Too Much Fruit?

The Food and Drug Administration states 5 servings of fruits and vegatables. It does not matter if it is fruit and veges OR fruit OR veges. You are doing a great job, keep offering it all!

Don't worry. My daughter is the same. She eats tons of fresh fruit every day and has since she was little. She is also one of the healthiest kids I know. She can eat a pint of blueberries at one meal alone!
L.

Until I read your post I never thought about it. My kids eat like this daily. I have to keep fresh fruit available all the time it seems. They are all healthy, all graze throughout the day. My 12 year old will want a snack and choose for herself a piece of fruit, a cheese stick, granola, things like this. Sure they'd like candy & such, but because it is limited they seem to want the natural sugars more. Watching her grow and make these choices is a reward unto itself. Hopefully the other 4 will follow, but they seem to be. Although one of my 2 year old twins has such a want of dill pickles I hope they don't make her a sourpuss! LOL!

Enjoy it, and good for you for keeping those things handy for him.

D.

My three year old goes through the same spurts! Although not as much fruit. But he does love fruit! I feel that it is their bodies way of getting what they are needing nutritionally wise! As long as the fruit doesn't cause any problems on the bottom because of too much poo then there shouldn't be any problem. It is wise to keep a track though on this if it is something that keeps up for years to come.

My oldest loved vegies and my youngest loves fruit!

Hi M.!
My son is the same way. At 4, he's tall and lanky. My pedi said the same thing... let him eat all the fruits and veggies his heart desires. It can't get any healthier, and he's not snacking on some processed thing when he's gobbling down bananas or grapes or watermelon! On the days he's not in preschool, my Mom often leaves the fruit she cut up for breakfast out on the table and he will literally pick at it all morning... and then have a great lunch, too! Like I said, he's tall and skinny, wears 5T clothes, but of course, with the elastic inside the pants pulled to the last available hole!!! :) What would we do without those????? Biggest thing is that he's healthy and making healthy choices because he loves them. Encourage it! Good luck!

Hi M.,
I agree with the other Moms-- as long as he doesn't have diarrhea and is otherwise healthy, keep giving him fruit! I try to restrict my daughter's juice intake, especially before nap and bedtime, but otherwise, I'd be thrilled if she ate that much fresh food.
By the way, I was reminded when I read your post of an article in today's New York Times about a man who has lived almost exclusively on candy for his entire 50 years. Think of how much worse it could be!
Here's a link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/dining/28Rudn.html?_r=1...

Cheers and Happy Halloween!
A.

I agree with the other advise. Both that you're very fortunate, mix it up a bit, & what your doc. said! If you make a "fruit" salad, you can add almonds, or anything of the sorts, Kale is great, can't taiste it when mixed into things, red pepper, plus whatever else you want, in a sour cream or whatever kind of sauce. It's healthy & yummy, & he'll be getting a balanced treat, not all just sugar, even natural. :) I don't know if you can eat too much fruit or not, but I think he's a kid, he obviously is craving it, his body likes it! I know tho, that If I give my kids too much of a certain fruit like grapes, or raisins, they get very loose stool, where as if I give them too much banana, quite the oppisite. So I just have to balance it out. I'm taking care of my nieces & nephew right now while my sisters in the hospital with her youngest, & my 22 Month old niece went about 2 weeks straight where she would go through 3-4 bananas a day every day. Now I can't get her to touch a banana, & all she wants is grapes! Next week Im sure it will be oranges. LoL. So she too goes through a bit of a spurt too. But honestly, in my way uneducated opinion, I think it's natural suguar, your body processes it different then white or other sugar. I think if he craves it his body is telling him something, & he should listen to his body! Just maby throw some other things into the mix, like veggies with dip or something..

I wouldn't worry, in fact I would encourage it. The only thing is that my son's doctor recommended not letting him have more than one large or two small bananas a day. Something about too much of some vitamins or something.

hi

I don't think the fruit is a problem and the great thing is, he is eating RAW fruits which are high in vitamins and minerals which help the body thrive.. As oppose to some kids who will only eat fruit cocktail and junk like that.
However, eventually you might want to mix it up as those fruits (bananas especially) have a high glycemic index and raise the bloodsugar more readily than other fruits such as an apple. It seems that your child tends towards the sweeter fruit that being said, why not throw a raw red pepper in there to mix it up a bit. They are sweet and crunchy which come kids like. My son loves them. In addition, have you tried persimmons? That is a fruit that is currently in season (whereas bananas really aren't always in season, we import them.... eating seasonally will also help with the grocery bill in that fruits/veggies that are in season tend to cost less. In addition and if he continues to enjoy so much fruit, I would just make sure that after he eats it, you give him some water to flush the sugars out of his mouth , this way, no sugar (natural or not) build up... even natural sugar can cause cavities..

best of luck to you!!

According to Dr. Oz we should all be eating nine handfulls of fruits and veggies a day. It's awesome that your child enjoys fruit and absolutely nothing wrong with it, think of all the kids that are living on junk and candy and soda, it's so sad....
Elijah is getting a great start!
You should cut up raw veggies as well and mix them in from time to time, soft things like zucchini that would blend with apples and bananas. You may be raising a vegan, and that wouldnt be a bad thing.

Hi M.-
As long as your son is not constipated and his diet is balanced as your doctor said, he should be ok. What I would check for is sugar consumption and diabetes. Just watch out for high sugar levels- get them checked yearly. THe only intake I would be truly concerned about (because my parents planted a garden and it was hugely packed with fruit and we ate it ALL!!) is juice, because it is so concentrated. BUt I really wouldn't worry per se unless there are signs of other things like diabetes or as he gets older, dessert and refined sugar intake.
I hope this helps. I think that it is great that your son likes fruit over other things, and it's a great gateway to healthy eating. =)
Good luck!
-E.

My 2 kids (ages 6 & 3) LOVE fruit too. They eat so much of it it amazes me. I say as long as your son doesn't get diarhhea (and has a balanced diet) he is fine. When my kids start getting really loose stools we cut it to just apples and bananas until it gets better. One good thing is they are never constipated!

K.

Hi M. P,

Give him fruit in the morning and veggies at night along with protein and little carbs.

Make sure he has balance.

If you need some advise on balance let me know and I can help you supplement what is missing in his diet.

Have a great day.

N. Marie

I think if his diet gets out of whack, he'll get diarrhea, and you'll know. Don't stress.

My ODS has always eaten a ton of fruit. We cannot keep enough in the house for him! He is now 14 and he has been this way since forever, and he is a very healthy child. I agree with your doctor, don't worry about it, and just be glad he's getting the vitamins and fiber.

Hi M.,
I think it is normal. I mean there is always a chance that a kid or an adult for that matter may overeat their favorite food, but I think at this age it is very common. My two year old twins do the same (born 6/19/07 btw). For e.g one of the twins loves fruit and can eat 2-3 bananas + a considerable amount of strawberries and grapes in one day. Another one prefers traditional table foods. But on the days when they are teething or when they have growth spurs, they may eat a particular food (fruit, crackers, dairy) in very large amounts. If your soon is feeling well, has normal bowel movement than it is OK. Is he drinking enough? sometimes kids may eat fruit instead of drinking water or juice.

sounds great. no worries.

Consider yourself lucky. =)