Too much sugar in fruit?

Although sugar in fruit is natural and unrefined, is it still bad to eat too much of it? Is it a bad idea to eat 5 portions of fruit per day and no veg?

They generally suggest that your 5 a day be 3 of vegetables and 2 of fruit. The sugar in fruit is naturally occuring fructose, it is digested reasonably slowly and therefore won't carry the same impications for health risk as the table sugar (dextrose) we all think of when we think about sugar, which is an un-natural mixture of fructose and faster absorbing (high GI) glucose. Bottom line is, if that banana in your hand is there instead of a bag of crisps - you're on the right track. If you're chomping a mars bar that could have been a nice fresh surprisingly sweet raw carrot - you're on the wrong track. If you've swapped that carrot for the banana, well you're not really too far away now are you?

Aha! Nicely put. I have IBS- do you think I'm better off sticking to the 2x fruit, 3x veg rule? I think I eat too much of both at the moment! 

The 5-a-day was only put in place as a very basic minimum for people to aim for in a bid to increase the general health of the population. Up to 13 different types of fruit/veg per day isn't unrealistic or excessive, particularly if you're vegetarian. My average fruit and veg intake is about 8 per day, the balance does change though and I eat a bit more fruit in hot weather and a bit more veg in cold weather.

With your IBS, you might find it's not the fruit and veg that's primarily upsetting your stomach but something else you're eating.

Best thing I can suggest for IBS is to try and avoid foods that are known to aggrevate or be harsh on the stomach / bowels, ie, heavily spiced, cofee, alcohol, very high fat content etc, and keep a food diary. Over time the diary should reveal which foods disagree with you. Once you know that, you can adjust accordingly. I suffered with IBS myself, turned out it was red meat that disagreed with me, so it is a rare treat these days.  

Not sure I could give up my steak and stews! Especially in the winter. But I guess, red meat is hard to digest. I somewhere that it can take like 20 days or something ridiculous for a steak to fully pass through your digestive system?!

I had reflexology at the weekend which is supposed to help with the symptoms of IBS. However, cutting out the likes of coffee, alcohol etc does help too.