Fruit diet: advantages and disadvantages

The variety of fruits and berries leads us to think about the appropriate strawberry, watermelon, citrus fruit diet. It is tasty and inexpensive. It is easy to lose weight with the help of such diets because fruits contain very few calories. But what happens to our body during a mono-diet and what benefits and harms it brings? GoBeauty Blog dealt with this.

The benefits of a fruit diet

1. Fruits are rich in fibre, so help the body cleanse toxins.
2. Fruits contain many useful vitamins and substances that saturate the human body, which has a good effect on the condition of hair and skin, as well as strengthening the immune system.
3. From fruits, the body receives fructose which is not so harmful, unlike sugar. It allows you not to get frustrated by sweets (candy, chocolate, etc.).
4. This diet does not limit the rules of eating. It involves eating fruit when hunger strikes. But you should not follow it for more than one month.
5. Eating fruit reduces the risk of vascular disease. Apples contain potassium, which helps to normalize the heart and strengthen blood vessel walls.

The harms of a fruit diet

1. The most significant danger of a fruit diet is the lack of important nutrients. Fruits are rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates in the form of natural sugar. However, they do not contain the other two important nutrients – fats and proteins. These nutrients are necessary for the body to function. Moreover, this diet lacks vitamins and minerals such as zinc, iron, vitamin B, vitamin D-12 and calcium. Over time, it can lead to serious complications that pose a significant threat to your health.
2. Most fruits are an excellent source of fibre. That is why people often recommend eating a minimum daily portion of fruit or follow a fruit and vegetable diet. However, when you eat only fruit throughout the day, your digestive system finds it difficult to digest fibre. It can cause stomach discomfort, pain and other health problems.
3. Increased sugar consumption. Fruits do not contain processed sugars. They have natural sugar in the form of fructose and sucrose. However, when your diet consists only of fruit, blood sugar levels still rise. So, the pancreas often has to deal with fructose to stabilize sugar levels. If you do not exercise regularly for several hours, the pancreas produces large amounts of insulin to maintain sugar levels. As explained earlier, it can lead to sugar desensitization and gradual imbalance in the body!
4. Risk of heart disease due to high insulin levels. When you regularly consume some fruits, insulin is constantly present in the blood to cope with rising sugar levels. Over a long time, high levels of insulin in the blood lead to inflammation in the arteries and other parts of the circulatory system. Besides, it has been medically proven that inflammation causes risk factors for coronary artery associated with heart disease.

Concerning the above reasons, a fruit diet without including other food groups can be detrimental to your health. The ideal way to stay healthy and avoid disease is balanced nutrition. It will provide you with all the important nutrients (useful fats, proteins and carbohydrates), as well as the necessary vitamins and minerals.