First, the important bit: all whole fruit is good for you. This isn't a "good fruit, bad fruit" list. The tiers sort fruit by what it brings, mainly fibre and water, which is useful to know when your appetite is back and you want food that fills you up. Pick the ones you enjoy, and mix them up.
Quick answer: berries and kiwi are high in fibre and water, so a bowl of them is filling. Apples, pears and citrus are easy everyday all-rounders. Bananas, grapes and mango are sweeter and less watery, and still great food. Dried fruit and juice are handy, but they lose the water or the fibre, so they're less filling than whole fruit.
How the tiers work
The tiers group fruit by what it brings, not by how good it is. Two things matter most for fullness: fibre, which fills you up and slows the sugar down, and water, which adds volume. Berries and kiwi are high in both. Further down, fruit gets sweeter and less watery, and dried fruit and juice lose the water or the fibre altogether. Every tier has its place, and the best fruit for you is the one you enjoy.
Berries and kiwi: lots of fibre and water
- Raspberries & blackberries: the fibre champions, at around 5 to 7g of fibre per 100g.
- Strawberries: mostly water, with plenty of vitamin C.
- Blueberries: a little sweeter than other berries, and loaded with antioxidants.
- Kiwi: more vitamin C than an orange, good fibre, and small.
A bowl of these is filling and refreshing, on its own or on yoghurt or porridge.
Everyday all-rounders: apples, pears, citrus and stone fruit
- Apples & pears: proper fibre (especially the skin), filling, easy to carry.
- Oranges & other citrus: water-rich, high vitamin C, a bit of fibre.
- Peaches, nectarines & plums: light and watery; lovely, just slightly less fibre than berries.
Easy, portable and filling: these are the everyday fruit bowl.
Sweeter fruit: bananas, grapes, pineapple and mango
- Bananas: brilliant before exercise, with more starch and natural sugar than berries.
- Grapes: sweet, juicy and lovely frozen.
- Pineapple & mango: delicious and nutritious, and sweeter than most.
Sweeter doesn't mean worse. These still bring fibre, vitamins and water, and they're some of the easiest fruit to enjoy.
Dried fruit and juice: handy, but less filling
Drying takes the water out of fruit, and juicing leaves most of the fibre behind, so the natural sugar ends up more concentrated. A handful of raisins is a lot of grapes in a small space, and a glass of juice keeps the sugar of the fruit without the fibre that makes whole fruit filling. They're still fruit, and handy to have around. They just won't fill you up the way whole fruit does.
Where avocado fits
People always ask about avocado. It's genuinely one of the most nutritious fruits there is, full of healthy fats and fibre. Those fats make it rich and creamy, so in a meal it usually plays the part of the fat, on toast instead of butter or in a salad alongside olive oil, rather than the part of a fruit snack. Enjoy it for the flavour and the nutrition.
If you like numbers
Numbers are optional, and you don't need them to enjoy fruit. If they help you, a satisfying bowl of berries is around 50 to 70 calories and a whole avocado around 250 to 300, and you can type any fruit into the free macro counter to see its fibre, sugar and calories.
Try the free macro counterFAQs
What is the best fruit for weight loss?
There isn't one best fruit. Berries and kiwi are high in fibre and water, so they fill you up well, and the best fruit for you is the one you enjoy.
Are bananas bad for weight loss?
No. They're sweeter and less watery than berries, and still great food, especially before exercise.
Is fruit sugar a problem?
In whole fruit, not really. The fibre and water slow it right down and fill you up. Juice and dried fruit are where the sugar gets concentrated.
