It is imperative to eat fruit to follow a balanced and healthy diet. Fruit provides us with a lot of benefits: they have vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants; their high water content helps hydration; and due to their fiber content, they regulate our intestinal transit. Although it is not correct to say that some fruits make you fat and others make you thinner, the truth is some have more calories than others, so we should not overeat them.
In this article we are going to talk about calories in fruit, what are bananas, apples or even avocados like. Before this, though, we are going to mention the definition of calories and how they affect us.
What are calories?
A calorie is a unit of energy. The calories in the food we eat every day act as fuel or energy, so that our body can do all the actions it should, like walking or breathing and even sleeping. The calorie problem occurs when we consume more calories than we waste. This is why people usually gain weight.
Most food and drinks have calories, as all of them provide our body with nutrients. Now, among these nutrients, we find carbohydrates, proteïns and fats, and they not all act the same way in our body.
But not all calories are the same. Food may have more or less energy, but depending on the nutrients it contains, our body will absorb it one way or another.
For instance, pastries have large amounts of sugar and fat, which will quickly be noticed on the abdomen or hips. These are simple sugars, which go straight to the blood. The body then releases insulin, producing fat storage and regular recurring hunger.
List of fruits and their calories
Fruit, like most food, contains calories and provides us with different nutrients. Most of it is water, between 75-95%, and the rest of the components are fiber, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and fructose. The latter is basically what the sugar in fruit is called.
As it is sugar, it is usually also reflected in the number of calories contained in that particular piece of fruit. That does not mean we should stop eating them because of their high fructose content since all kinds of fruits are good for our bodies. However, we must be careful with quantities and eat a wide variety of them.
Like everything, the balance between the consumption of some fruits and others is going to be the best for our body to be able to obtain all the nutrients it needs without consuming too many calories. In the following lines, we will have a look at the calories these 15 fruits have:
1. Banana
Bananas have a very high nutritional value, and they stand out due to their composition, as it produces a satiating effect and helps to eliminate liquids. Apart from being made up of 74% water, it contains high amounts of carbohydrates, up to 20%.
It also stands out because of its high mineral content such as potassium and magnesium. This makes it one of the best allies for athletes, as it provides them with a lot of energy, almost at the level of sports drinks.
However, bananas carry with them the bad reputation of being hypercaloric and "making people gain weight." This is relative, if we look at their calorie level.
It all depends on how much the piece of fruit weighs, but if you compare it with other fruit, like an apple, which usually weighs more, its calorie level is nearly the same.
Banana calories: about 100g of banana is equivalent to about 85 kcal.
2. Apple
It is a very versatile fruit that we can have in many different ways, raw or cooked, in sweet dished or even salty ones. If we eat apples with their skin, we can help burn fats due to their ursolic acid content.
It is a very healthy fruit that does not have any controversies regarding its intake. It has beneficial properties that help our body to eliminate toxins. In addition, it is the perfect option to calm the nervous hunger, since it helps to make people feel satiated.
Apple calories: There are around 50 calories in 100g of apple. (Although the different types of apples there are do not make it an exact amount.)
3. Avocado
Avocado is one of the fruits with more calories, together with coconut. But, although it is a fruit with high caloric content, we should not get obsessed with this information. Avocado is healthy because it has a large number of good unsaturated fats.
Fats, in general, are what delay the feeling of being hungry and, when combined with protein, they do not activate insulin, which is what produces quick drops in sugar and stimulates appetite. The digestion of avocado is difficult and slow, so it also contributes to the organism to take longer to ask for food.
Calories in avocados: In 100g of avocado, there is 160 kcal.
4. Watermelon
Watermelon is a fascinating fruit, because, despite its great properties, it is deficient in calories. Most of it is water, but also has high amounts of lycopene, a substance with antioxidant properties, typical of tomatoes, hence its red color. It is also rich in vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium and L-citrulline, an element that helps to soothe muscle pain.
It is perfect for satiating the desire to snack something sweet between meals, which is when you will get the most out of all its properties.
Watermelon calories: 100 g of this fruit is equivalent to 30 kcal.
5. Melon
After the watermelon, this is the fruit with higher water content, so it is a diuretic fruit that will help us not to retain unnecessary liquids. It is a refreshing, sweet-tasting and easy to digest fruit. It contains high levels of fiber, so it is recommended for regulating intestinal function and is perfect for weight control diets.
In addition, the cantaloupe, a type of melon, contains a substance called zeaxanthin, which helps protect eye health.
Melon calories: 37 kcal in 100g.
6. Orange
The orange is the fruit that contains higher levels of vitamin C. It is a very healthy fruit, because, besides its relatively low amount of calories, it has a lot of fiber and antioxidants.
It is not the same to have an orange than to have an orange juice because to make it we use plenty of oranges, so it will have more calories. In addition, the levels of fiber a juice has are lower, so the natural sugars in the juice are going to be assimilated faster in our body.
Calories in an orange: (depending on its type) Generally, 100g of orange has 38 calories.
7. Strawberries
Like the rest of red fruits, they are characterized by a great nutritional density; this means it provides a lot of nutrients per each calorie. In addition, their level of sugar is very low.
Among the strawberry benefits, it should be noted that it has properties to prevent some neurodegenerative diseases, as well as its anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant power. In addition, although not at the same level of oranges, the level of vitamin C in strawberries is also high.
How many calories in strawberries: 34 kcal in 100g of this fruit.
8. Kiwi
It is the best fruit to combat constipation, as it has a high content of soluble fiber, it helps digestion and to improve intestinal transit. In addition, its levels of vitamin C are as high, or even higher, that the ones in oranges, so it helps us to absorb iron and strengthen our immune system.
Kiwis generally provide many more calories than other fruits we have already mentioned. These calories come from the high natural sugar content in kiwis.
Kiwi calories: 60 kcal per 100 g.
9. Mandarin
It provides a low quantity of sugar, it has a high percentage of water in its composition, and its fat content is practically zero. It is also a natural source of dietetic fiber, and it makes you feel satiated, so it is a perfect fruit for loss weight diet.
Calories in mandarines: It is similar to oranges, so 100 g of mandarin has 37 calories.
10. Pear
85% of the pear is water, so this fruit easily makes us feel satiated. It is a fruit that contains essential antioxidants to lose weight, as they prevent liquid retention and also help to eliminate toxins and fats from the body.
Pear calories: only 38 kcal in 100 g of pear.
11. Grapefruit
The grapefruit is a subtropical fruit with high levels of vitamin C, fiber, and pectins. Its reddish tone is due to its high content in powerful antioxidants called lycopene.
Grapefruit calories: a medium sized piece contains approximately 76 calories.
12. Mango
Mango has a great variety of nutrients, but it only has significative amounts of vitamin C and folate. However, not only the flesh of mango has vitamins and nutrients. The pigments in its shell also contain carotenoids such as provitamin A, beta-carotene and different types of polyphenols.
Mango calories: 100 grams of this fruit contains around 60 calories.
13. Peach
Peach is a large stone fruit with a soft and fleshy inside. One piece of this medium-sized fruit contains small amounts of essential nutrients, including vitamin A, C, E and K, thiamine, riboflavin, and folate.
Calories in a peach: 100 grams of peach (this is, a medium-sized peach) contains only 39 calories.
14. Grapes
Grapes are small fruits that, from a botanic point of view, are considered part of the berry family. This type of fruit usually grows in clusters of between 15 and 300 fruits and can range from yellow or green to crimson, pink or dark purple.
Calories in grapes: 100 grams of grapes have approximately 69 calories.
15. Medjool dates
Medjool dates are one of the most commercialized and consumed types of dates around the world. It provides with a wide range of essential nutrients, and they are an excellent potassium source. It also has many calories.
Calories in Medjool dates: 277 calories in 100 grams of this fruit.
- Original article at viviendolasalud.com: ¿Cuántas calorías tiene la fruta? 15 ejemplos