As we enter into our great Upper Peninsula summer season, we will all soon be blessed with increased availability of healthy fresh fruits. Let me again review for you the nutritional makeup of various fruits so are aware of the amount of sugar and fiber in these fruits. I favor and recommend the very healthy fruits that are lower in sugar and higher in fiber. Check out my following list of the sugar and fiber content in many of these popular fruits.

As noted below, raspberries are great with very low sugar and high fiber. Recall that all fruits contain their natural fruit sugar along with dietary fiber, and you will see that the amount of sugar and the amount of fiber varies quite a bit. Of course, the fiber in these fruits helps your digestion, so the more fiber, the better. The sugar and fiber content of various popular fruits is noted below. I generally recommend that you don’t eat too many raisins due to their extremely high sugar content.

Following is the sugar and fiber content of various fruits, listed from lowest to higher sugar content.

Raspberries – one cup – 5 grams of sugar and 8 grams of fiber

Blackberries – one cup – 7 grams of sugar and 8 grams of fiber

Strawberries – one cup – 7 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber

Cantaloupe – one cup – 11 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fiber

Watermelon – one cup – 12 grams of sugar and 1 gram of fiber

Apples – one medium – 14 grams of sugar and 5 grams of fiber

(Please note that apples can also serve as a great healthy sweet tooth satisfier.)

Blueberries – one cup – 14 grams of sugar and 4 grams of fiber

Cherries – one cup – 14 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber

Peaches – one cup – 14 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber

Pineapple – one cup – 15 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fiber

Grapes – one cup – 15 grams of sugar and 1 gram of fiber

Pears – one cup – 16 grams of sugar and 5 grams of fiber

Grapefruit – one cup – 17 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber

Oranges – one cup – 17 grams of sugar and 4 grams of fiber

Bananas – one medium – 21 grams of sugar and 4 grams of fiber

Raisins – one cup – 116 grams of sugar and 8 grams of fiber

(Be sure to take note of the extremely high sugar content in raisins.)

Like many of us, I love to snack and I will often use my EKCO brand apple slicer to remove the apple core and cut the apple into 8 slices with one motion. I then dip the apple slices into peanut butter and this makes for a very filling healthy snack. A serving of two tablespoons of peanut butter has 7 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and only 3 grams of sugar. Sliced apples are also very good with cheese.

Here is my very healthy SOS (Stop Only Sugar) Diet trail mix formula. This is so simple to make even a doctor can do it! Just mix two cups of Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts with one cup Original Fiber One Cereal and you are ready to snack. This is low sugar, high fiber and is also a great source of protein from these very healthy peanuts. Try it, you’ll love it. Happy summer to all, have fun, and eat healthy. And yes, these are Doctor’s Orders!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Jim Surrell is the author of the best-selling SOS (Stop Only Sugar) Diet book and his new Joke Book, entitled “Laughter Is Good Medicine”. Dr. Jim’s website is sosdietbook.com.