better health is to eat fruits and vegetables regularly.
In addition, a two-week diet with fruit alone is not the best option for weight loss. Fruits are low in protein, your cell and tissue building blocks; these nutrients support muscle growth and help maintain lean mass during periods of energy deficit, aka diet, keeping your metabolism high.
Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, which means it requires more energy to function. The more lean mass, the more calories you will burn during the day.
Did you know that some people just eat fruits? This is a well-known fruit diet that is more restrictive than vegan and vegetarian diets. A fruit diet, according to the Cleveland Clinic, can cause nutritional deficits, teeth decay, a slowdown in metabolism, and even weight gain.
Most fruits are high in natural sugars, such as fructose, and can cause you to eat too much and gain weight. Sugars and acids in the fruit can damage teeth and cause rot in the long term.
Fruit sugar also increases your blood glucose levels, which can put you at risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance. However, a diet of only fruit for two weeks is unlikely to cause this problem.
Fruit and Weight Loss
Some studies over the years have shown that fruits may have anti-obesity effects. According to a review published in the journal Nutrients in October 2016, fruit aids in weight management and makes weight loss easier while protecting against heart disease, diabetes, and other obesity-related disorders.
As the researchers pointed out, these findings are surprising, given the high amount of simple sugar in most fruits.
These foods can help you lose weight in several ways. First of all, they are lower in calories than processed snacks, pastries, ready-made foods, and so on. Replacing processed foods with fresh fruit will automatically reduce your caloric intake.
Fruits also contain fiber, which leads to increased satiety and better control of appetite. Dietary fiber delays gastric emptying and suppresses appetite, which in turn, can help reduce your daily food intake.
Nutrition Review shows that certain micronutrients in fruits, such as iron, zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin C, can protect against obesity and weight gain. For example, resveratrol – a powerful antioxidant in grapes – has been shown to promote the breakdown of fat, prevent the formation of new fat cells and induce fat cell death.
Catechins, caffeic acid, naringenin, and other phytochemicals in fruits can also show anti-obesity effects.
The review also showed that fruits can also cause positive changes in the intestinal flora due to their high fiber and polyphenol content. These nutrients can increase the number of good bacteria in the gut and reduce the number of harmful bacteria that promote weight. However, more research is needed to confirm the relationship between fruit consumption and gut health.
These studies, however, say nothing about fruit diets alone, juices or popular 7-day fruit cleansing.
Eating only fruits for two weeks or more will likely increase your vitamin and antioxidant levels, but any weight you lose will return as soon as you return to a normal diet.
The recommended daily intake of fruits is at least one and a half to two cups per day. As per data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meeting these guidelines can help lower your risk of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular problems, and cancer.
Fruits to Lose Weight Quickly
There is no particular fruit or vegetable that stimulates weight loss. However, when it comes to weight management, some fruits outperform others. Lemons, limes, berries, kiwi, rhubarb, and watermelon are all low in calories. Dried fruits, on the other hand, are a sugar and calorie powerhouse.
If you are trying to slim down, fulfill the fruits low in carbohydrates and low in calories. Here are some examples:
- Watermelon: 84 calories, 21.1 grams of carbohydrates, 1.1 grams of fiber, 1.7 grams of protein and 0.4 grams of fat per serving
- Blueberries: 39 calories, 0.8 grams of carbohydrates, 1.6 grams of fiber, 0.5 grams of protein and 0.2 grams of fat per serving
- Strawberries: 47 calories, 11.2 grams of carbohydrates, 2.9 grams of fiber, 0.9 grams of protein and 0.4 grams of fat per serving
- Lemon: 17 calories, 5.4 grams of carbohydrates, 1.6 grams of fiber, 0.6 grams of protein and 0.1 grams of fat per serving
- Grapefruit: 65 calories, 16.4 grams of carbohydrates. 2.5 grams of fiber, 1.1 grams of protein, and 0.2 grams of fat per serving
- Rhubarb : 26 calories, 5.5 grams of carbohydrates, 2.2 grams of fiber, 1.1 grams of protein and 0.2 grams of fat per serving (one cup)
- Kiwi: 90 calories, 21.9 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fat per serving
- Avocado: 80 calories, 4.2 grams of carbohydrates, 3.4 grams of fiber, 1 gram of protein and 7.3 grams of fat per serving.
Pay attention to the size of the portion . A serving of avocado, for example, is only 1.7 ounces and has 80 calories. A whole avocado, on the other hand, is about 7 ounces and offers about 322 calories. If you eat more than you need, you will gain weight.