Calorie, nutritional value and glycemic index of fruits

The best helpers in maintaining health and beauty are fresh fruits. It is important to know their calorie content and glycemic index in order to get the most benefit and balance your diet.

Fruits are famous for their colossal content of fiber, vitamins and trace elements. In addition, they contain acids and sugars. Let's look at these components in more detail.

• Sugar. Due to the presence of sugar, fruits saturate and give energy for the whole day. Ripe fruits contain more sugar. Moreover, it begins to be replaced by starch, from which a denser structure of the fruit appears.
• Cellulose. Fruits are not only a source of energy, but also fiber. These are dietary fibers that help maintain health for many years. It is not absorbed and is displayed in its original form. Proper digestion without fiber is impossible: it regulates the movement of food and the natural process in the work of the gastric tract.
• Acids. Included in all fruits. Basically, these are malic, citric, ascorbic and tartaric acids. They play an important role in healthy digestion and metabolism.
• Vitamins. In terms of vitamins, fruits can only compete with vegetables. Vitamin C can be called the most valuable of them. A person needs this element every day. It reacts with iron and has a positive effect on the joints. Moreover, it is the predominant element in the composition of collagen, which is needed for the skeletal system.This vitamin is a leader among antioxidants and helps not to age early. Vitamin C is especially important for women at an age when it is necessary to monitor bone density. It has long been known that vitamin C is used to prevent herpes on the mucous membranes of the mouth.

Energy value is a key parameter of any edible product and determines its nutritional value. The energy that a person receives from food elements depends on the presence of fats, proteins, carbohydrates in the composition.

The amount of energy is one calorie. It is calories that move people's bodies. The percentage of water and sugar also plays a role here. For this reason, if you study in detail the table of calorie content of fruits per 100 grams, you can see that the maximum number of calories in dried fruits. Thanks to drying, moisture evaporated from them, but nutritional value increased considerably. You can have a snack with a cup of freshly picked cherries, but only a handful is allowed to eat dried ones.

Another option is canned fruit. This is not the best option for proper nutrition. Not only do they lose some of their usefulness when cooked, they also gain additional calories due to the sweet syrup. Canned foods should not be consumed at all if the goal is to reduce weight.

The table shows a list of fruits in ascending order of calories.She will be an assistant for fitness ladies and bodybuilders who monitor their nutrition and calories consumed.

The most high-calorie fruits are bananas, dates, persimmons, grapes, figs. For a diet, these fruits should not be chosen, but rather excluded, since they contain a lot of fructose.

Fruits should make up more than 2/3 of a person's daily diet. The choice of fruits is quite varied and it is important to consume all of them.

Fruit is a source of carbohydrates. They are divided depending on the rate of splitting and conversion to glucose.

Fast (simple) carbohydrates are those that are instantly digested. They are found in all directly sweet foods: honey, pies, cookies, waffles. But there are a lot of them in fruits. The leaders are:

• peaches;
• melons;
• bananas;
• sweet cherry;
• raisin;
• grape;
• dates;
• watermelon;
• apricots.

This list can be continued, but the main thing is to remember the principle - if the fruit is sweet, simple carbohydrates predominate in it. To reduce their negative impact, it is advisable to consume them before lunch and in a volume of 200-250 g. You can also increase the amount of physical exercise to burn additional calories received. With the intention of making the waist thinner and fit into your favorite outfit, fast carbohydrates are removed from the table. It's better not to buy them at all.

Complex carbohydrates break down much more slowly. There are complex splitting processes that evenly release energy. A huge benefit of slow carbohydrates is that they do not raise sugar levels. For this reason, such carbohydrates are not contraindicated for diabetics.

These include unsweetened fruits that you can choose for a snack without worrying about your figure:

• grapefruits;
• nectarine;
• kiwi;
• oranges;
• sour apples.

An important indicator that helps to distinguish slow carbohydrates from fast ones is the glycemic index (GI). It demonstrates the rate of reaction of internal processes in the body to the food consumed. This speed determines the rise of sugar components in the blood. The higher the GI, the faster the level of these components increases. The speed of response to glucose (one hundred percent sugar) with an index of 100 is taken as the basis.

This index can be calculated for all products containing carbohydrates. There are three groups according to the level of the glycemia index:

• high;
• average;
• short.

Carbohydrates with a low index (less than 55) are of greatest interest to those who monitor their health. They are absorbed more slowly and minimize the number of spikes in blood sugar, and hence the spikes in mood. These include grapefruit, pomelo, orange, kiwi, unsweetened varieties of apples, plums, apricots. A high index (more than 60) in pineapples, melons, papaya, ripe bananas, grapes. But the main problem with fruits with a high index is their high nutritional value, and therefore calorie content. A small portion of these fruits gives the body a lot of calories, sometimes completely unnecessary.

An important point is that the glycemic index tends to change indicators depending on the maturity of the fruit - carbohydrates, fiber concentration, the presence or absence of heat treatment. The degree of fruit glycemia can vary if the fruit is selected canned or dried, as with calories.For example, take an apricot. Fresh has an index of 20, dried - 30, and canned - three times more - 90.

There are many myths about negative calorie foods. According to the calorie table, this cannot be in principle.

However, there is an opinion that there are products for the breakdown of which the body needs much more energy than it received from them. The result is zero calorie or even negative. In addition, these magical fruits contain trace elements that have a positive effect on metabolism and accelerate metabolic processes.

The big secret here is in the very fiber. Dietary fiber is practically indestructible. But the body works, works and spends energy.

Such fruits are not exotic and are often on our tables.

Tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, orange, lime, pomelo - a tested list of negative calorie fruits. All known celebrity diets included at least one of these fruits. Grapefruit is especially important to consider. It can reduce appetite, has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin. Consuming it for 14 days daily, you can see a decrease of 2 kilograms on the scales. The peculiarity of citrus fruits is their mild laxative and diuretic effect, as well as a high content of liquid and fiber. Their calorie content does not even reach 40 kcal.

The fact that pineapple contains a specific component, bromelain, has long been known. It promotes fat burning. With its regular consumption, the metabolism is restored, the processes of losing kilograms are accelerated both on the scales and visually. Pineapple dulls the feeling of hunger, is involved in the breakdown of complex lipids from meat, fish, if you eat it for dessert after dinner.

A frequent guest on our tables and one of the most affordable fruits is an apple. Its calorie content varies from 40 to 53 kcal, depending on the variety. The lowest calorie variety is Semerenko and Granny Smith (green apples). This is followed by red apples "Idared" - 51 kcal and yellow "Golden" - 53 kcal. Apple fibers are extremely useful for normalizing digestive processes, so apples should be eaten with the skin on.

You can also add apricot, unsweetened peach varieties, plums to this list. There are not as many zero-calorie fruits as vegetables, since fruits still have a lot more fructose. But from this list, you can choose suitable, tasty and healthy fruits.

For information on how to easily and quickly prepare a light fruit salad, see the following video.