Is Eating Fruits for Breakfast a Good Way to Lose Weight?

                                                                                                   By Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN

People often ask me if eating fruits for breakfast is a good way to lose weight.

The simple answer to this question is NO. It's not a great idea to eat fruits (alone) for breakfast if you want to lose weight. Let's look at the mechanisms behind my answer.

Eating Fruits Alone Spikes Your Blood Sugar

If you want to lose weight then one of the most critical areas of your health you need to attend to is regulating your blood sugar. The last thing you want is for your blood sugar levels to be jumping up and down all day, causing you to crave more sugars and sweets. Overtime, this can lead to binge eating and poor food choices - both of which work against your weight loss objectives.

This is the problem with fruit, especially if you eat them alone. Fruit, on their own, are easily broken down into fructose (and glucose) leading to quick upshoot in your blood sugar levels. As a result, insulin is then released to remove the excess sugar in the blood and store in the liver and muscle cells. Since insulin removes much of the sugar from the blood, your blood sugar levels drop and the body begins craving sugars again to restore it's optimal blood sugar level.

As you can see this can become a vicious cycle if you consistently eat simple sugars and high sugar fruit on their own. Fruits such as bananas, dates, mangoes, and watermelon some examples of high sugar fruit that cause blood sugar problems for many people.

Moderate the Sugar Load with Healthy Fats, Fiber, and Amino Acids

One of the best ways to reduce the sugar-spiking effects of eating fruit by themselves is to enjoy them with sources of healthy fats, fiber, or amino acids (proteins). When you do so, the glycemic load of the fruit is lessened, and thus you avoid the blood sugar rollercoaster.

For instance, try eating your fruit with nuts and seeds such as sunflower seeds, walnuts, and almonds.

Or, try blending your fruit into a smoothie with flax/fish oil (omega-3 fats), ground flaxseeds (fiber), and hemp seeds (protein).

The above examples are just a few things you can do help your body better metabolize the simple sugars in fruit.

Healthy Breakfast Alternatives for Losing Weight

My personal advice is to begin your day with alkalinity. That means have a breakfast that consists of greens. Green smoothies, green juices, or even salads are great ways to start your day. Try this green juice when you're ready for breakfast and watch your energy soar and you won't have to worry about packing on the pounds.

4-6 leaves of swiss chard
3-4 stalks of celery
1/4 cucumber
handful of parsley
handful of spinach
1/4 lemon
1 apple
1 carrot

Process everything through a juicer and enjoy!

 





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