Tangerines and Natural Sugar

Tangerines remain a very tasty fruit and that is why they are so popular. However, in some circles, the popularity of tangerines has taken a bit of a dip due to many of the recent diet fads such as Sugar Busters or The Low Carb Diet. While it is understandable that people wish to cut back on sugar and carbohydrates, a tangerine should never be considered a dietary item to avoid. Rather, you should just avoid eating too many of them. Most people do not realize this because they have been told many inaccurate “horror stories” about eating fruits such as a tangerine. So, let’s dispel a number of myths about the carbs, sugars, and calories found in tangerines.

First and foremost, you will lose weight only one way: cutting calories. Most low carb diets and sugar free diets deliver weight loss because the elimination of refined sugars from the diet will also reduce calorie consumption. The key word here is “refined” as this refers to processed sugars. The sugars found in tangerines are natural sugars. That is why tangerines have such a low calorie content. Actually, the average tangerine probably has only about 100 calories. That is certainly not a lot of calories so one should not be worried about weight gain unless one eats a great many tangerines along with a lot of other food. Doing so will drive one’s calorie count way up into the stratosphere and lead to weight gain.

Natural sugars also have a much different impact on the human body than refined sugars. Refined sugars break down in an incredibly quick manner. That means that their ability to limit your hunger pangs is non-existent. So, within a very short period of time, a person will quickly become hungry once again. Tangerines are comprised of natural sugars. This means the sugar breaks down very slowly over time. As a result, one does not become hungry so quickly and will not seek more food right away. This alone will help a person lose weight since tangerines are not promoting overeating.

Additionally, refined sugars provide no nutritional value. When you eat a tangerine, you are not only acquiring natural sugars. You are ingesting many helpful vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. This is also another reason why cutting out tangerines from one’s diet is not a wise idea.

While it is most definitely not a bad idea to reduce sugar intake, to eliminate tangerines because they contain natural sugars is just not a good idea. There are many other food choices one would benefit from eliminating from a diet. Tangerines do not belong on such a list.

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