Can I eat fruit immediately after a meal?

Fruits are unique to every season. They have become a must-have snack for people before or after meals, but there has always been a question that bothers many people: When is the best time to eat fruit? In fact, there is no accurate answer to this question. It is good to eat fruit whenever you want, but the benefits of eating fruit at different times are different. Therefore, everyone can eat fruit according to their own habits and convenience. Next, let’s take a look at the benefits of eating fruit before and after meals.

Eating fruit before meals can control calories and help lose weight

Fruits are large in size but low in calories. Eating fruits before meals to fill your appetite reduces the intake of other foods (which contain far more calories than fruits), thereby reducing total calorie intake. In addition, eating fruit before meals can also help with digestion and absorption. Since being overweight has become a common problem nowadays, eating fruit before meals has become the mainstream advice.

Of course, for people who are not obese and are not under the pressure of being overweight, the above benefits of eating fruit before meals do not exist and they can eat it after meals. If you are thin, it is better to eat fruit after a meal. Some patients with stomach problems may feel uncomfortable if they eat fruit before meals (on an empty stomach), so they should not eat it before meals.

To control calorie intake, eating fruit with meals is also effective. Westerners view fruits as vegetables, and eat them during meals, whether they are used to make salads or desserts. There is nothing wrong with eating foods that contain fruit during meals, using fruit as an ingredient in dishes, or simply serving the fruit in pieces on the table. No one stipulates that fruit must be separated from the three meals.

Since we can drink juice with meals, eat fruit salad, and use cherry tomatoes in stir-frying, there is no reason not to eat fruit. In addition to reducing calorie intake, eating fruit during meals can also reduce salt intake, aid digestion, and enrich the table.

Eating fruit after a meal is good for digestion

It is completely fine to eat fruit after a meal as long as you don’t feel full, that is, you haven’t eaten too much before. Although fruits are raw, hard, and unheated, they have a high water content and their main ingredients are water-soluble, so they can also be easily digested if eaten after a meal.

Some people worry that the fruit eaten after a meal will be blocked in the stomach by the food that arrived earlier, so that it cannot be digested normally, but fermented in the stomach, causing bloating and diarrhea. Usually, this only happens when you eat a large amount of fruit after a very full meal. If you eat fruit after a meal and don’t experience bloating, diarrhea, or discomfort, then there’s nothing wrong.

What you really need to worry about is that eating fruit after a meal may bring extra calories, which is not good for weight control, so you can also choose to eat fruit between meals.

In short, there are no special taboos on the eating time of fruit. As long as you don’t feel gastrointestinal discomfort, you can eat it at any time. Sometimes for special purposes (such as losing weight), it is best to choose to eat fruit at a specific time (such as before meals). People with poor gastrointestinal function can also choose to eat fruit at any time without aggravating gastrointestinal symptoms.

You can eat fruits at any time and anywhere, and the benefits of eating fruits before or after meals are as mentioned above. Each has its own benefits, so just eat it as it is convenient for you. However, when eating fruits, we must pay attention to the taboos mentioned above and not break the taboos, which will cause the nutrients in the fruits we eat to be lost quietly. I hope everyone will eat more fruits, which is good for health and supplements various vitamins.