Is fruit bad for you?

I was speaking with some one I know who is on the Atkins diet today, and a statement was made that since carbs are bad, I'm going to eat a miniature snickers instead of a piece of fruit because they have the same sugar content, Now I'm not saying Atkins is inherently evil . I'm not saying that it doesn't work and I am not saying that its not nutritionally sound.  However, I do believe that anyone who is convinced, eating fruit is just as bad as eating a snickers bar, because of the carb content is a tiny bit misguided.  Yes, fruit has sugar in it. Yes, if you eat to much sugar its not good for you.  I would not suggest eating nothing but fruit. Fruit sugar and cane sugar do effect your blood sugar the same. But really....  don't look at the sugar count in an apple as an excuse to eat a candy bar instead.  Fruits and vegetables supply us with some very important nutrients. 

  

• Calcium: Calcium is essential for healthy bones and teeth. It is also needed for normal functioning of muscles, nerves and some glands.
• Fiber: Diets rich in dietary fiber have been shown to have a number of beneficial effects, including decreased risk of coronary heart disease.
• Folate: Healthful diets with adequate folate may reduce a woman’s risk of having a child with a brain or spinal cord defect.
• Iron: Needed for healthy blood and normal functioning of all cells.
• Magnesium: Magnesium is necessary for healthy bones and is involved with more than 300 enzymes in your body! Inadequate levels may result in muscle cramps and high blood pressure.
• Potassium: Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain a healthy blood pressure.
• Sodium: Needed for normal cell function throughout the body. Most diets contain too much sodium which is associated with high blood pressure.  
• Vitamin A: Keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps protect against infections.
• Vitamin C: Helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy.

The list goes on and on and on, Fruit is natures multi vitamin 

Now tell me does a snickers bar "FUEL" your body?

Here's my  point:

Not all Sugar is made Equal.  Not everything you eat that has sugar in it helps your body function properly. 

Sugar is meant to be used as fuel,  And just like your car, you can only fit so much in your tank. Could you imagine if you left the gas pump running and in stead of it automatically turning off when the tank was full, it just kept pumping and adding the extra fuel to  bags on the bumper or doors of your car?  Tha'ts exactly what happens to us.  We only need so much fuel, and when we take in to much, our body's adds it to the bag around our mid sections. 

Have you ever noticed that you can eat five pieces of pizza and still want more, but you can't eat 10 cups of vegetables no matter how much you love them because you get full?  Our body's are not designed to count calories, they were designed to count nutrients.  When you give your body the amount of nutrients it needs,  it will tell you it has had enough.  When you fill it with empty calories, and it needs more vitamins and minerals it will let you go until you literally can't fit one more bite of food in your stomach.

Fruit is also a food high in water content, so it hydrates you and fuels you at the same time
. 
Does a snickers bar hydrate you?  

Eat a well balanced diet and the sugar in fruit will not be an issue for you.  Unless of course you are a diabetic or have glucose/insulin issues. 

So to sum up 

Eat foods that nourish your body, foods that fuel your body, 

                                                              And people. Do not over flow your tank.