I was teaching a class, and a student dismissed the health benefits of fruit because, as she put it, “it’s full of sugar”.  You won’t be surprised to hear this wasn’t the first time I’d heard this ‘sugar in fruit = bad’ idea.

This thought that fruit is somehow a bad thing to eat came into full swing with the low carb diet craze a few years ago. But the myth persists. Not a week goes by that I don’t hear someone tell me that they avoid fruit because it’s “all sugar” or “loaded with carbs”. So, I’m here to set the record straight and come to the defense of some of the world’s healthiest foods – fresh, whole fruits.

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When I was little, there was a guy down the street who bucked the Halloween candy trend, and instead pulled quarters from behind our ears. His place was really popular, but he also knew all the kids in the neighborhood, so we all knew that one quarter was the limit – no circling the block and coming back for more. But now it seems that in this era of supersizing – where more is always better and there are almost no limits – we’ve managed to supersize Halloween, too. 

No longer is it just about scary costumes and fun with friends and family. The focus seems to be more on who can collect the most candy. I don’t recall exactly what I used to carry my loot, but I’m positive it wasn’t a pillowcase – which, thanks to its light weight and large size, seems to be the preferred method for hauling Halloween booty.

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Food commercials on television push us to eat more than our recommended daily intake of salt, fat, sugar and calories.

Watching television can really be dangerous to your health. And it’s not just because we sit for so long – although that’s certainly part of the problem. A recent study revealed just how bad a diet could be if it were based entirely on foods advertised on television (and yes, there are people who actually eat like this).

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Just because foods have less fat, sugar, or calories doesn’t make them healthy foods.

Remember when carbs were the bad guys? The food manufacturers do, I’m sure. A few years back, when everyone was doing the Atkins thing, we were deluged with everything from the impossible-sounding low-carb bread to carb-counter’s chocolate fudge. Trouble was, everyone was too focused on the details – in keeping close tabs on their carbs, they lost track of calories. And many of them gained weight.

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