CSIRO recommends we eat two serves of fruit on a daily basis, but a whopping 93% of Australians are not meeting the daily target. There are plenty of people who quite simply don’t eat enough fruit. There are also many people who avoid fruit because it’s high in sugar. Fruit contains fructose, fructose is sugar, and we should all be avoiding too much sugar. Right??
Well, not exactly. Let’s take a look at sugar, and when to avoid it.
The difference between natural and added sugar
Sugar in fruit is fructose, and in its natural form it comes packaged up with nutrients and fibre, and without harmful additives, colours, preservatives. When you eat fruit you get energy from the fructose plus all the other nutrients your body needs on a daily basis. Sugar added to foods is devoid of these nutrients and simply gives you added calories.
Consuming excessive added sugars can lead to significant health problems, such as weight gain, increased risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and acne. Not to mention it can accelerate the ageing process and at the same time can drain your energy.
TWO serves of fruit a day won’T cAUSE WEIGHT GAIN
Whole fruit complete with fibre and nutrients won’t result in excessive weight gain. However, eating added sugar in a chocolate bar or muffin which is processed and devoid of nutrients and fibre certainly can. It can also spike your insulin, and once this drops it makes you hungry for more – a vicious cycle.
It pays to understand this difference and make informed food choices – starting with whole foods full of nutrients and fibre.
Fructose in a sports drink makes you go faaaast
We often get asked ‘why Fructose?’ Our Bindi Natural Sports Hydration contains a combination of Maltodextrin and Fructose in an effective and proven 2:1 ratio. Studies showed the combination of Maltodextrin and Fructose improves carbohydrate oxidation by 55% compared with using them alone. This can result in a 8% increase in performance.
Fructose has a slower rate of uptake and doesn’t stimulate a substantial insulin release, whereas Maltodextrin is a fast digesting carbohydrate.
They are absorbed through different channels which allows you to consume more of them, and absorb more quickly and in comfort, which improves performance over time.
Are you Fructose intolerant? Then consider using and electrolyte only drink such as Bindilyte and add your own sourced of carbohydrates that you are able to tolerate.
Beware sports drinks that contain simple sugars
Sucrose and Dextrose were common ingredients for some of the first sports drinks, and surprisingly some still use this approach. Taking what we know about excessive sugar (the ‘spike’ and ‘crash’ effect) and the long term health implications, PLUS the sub-optimal performance results from simple sugar sports drinks, and it’s time to move on from these out of date drinks.
Bindi Natural Sports Hydration has on average 30% less sugar than drinks with simple sugars, and will give you smooth, all-day energy without the spike.
Just eat real food, add sports nutrition when needed
It’s simple, it’s not very sexy and it’s not the latest fad diet. However, fruit and vegetables provide the perfect fuel for your body, with all the nutrients and fibre included. By doing this you will minimise added sugars in your diet.
When choosing sports nutrition, remember it will improve your performance (great for both training and racing) and is beneficial for intense exercise that lasts more than one hour. Look for low sugar options such as Bindi Natural Sports Hydration and Bindilyte when needed.
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