[harryneild (OP)]

My mother has recently started attending a slimming club. There are a lot of various rules and guidelines that should be abided by in order to maximise the benefits. The system is point based where the food that needs cutting down has high point values.

In one of the booklets it said that fruit are ok to eat as much as you want, as long as you don't chop up/purify them, then they have a high point value.

I couldn't really provide her an answer as to why this is but my guess is that there are some chemical reactions taking place with the air (oxygen maybe) that cause the starches to be broken down into sugars however this could be totally incorrect.

Can anyone supply me with an answer, as it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[Kittycat]

Hi Harry,
The only thing that I can think of is perhaps cutting and mixing fruit is harder to keep track of amounts. Esp. when it comes to pureed fruits. I also believe that when fruit is chopped or pureed that it should be consumed asap since the nutrient content will be more compromised when oxygen hits it.
Just a thought, KC

We are fearfully and Wonderfully made

[another_someone]

I would speculate that large solid pieces of fruit will pass through the digestive system slower than puréed fruit (the same I would suggest is the difference between solid lumps of meat and minced or reformed meat).  At very least, this should mean that your digestive system is working the harder, but it may also mean that the nutrients are available at different parts of the digestive tract.

[qazibasit]

well actually in fruits cells there are enzymes and other factors that aids the biological reaction and since the fruits are detatched from the tree  they are almost dead because of the lack of oxygen but the nutrients are still there. when one cuts the fruits they are exposed to oxygen and even the iron of the knife and the enzymes already present in the cells mediates the reaction and whole content is then oxidized.