The Best Time to Eat Fruit for Maximum Health Benefits: Tips and Guidelines

2023-08-05 17:45:23

Apple, clementine, kiwi, red fruits, citrus fruits… There are many, there is something for everyone and they are full of vitamins! It’s no secret that fruits are essential as part of a good balanced diet and will only bring you positive benefits for your health. Provided you consume them at the right time of the day!

You might lose all the benefits of fruit if you do not follow certain rules of good eating habits. For example, consuming them following your meal is not a good habit. Indeed, it might lead to bloating or heartburn. Find out in this article why you can suffer from side effects, but also and above all, when is the best time to eat fruit and reap all the benefits!

Fruit is essential for a balanced diet

As part of a healthy diet, you should eat a bit of everything, avoiding processed foods as much as possible. Proteins, starches, but above all a good share of vegetables, so fruits and vegetables have their place. Indeed, in each season, summer and winter, they are sources of vitamins, fiber, nutrients and minerals.

SEE ALSO: How to eat healthy with the basics of naturopathy?

The WHO also recommends eat five fruits and vegetables a day to maintain good health. Yes, but is it possible to eat the fruit at any time of the day? Admittedly, the latter are excellent for the health, but on condition of don’t miss the time slot nor to get the wrong combination! Most people eat them at the end of the meal, as if it were a dessert or the famous icing on the cake. Still, it’s not the best time at all…

Each food has its own place and time of digestion

Not all foods are digested the same way. Indeed, not the same process, nor the same place in the body or even the same deadline. For example, the digestion of a single fruit is fast. The food passes quickly through the stomach and then passes into the small intestine where digestion will take place. In all, it is necessary to count environ 30 min between the start of tasting and the end of digestion.

Conversely, the lipids and proteins have a much longer digestion time regarding 3 hours. Indeed, they will stagnate in the stomach to be completely digested. Thus, if you add a fruit at the end of the meal, it will remain stuck for hours with the rest of the food and cause digestive problems that we will detail in the following lines.

The side effects of eating fruit at the end of a meal or associated with other foods

Thus, even if a fruit is healthy and in theory digests quickly, it can cause damage if it arrives following or at the same time as all the other foods eaten. This is a bad habit to be cured right away. Blocked in the stomach, it will ferment by secreting glucose and alcohol. The consequences of this putrefaction can be multiple: bloating, swelling, heartburn, heaviness, etc. A painful and unpleasant situation. Do not panic ! You can avoid these stomach upsets by choosing a more convenient time.

Several criteria to take into account

Of course, just because you’re going to eat fruit at the end of a meal doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have the side effects mentioned above. It will depend on the 4 elements below.

Light or heavy meal?

If you ate a heavy, carbohydrate-rich meal, for example carbonara pasta, a ham-butter sandwich or a mushroom-fresh cream-emmental pie, the extra fruit will be difficult to digest. On the other hand, if you eat a fruit following a light meal, without sauce and low in sugar : chicken breast, rice or salad, digestion will logically be easier.

The type of fruit matters

All foods do not have the same digestion time and this is also valid for fruits. For example, the watermelon and melon hold the record of speed. Full of water, they are digested in just 20 minutes. For apples, it takes between 30 and 40 minutes, just like pears, peaches or cherries.

The apple is one of the favorite fruits of the French and an ally for your health. Consume it organically and with the skin on for maximum benefits!

For information, this is not the only asset of the apple! First of all, it is a fruit that is easily found in supermarkets and in any season. Then, it is composed of pectin, a soluble fiber which helps to limit constipation, intestinal infections and also inflammation of the colon. Thus, it would be a shame to deprive yourself of this gift of nature!

Everyone’s digestive sensitivities

We are not all equal in the face of nature. Everyone is different and has their own sensitivities. So eating fruit following meals will not have the same consequences for everyone. The most important thing is to listen to your body and identify any symptoms. Moreover, it is possible not to have digestive problems for years until the day when the body is tired and reacts. So stay alert!

Consider cooked fruit

If you can’t help but have your fruity and sweet note at the end of a meal, you can replace your raw fruit with cooked fruit. Indeed, in this article, we pointed out the consumption of raw fruits following the meal, but if they are cooked, there is no problem. So, don’t hesitate to incorporate a homemade compote or an apple pie to finish off in style.

The ideal time: before or following the meal?

You can eat fruit 20 minutes before your lunch at the time of the common 11 o’clock craving. In addition, the good news is that they will bring you a satiety effect and you will therefore eat less than planned for lunch. It is also valid before dinner and some specialists recommend between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., because we have a natural insulin peak at this time. On the other hand, it is advised to let flow at least 2 hours following the meal.

The ideal is still reserve the fruit for your breaks such as snack time For example. But, you should only eat fruits. Exit cookies, cakes or bread for example. Remember that almonds and walnuts are also dried and raw fruits. So, do not hesitate to consume an apple for example and a handful of oilseeds.

It is advisable to eat fruit every day, but alone and away from meals.

If you are a fruit lover, you can start your day with a banana which is actually not a fruit, but a starchy one. In fact, eating them fasting breakfast is also a good option.

With the trend of sweet and salty and poké bowl, it often happens that fruits are mixed with many other ingredients. Sparingly, it shouldn’t negatively impact your digestion and if you don’t have any health issues. For example, you can be tempted by a few slices of apples or oranges in a starter or salad. The endive, apple and walnut mixture is particularly good!

With all these tips, there is no longer any reason for you not to have your daily dose of fruit while preserving your digestive health.

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