For decades, women, especially those of us juggling the emotional demands of caregiving, healing work, and personal transformation, have been told to fear fruit. We’ve been taught that fruit spikes blood sugar, worsens diabetes, and derails weight loss.
But what if I told you the opposite is true?
If you’ve been avoiding bananas or berries because you’re worried about blood sugar or trying to follow a low-carb or ketogenic diet, it’s time to reconsider. In this post, we’re going to explore how fruit can actually support balanced blood sugar and why the popular keto diet may be doing more harm than good, especially for your mental health and emotional well-being.
Fruit and Blood Sugar: What Science Really Says
Busting the Fruit Myth
Contrary to what we’ve been led to believe, eating a piece of fruit with a meal doesn’t spike your blood sugar; it can actually lower your blood sugar response.
Yes, you read that right.
Several randomized controlled trials, considered the gold standard in research, have shown that swapping in fruit for higher glycemic carbs (like white bread or processed snacks) improves blood sugar control.
Key takeaway: Fruit is not the enemy. In fact, it might be your best friend when you’re trying to support your mood, energy, and long-term wellness.
Why Keto Might Be Hurting You (Even If It Seems to Work Short-Term)
Let’s talk about the ketogenic diet. This ultra-low-carb, high-fat eating style is often promoted for weight loss and blood sugar control.
But beneath the surface, keto may actually be contributing to insulin resistance, inflammation, and emotional dysregulation, especially for women who are already struggling with mood disorders, addiction recovery, or hormonal imbalances.
High Fat, High Risk
Going keto can cause your saturated fat intake to quadruple. And we’ve known since the 1960s that high-fat diets interfere with insulin, the hormone that helps your body manage blood sugar. Just one fatty meal (like a milkshake or even a stick of butter) can increase insulin resistance within hours.
That means your body becomes less able to handle the carbs you do eat. It also creates more internal stress and inflammation, two things we definitely don’t need more of when we’re working through emotional healing.
Methylglyoxal, AGEs, and the Hidden Dangers of Keto
One of the biggest dangers of high-fat, animal-based diets like keto isn’t just insulin resistance. It’s something even sneakier: methylglyoxal.
Methylglyoxal is a metabolic byproduct that’s super toxic to your cells. It’s known to damage nerves and blood vessels, and it’s a leading cause of the complications we see in diabetes. This nasty little molecule creates AGEs (advanced glycation end products) that age your cells and spark inflammation throughout the body.
The Shocking Part?
You might expect that avoiding sugar on a keto diet would lower methylglyoxal levels. But researchers at Dartmouth discovered the opposite: people following Atkins (a popular keto variation) had higher levels of methylglyoxal after just 2–3 weeks.
Those in active ketosis, the state keto dieters aim for, had double the amount of glycotoxins in their bloodstream.
One reason? Acetone, a ketone your body makes on a ketogenic diet, is a chemical relative of nail polish remover. It contributes to glycotoxin formation even in the absence of sugar.
Yikes.
So What Should You Eat Instead?
If keto isn’t the answer and fruit isn’t the problem what should you actually eat to feel good, stay energized, and support long-term healing?
Here’s what I recommend to my clients in helping professions who are healing from depression, addiction, or burnout:
Whole Plant-Based Foods with a Focus on Fiber
Think:
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Oats, quinoa, sweet potatoes
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Beans and lentils
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Leafy greens and cruciferous veggies
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Colorful fruits like berries, apples, and citrus
Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, which helps keep your energy stable and supports your gut health (hello, happy hormones).
Fruit with Meals = A Smart Blood Sugar Strategy
Eating fruit with a meal, especially one with healthy fats and plant-based protein, can actually lower the blood sugar spike from the rest of the meal. This is a powerful and natural way to stabilize your mood and energy.
Try:
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Sliced apple with almond butter on sprouted toast
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Berries in your morning oats
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Citrus salad with avocado and chickpeas
Watch the Fats, Especially Saturated and Animal-Based Ones
Plant fats like avocado, nuts, seeds, and olives are much gentler on your system than saturated fats from meat and dairy.
Try swapping:
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Coconut oil for avocado or almond oil
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Butter for olive oil or tahini
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Cheese for cashew-based spreads
Your insulin will thank you and so will your brain and nervous system.
The Mood–Blood Sugar Connection
If you’re living with chronic low mood or emotional instability, you might be surprised to learn that your dietary fat and blood sugar levels are deeply connected to how you feel.
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Spikes in blood sugar can lead to crashes bringing anxiety, irritability, or even depressive dips.
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High saturated fat intake promotes inflammation, which has been directly linked to depression and brain fog.
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Poor blood sugar control increases stress hormones, which can disrupt sleep, cravings, and emotional regulation.
This is why balanced blood sugar through real, whole foods is so critical, not just for physical health but for your emotional resilience.
Real Talk: You Don’t Need to Fear Fruit
Here’s the thing, the fear of fruit is rooted in diet culture, not science. There is so much misinformation and disinformation on the internet these days it honestly makes my head spin but seeing it spread by medical professionals is more than disappointing. This is doing most harm instead of least harm.
Fruit contains fiber, antioxidants, hydration, and life-force energy that supports your entire being, from your blood sugar to your brain chemistry. When we demonize fruit, we disconnect from the abundance nature offers us for healing. We also keep people sick and reliant on supplements and the medical system. They create perpetual customers dependant on the system and these folks (victims of misinformation) are not experiencing quality of life.
Final Thoughts: Choose Food That Loves You Back
If you’ve been on the keto train, or if you’ve cut out fruit because you were told it was “too sugary,” I invite you to pause and reflect.
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Has that restriction brought you peace, energy, or mental clarity?
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Or has it made food feel more confusing, restrictive, or disconnected?
You deserve to eat in a way that supports your full healing mind, body, and spirit. And that starts with releasing fear around fruit and embracing nourishment for your cellular health.
Fruit isn’t dangerous. It’s deeply nourishing, especially for the brain. And when you eat in a way that truly supports your brain and blood sugar, everything changes: your energy, your mood, your focus, even your sense of hope.
And here’s the beautiful news: you don’t have to figure this out on your own.
Ready for a Real Breakthrough?
If you’ve been struggling with low mood, foggy thinking, addiction recovery, emotional overwhelm, or chronic fatigue, your brain may be crying out for a different kind of nourishment, the kind that starts on your plate, but goes so much deeper.
In the Brain Health Breakthrough Coaching Program, I’ll guide you step-by-step to understand:
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What’s really going on with your brain and body
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Why certain foods sabotage your emotional resilience
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And what to eat to stabilize your mood, energy, and cravings for good
This program is designed especially for women in helping professions who’ve been taking care of everyone else but are now ready to reclaim their own health and joy.
Click here to learn more and apply for the next round of Brain Health Breakthrough Coaching.
You deserve to feel like you again and it all starts with giving your brain the love it needs to heal.
TL;DR – Key Takeaways:
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Fruit with meals can lower blood sugar spikes, not raise them.
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Keto diets may raise insulin resistance and toxic glycotoxins.
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Saturated fats impair insulin and promote inflammation.
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Whole plant-based meals with fruit and fiber support stable energy and mood.
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You don’t have to fear fruit. Your body knows what to do with real food.
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