# Is fruit good for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 11, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193 "2003-06-11T20:33:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/41 "2003-06-12T22:26:43Z")
Eh? ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/42 "2003-06-12T22:31:28Z")
Dang it! My last post was supposed to go after grienspace’ s strange post!! Why can’t we edit our own posts here? Anyway, LOL, I still figure we aren’t great apes, but hey, I’m too lazy to really find out today 😃 We can’t eat grass but we can eat ‘leaves’ in salads!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/43 "2003-06-12T22:32:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Recognition of our profound kinship with great apes began 141 years ago, when Charles Darwin startled the world with the implication that humans had evolved from an apelike ancestor. Yet serious study of apes in the wild did not begin until a century after the publication of the Origin of Species, and only in the past decade have scientists reached a consensus about the evolutionary relationships between humans and great apes. DNA evidence indicates that we last shared a common ancestor with the orangutan roughly 15 million years ago, with the gorilla roughly 8 million years ago, and with chimpanzees and bonobos (the latter sometimes known as pygmy chimps) about 5 million to 7 million years ago. These molecular data not only confirm that chimps and bonobos are our evolutionary kin but also show that they are more closely related to us than they are to gorillas. (Because the DNA evidence also implies that humans are a kind of great ape, I refer to the others as forest apes.) That is an excerpt from a Natural History article at[URL=http://www.findarticles.com/cf\_0/m1134/10\_109/68148549/p1/article.jhtml?term=bonobo] ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/44 "2003-06-12T22:34:01Z")
Oh, but they are talking about putting the great apes under the ‘h0m0’ label, thus giving them ‘human rights’…I saw that in our newspaper the other day, and I found that on a site already! Tribe Hominini Subtribe Pongina, Pongo: orangutans Subtribe Hominina Gorilla: gorillas Homo (Homo): humans Homo (Pan): chimpanzees, bonobo So are apes ‘human’, or are humans apes? LOL!! ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/45 "2003-06-12T22:37:35Z")
Man, I wish I could get on nightly and post all that about humans being a ‘kind of ape’, it would drive a few of the creationists crazy there!!! LOL, I posted the info about apes being moved up to h0m0, and they went nuts saying things like ‘your uncle’s a monkey’ and joking that they weren’t going to invite chimps to their christmas dinner!! Was so funny!! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Calculus_of_Logic)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/46 "2003-06-12T23:03:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SlowMindThinking \* > \*\* > Absolutely, but a balanced diet is way more than Dew. > > Now, you’re talking a diet, one that satiates you so well, and io much cheaper to just buy a bunch of bananas, some veggies, and the fixens for PBJ sandwiches. And, of course they mass manufacture all of these pills you take in just the right manner for you. :rolleyes: \*\* What? Your spelling and text went downhill. No they don’t mass manufacture pills for individuals. what proof is there that fruit is healthy while pepsi is junk food when both are sugar water, or that people on a budget should pay for fruit instead of mountain dew? I admit a person would have to eat about 3 apples to get the sugar they get in a can of pepsi, but I am still not getting a good argument. Just conjecture. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/47 "2003-06-12T23:14:17Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by The Calculus of Logic \* \*\*what proof is there that fruit is healthy?\*\*The human race is still here after having eaten the stuff for thousands of years. > [@](#): > > …while pepsi is junk food… Whether or not Pepsi is junk is a separate question. [quote] when both are sugar water [/quote[ As many have said in this thread, fruit contains more than just sugar and water. Sure, you can replace all the other stuff with supplements(maybe), but it gets a bit like the argument that Shakespeare didn’t write all those plays - it was someone else with the same name. > [@](#): > > …or that people on a budget should pay for fruit instead of mountain dew?\*\* I still think the soda and supplements(more than one pill per day, based on what others have said in this thread) will be more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/48 "2003-06-12T23:15:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Calculus of Logic \* > **what proof is there that fruit is healthy?** The human race is still here after having eaten the stuff for thousands of years. > [@](#): > > …while pepsi is junk food… Whether or not Pepsi is junk is a separate question. > [@](#): > > when both are sugar water As many have said in this thread, fruit contains more than just sugar and water. Sure, you can replace all the other stuff with supplements(maybe), but it gets a bit like the argument that Shakespeare didn’t write all those plays - it was someone else with the same name. > [@](#): > > …or that people on a budget should pay for fruit instead of mountain dew?\*\* I still think the soda and supplements(more than one pill per day, based on what others have said in this thread) will be more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/49 "2003-06-12T23:24:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SlowMindThinking \* > Grienspace, bears eat berries in the fall because that is when berries mature in bear habitats. Many birds eat berries. Ever see a fat bird? :dubious: \*\* no, you’re kidding. 🙂 . wouldn’t you say that berries mature in human habitat as well? But bears do not have the ability to preserve large amounts of fruit throughout the year. Just like us humans several thousand years ago. And yes, I’ve seen fat birds. They are called chickens. But us mammals are not birds and we do not have the energy demands that flying birds have particularly in the fall when they migrate south following the maturation of northern fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Daikona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Daikona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daikona)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/50 "2003-06-13T05:00:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeadlyAccurate \* > \*\*Looks like an awful lot of veggies to me. \*\* Depends on your perspective. I eat more than that in a _meal_ sometimes, I can’t fathom 3 cups total looking like a lot for a full day. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/51 "2003-06-13T05:56:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Calculus of Logic \* > **i think you meant ‘i dare you’, so i will ask any of them here.** Right, right. Dammit, _preview_ is my friend! ☹ \*\* > [@](#): > > However, i want an honest, non-status quo oriented reply about the nutritional and economic superiority of fruits over soda and supplements.\*\* You want a “non-status quo” answer? Why this conditional? You suspect there’s some conspiracy theory with the fruit and vegatable growers going on? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Calculus_of_Logic)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/52 "2003-06-13T06:21:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Freyr \* > \*\* > You want a “non-status quo” answer? Why this conditional? You suspect there’s some conspiracy theory with the fruit and vegatable growers going on? \*\* what i mean is something more in depth than the usual ‘fruit = good, pepsi = bad’ knee jerk argument. I want actual scientific proof that i’m wrong. Most of what i’m getting in this post is conjecture. As far as the ‘conspiracy’, only someone who gets all their info from the jew run liberal media would call it a conspiracy. My grandfather was a farmer, i know first hand that there is a conspiracy. You just wait and see when the truth comes out, then you’ll look stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/53 "2003-06-13T07:03:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Calculus of Logic \* > \*\*As far as the ‘conspiracy’, only someone who gets all their info from the jew run liberal media would call it a conspiracy. My grandfather was a farmer, i know first hand that there is a conspiracy. You just wait and see when the truth comes out, then you’ll look stupid. \*\* Please tell me you’re joking with this comment? I didn’t see any smilies, so I wanted to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@The\_Calculus\_of\_Logic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Calculus_of_Logic)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/54 "2003-06-13T07:32:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Freyr \* > \*\*Please tell me you’re joking with this comment? I didn’t see any smilies, so I wanted to be sure. \*\* Never heard of the randall report of 81? The cover-up in 68? I suggest you google them. Farmers are the cause of the modern ‘health’ industry. Farming lobbies routinely contract biased polls and studies that makes processed foods out to be more unhealthy than they really are and ‘fruits and vegetables’ more healthy than they really are so they can push their products. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/55 "2003-06-13T10:01:54Z")
In that case, I don’t think there’s anything anyone could say that would convince you. ---
**Author:** ![mooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mooka)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/56 "2003-06-13T10:59:59Z")
woah - jew run liberal media? farmers conspiracy to make us eat fruit and veg? Has someone stolen your username and is having a laugh or something? Regarding this ridiculous debate about whether fruit or soda plus pills is better/cheaper. I don’t know about the US, but here in the UK fruit would be a lot cheaper. We don’t get mountain dew here, but for the same price of a two litre bottle of coke you can get about 5 apples and 5 bananas. As previous posters has said, fruit has less sugar, and has nutrients you can’t get in pills. And it means you can’t get too much sugar from it - you feel full before you do. That doesn’t happen with soda. And to top it all off, fruit is cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/57 "2003-06-13T11:07:02Z")
You must be part of the _conspiracy_, **mooka** , otherwise you wouldn’t say those things. Anyway, you have no proof, apart from all those facts you listed. ---
**Author:** ![mooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mooka)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/58 "2003-06-13T11:34:48Z")
Damn you found me out **Mangetout**. Thats my credibility shattered. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/59 "2003-06-13T11:40:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daikona \* > \*\*Depends on your perspective. I eat more than that in a _meal_ sometimes, I can’t fathom 3 cups total looking like a lot for a full day. \*\* You must’ve missed this part: > [@](#): > > \*\*And that’s only the first two weeks of the diet. \*\*After, “You will add more portions of vegetables, and most people will be able to gradually add nuts, seeds and even some berries. It’s important to understand that you will not be shifting significantly away from protein and fat to carbs, although you will be slowly changing the ratio of carbs to that of fat and protein.” I had a bowl of cauliflower yesterday that was probably at least 2 cups alone. And that was just breakfast. My dinner included about 3 cups of salad. ---
**Author:** ![yoyo3500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5daacb/32.png) [@yoyo3500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyo3500)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193/60 "2003-06-13T13:20:45Z")
Rather than ask if fruit is good for you, I’d rather ask, are you good for fruit? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fruit-good-for-you/181193.md?page=4)