The natural sugar in whole fruit, which is also called Fructose, is accompanied by fibre, and nutrients, makes a slow journey through the body. But when sugar is added to beverages or packaged foods, it’s more quickly absorbed and burdens the liver. There are three good reasons to choose whole fruits versus foods with added sugar or fruit juice.

First, whole fruits contain natural fibre, which slows the absorption of fructose. Sugars enter the bloodstream more slowly, so the liver has more time to metabolise them.

Second, processed foods are digested quickly as soon as it enters our intestines. Fibre-rich fruits like whole fruits break down slowly and travel farther through the digestive tract, which triggers the release of satiety hormones that make us feel full.

Third, the slow journey of fibre, fructose and nutrients in whole fruit essentially allows the body to feed the healthy bacteria in our intestine, supporting the health of our microbiome.