Avoid one particular fruit if you want to lose weight, says expert Dr Michael Mosley

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz & Sonia Sharma
·2-min read
Dr Michael Mosley has offered advice on which fruits to eat
Dr Michael Mosley has offered advice on which fruits to eat -Credit:Getty Images


One particular fruit could be hampering your efforts to lose weight and should be avoided, according to diet expert Dr Michael Mosley.

The NHS recommends eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but if your aim is to lose weight, there's one type that you may want to avoid altogether. Dr Mosley, who created the Fast 800 diet and popularised the 5:2 diet, claims bananas aren't as beneficial as you think when it comes to weight loss.

He acknowledges you should eat fruit and veg, but urges dieters not to eat more than seven portions in a day. "Fruit is great if you're healthy but if you have weight to lose, then switching to less sugary fruits like apples and berries might be wise," he said in a conversation with sbs.com.au. Some fruits are very high in sugar, such as mangoes which can contain up to 45 grams of sugar per fruit.

Instead, Dr Mosley recommends opting for fruits that are lower in sugar, such as raspberries, which have around 5 grams in one cup, reports the Mirror. Replying to a comment on social media back in 2021, Dr Mosley further explained: "A banana has equivalent of about three teaspoons of sugar, but also has three grams of fibre. If you eat the skin - even more fibre. Berries, apples and pears are fine. But limit tropical fruits such as mango, melon and pineapple. Go easy on the bananas."

If your goal is weight loss, Dr Mosley also recommended staying away from "anything you can buy at a service station that is ultra-processed foods and convenience items we all know are bad for us but still eat in astonishing quantities". He added: "If it's heavily marketed, in bright packaging and full of fat, sugar and salt, it will likely affect our health and mood - and not for the better."

When trying to lose weight, the NHS recommends reducing calories from the daily allowance, which is 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men, to 1,400 for women and 1,900 for men.

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