Fruit

Every fruit entry in the Typed food library. Each one is a full page: what it does, stage by stage, and what the evidence says.

• AppleMost of its fibre, and a notable antioxidant, live in the skin.
• ApricotApricots are a sweet, low-calorie fruit loaded with vitamin A that helps your eyes, skin, and immune system -- just never eat the seed inside the pit.
• BananaA practical potassium source — tablets are capped far lower for safety.
• BlackberriesOne of the few fruits with enough vitamin K that it matters for anyone on blood thinners.
• BlackcurrantBlackcurrants are small, tart berries loaded with vitamin C and deep purple plant compounds called anthocyanins that are good for your heart, eyes, and blood vessels.
• Blood OrangeBlood oranges look different because of a special red pigment — not because they have way more vitamin C than regular oranges.
• BlueberriesA mixture of hundreds of antioxidant compounds no single pill copies.
• BoysenberryBoysenberries are a man-made berry mix, packed with fiber and vitamin C, that helps your gut and immune system.
• BreadfruitBreadfruit looks like a big green potato-fruit, and just like a potato, you always cook it before eating -- raw breadfruit is hard, bitter, and unpleasant.
• CantaloupeCantaloupe is mostly water and natural sugar, but it still packs a real dose of vitamin C and vitamin A into every juicy bite.
• CherryFresh, frozen and canned cherries are the same fruit with very different amounts of added sugar.
• ClementineClementines are a quick hit of vitamin C in a fruit you can peel with your thumbs.
• CoconutCoconut has good fiber and minerals, but most of its fat is saturated fat -- the kind that can raise cholesterol if you eat a lot of it.
• CranberriesCranberries are tart, low-sugar berries packed with vitamin C and fiber, and a natural compound that keeps bad bacteria from clinging to your bladder.
• CumquatA citrus small enough to eat whole, peel included — and the peel is the sweet part.
• CurrantFresh currants are a berry. Dried currants are tiny grapes. They are different plants that happen to share a name.
• Custard AppleCustard apple's sweet, creamy pulp is packed with vitamin C and potassium — just don't eat the seeds or skin, which contain a toxin.
• DateVery sweet, and genuinely sweet on its own — nothing is added. The fibre and potassium are what separate it from a sweet.
• DatesDates taste like candy, but their fiber helps keep blood sugar from spiking as fast as you'd expect.
• Davidson PlumA very tart native plum, rich in vitamin C and deep purple plant pigments.
• Dragon FruitDragon fruit is a juicy, mildly sweet fruit that gives you vitamin C and fiber, and its red color can turn your pee or poop pink for a day -- that's totally normal.
• Dried Apricots1,428 mg of potassium per hundred — the highest of any fruit in the library.
• DurianDurian is a big, spiky, super creamy tropical fruit loaded with energy, potassium, and vitamin C — but it really doesn't mix well with alcohol.
• FeijoaA small, fragrant fruit that’s low in calories but a decent source of vitamin C and fibre.
• FigsOne of the few fruits with a real calcium contribution, especially dried.
• Fruit SaladDrain it and you pour away some of the vitamin C; keep the juice and you keep the sugar too.
• Goji BerryA dried fruit that behaves like other dried fruits, whatever the packet says.
• GooseberryThis tangy little berry packs a real vitamin C punch — and it's not the same fruit as the "Indian gooseberry" people sometimes confuse it with.
• GrapeThe different colours are mostly a difference in pigment, not in sugar.
• GrapefruitGrapefruit is packed with vitamin C, but it can also make certain medicines act stronger than they should.
• GrapesContains resveratrol — the same compound sold as a standalone supplement.
• GuavaA single guava can give you more vitamin C than several oranges — seeds, skin, and all.
• Honeydew MelonHoneydew is basically nature's flavored water — light, hydrating, and still packed with real vitamin C and potassium.
• JackfruitJackfruit tastes sweet and fruity and shreds like pulled meat, but it's really a fiber-and-potassium fruit, not a protein powerhouse.
• KiwiMore vitamin C than an orange, plus a genuine digestive enzyme.
• KiwifruitGold kiwifruit is sweeter with more vitamin C; green is sharper with more fibre and more of the enzyme that helps digest protein.
• KumquatKumquats are eaten whole — sweet peel and tart middle together — so you get fiber and vitamin C in one bite-sized package.
• LemonA real vitamin C source — though the lemon water detox claims go well past the evidence.
• Lemon PeelMost of a lemon's fibre and aroma is in the skin, not the juice.
• LimeA lime won't make your body "alkaline" or flush out toxins — but it is a real, small source of vitamin C.
• LonganLongan is a sweet, juicy little fruit that packs a big dose of vitamin C into very few calories.
• LoquatA small orange fruit that ripens in early spring, when almost nothing else does.
• LycheeLychee is a sweet, juicy fruit packed with vitamin C — but eating a big bowl of them with an empty stomach is a real risk for young, malnourished kids.
• Mandarin OrangeMandarins are a sweet, easy-peel way to get most of a day's vitamin C, without needing a pill.
• MangoOne of the few fruits genuinely rich in both vitamin C and vitamin A.
• MelonAll melons are mostly water. The colour of the flesh tells you what else is in there.
• Mixed BerryFrozen at harvest, which usually means more vitamin C left than in fresh berries a week off the plant.
• Mixed Dried FruitFruit with the water taken out, so everything in it — sugar included — is about four times as concentrated.
• MulberryMulberries are a sweet-tart berry packed with vitamin C and a natural compound that can help slow sugar spikes after a meal.
• Nashi Pear (Asian Pear)A crisp, juicy fruit that’s mostly water and a little fibre and natural sugar.
• NectarineThe peach-plum-cross story about nectarines isn't true — it's just a peach without the fuzz.
• OrangeA genuinely good vitamin C source, with fibre a pill does not give you.
• PapayaContains a digestive enzyme, plus one of the highest vitamin C counts of any fruit.
• Passion FruitPassion fruit's tangy pulp packs a lot of vitamin C and fiber into a tiny fruit -- but the "it helps you sleep" idea actually comes from a different plant.
• PawpawA soft, mild tropical fruit with a lot of vitamin C for very few calories.
• PeachA solid source of vitamins A and C together, both tied to skin health.
• PearOne of the higher-fibre fruits, most of it in a form that slows digestion.
• PersimmonPersimmons are a sweet, vitamin-rich fall fruit -- but eating a lot of unripe ones on an empty stomach can actually cause a real stomach problem.
• PineappleContains bromelain — the same enzyme sold as a digestive supplement.
• PlantainPlantains are a starchy cooking fruit — more like a potato than a sweet banana — that's rich in potassium and gut-friendly starch.
• PlumPrunes aren't just an old home remedy -- real science backs them up for keeping you regular and for helping keep bones strong.
• PluotPluots are a plum-apricot mix — but mostly plum — that pack vitamin C, potassium, and fiber into one juicy, low-calorie snack.
• PomegranateOne of the most compound-dense fruits — much of it from the peel and pith.
• Prickly PearA cactus fruit that’s mostly water and fiber, with a solid dose of vitamin C.
• PruneA dried plum with a real, well-tested effect on constipation — and a good reason not to eat the whole packet.
• PrunesOne of the few foods with trial evidence for constipation — and it beat the fibre supplement.
• QuandongA tart wild peach-like fruit, high in vitamin C and folate.
• QuinceQuince looks like a bumpy pear, but you almost always have to cook it before eating — raw, it's rock-hard and mouth-puckering.
• RaisinsSeventy-four grams of sugar per hundred, and it is all intrinsic to the grape.
• RambutanRambutan is a juicy, low-calorie fruit with a good hit of vitamin C -- just peel it, eat the white flesh, and skip the hairy skin and the seed.
• RaspberriesUnusually high in fibre for a fruit, and worth separating from the “raspberry ketone” pill sold under its name.
• RedcurrantRedcurrants are a sour, ruby-red berry packed with vitamin C — and they're not the same as the dried "currants" you find in trail mix or muffins.
• Star FruitStar fruit is a juicy, star-shaped snack packed with vitamin C, but people with kidney problems should never eat it.
• StrawberriesA genuinely strong vitamin C source people do not associate with berries.
• SultanaA sultana is a grape with the water taken out, which concentrates everything else about fourfold.
• Sweet CherriesThe sleep research used tart cherry juice, not these. Worth knowing before you buy a punnet.
• TamarilloAn egg-shaped fruit related to the tomato, rich in vitamin A and fibre.
• TamarindTamarind is a sour-sweet fruit pulp that's surprisingly rich in fiber and minerals — but it can make some pain relievers hit harder than usual.
• TangeloPeels like a mandarin, tastes like a tart orange, and carries a bit of grapefruit in its family tree.
• TangerineTangerines are a sweet, easy-peel way to get a big dose of vitamin C plus a special orange pigment your body can turn into vitamin A.
• Tangerine or TangorThe easy-peeling citrus. What changes across the group is sweetness, seeds, and how easily the skin comes away.
• Tart CherriesOne of the few foods that naturally contains measurable melatonin.
• WatermelonThe original natural source of citrulline — the same compound in the supplements.
• Wax JambuBell-shaped, waxy-skinned and about ninety per cent water — crisp and refreshing rather than sweet.

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