Fruit is one of those great food groups – delicious, natural AND healthy. And if it’s healthy, you can totally eat as much you like. Right? Wrong.
Unfortunately, this concept doesn’t ever apply to any food or food group. While fruit is usually bursting with vitamins and minerals, it is also bursting with sugar – and over-consuming sugar can lead to all sorts of health problems like diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, hunger and low energy levels.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (about 24 grams) of sugar per day for women, and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) per day for men. Some fruit can contain between 20 and 30 grams of sugar per serve. That’s a whole lotta sugar!
The good news is, there are some fruits out there that contain less sugar. Drumroll please…
And here they are: 10 Low Sugar Fruits!
- Berries: Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries and Blueberries are all low in sugar, containing between 5 grams – 15 grams of sugar per cup.
- Grapefruit: 8 grams of sugar in half a wedge of grapefruit. Try adding it to a salad, or eat it on it’s own to enjoy the citrusy flavor.
- Cantaloupe: Out of all the melons, cantaloupe contains the least amount of sugar with 8 grams of sugar in a large wedge.
- Lemon and Lime: These guys certainly aren’t your typically “sweet” fruit, but with only 1-1.5g of sugar per fruit, they’re a great addition to your glass of water.
- Rhubarb: Not something that you may immediately think of, however stewed rhubarb can be a delicious dessert, with only 1.3 grams of sugar in 1 cup of rhubarb.
- Guava: A low-sugar exception to the tropical fruit category, guava boasts a modest amount of 4.9 grams of sugar per fruit. A popular way to eat guava is by dipping it in salty sauces, you can eat the entire fruit including the rind.
- Cranberries: A less sweet option for a fruit, these guys are famous for being a natural treatment for UTIs. Half a cup of raw cranberries only contain 2.2 grams of sugar, but watch out for the more commonly consumed dried cranberries with added sugar.
- Apricots: An unlikely candidate, these fruit pack 3.2 grams of sugar in a small apricot. A great option for a fruit pie or crumble.
- Kiwifruit: These fuzzy fruits have a nice amount of Vitamin C and happen to be low in sugar, with only 6 grams of sugar per kiwi.
- Olives: Granted, they’re not your typical fruit but they contain 0g of sugar! So you might want to change your mind about them 🙂
