Eat fruit before or after a meal

It is said that it is not suitable to eat fruit before or after meals; there are also rumors that it is golden fruit in the morning and rotten fruit in the evening! These statements make many people look at the fruit and dare not eat it, and there is an incomparable entanglement between delicacy and health. A similar problem is that tea and soup should be drunk before or after a meal. The Life Times specially invited Fan Zhihong, an associate professor at the School of Food Science and Nutrition Engineering, China Agricultural University, to give you a detailed interpretation.

Saying 1: don't eat fruit before meals. There are three main reasons to support this view: first, there is a high acidity in the stomach on an empty stomach, which will stimulate the stomach; second, the fruit contains a lot of tannin, which combines with stomach acid, which is easy to produce stones; and third, the sugar content of the fruit is relatively high, and eating on an empty stomach is easy to produce acid, causing discomfort.

In response to these arguments, Fan Zhihong pointed out that the first reason is only reasonable for patients with stomach problems, because the organic acid (pH3~5) in fruits is much lower than that of stomach acid (pH < 2). The second reason is for people with excessive stomach acid. most people will not feel uncomfortable when eating common fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, watermelons and strawberries before meals. The third reason is not true for people with healthy stomach and intestines, because sugar is not digested in the stomach at all, but in the small intestine. If the sugar content is high, you can't eat chocolate, biscuits, cakes and so on.

Saying 2: don't eat fruit after a meal. The reason for supporting this argument is that eating fruit immediately after a meal will be blocked in the stomach by the food that arrived in advance, so that the fruit cannot be digested normally in the stomach, but ferments in the stomach, causing symptoms such as abdominal distension, diarrhea or constipation, which will lead to digestive disorders in the long run.

Fan Zhihong said that this reason sounds reasonable, but it is based on the premise that you are full before eating fruit and eat a large amount of fruit. People with insufficient stomach acid and poor stomach motility are relatively prone to this situation and need to pay proper attention to controlling the amount of fruit they eat after meals. People with strong stomach motility, normal gastric acid secretion and small amount of fruit they eat after meals need not worry.

When you should eat fruit can be decided according to your digestive ability. If you have poor digestion or feel full in your stomach, you don't have to eat fruit before or immediately after a meal. At the same time, do not eat too much fruit at a time, a small number of times is appropriate; if the digestive ability is strong, you can eat it at any time. Need to be reminded that mango, papaya, pineapple, kiwifruit, figs and other fruits rich in protease, it is not suitable to eat too much on an empty stomach.

Patients with overweight, obesity, hypertension and hyperlipidemia are suitable for eating fruit before meals. If you need to gain weight, it is best not to eat fruit before meals, so as not to affect the activity of digestive enzymes and your appetite for dinner; if you are overweight, obese, or have high blood pressure or hyperlipidemia, eat fruits with high moisture and low calories first. it is helpful to slow down the eating speed, eat less meals with higher calories, and help to control the weight. For patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia, increasing the intake of some fruits instead of a small part of staple food can greatly increase the intake of potassium and dietary fiber, which is conducive to the control of blood pressure and blood lipids.

People with diabetes are suitable for eating fruit between meals. For diabetics, fruits and staple foods are sources of carbohydrates. Using fruit as an extra meal between meals is good for stabilizing blood sugar, neither increasing postprandial blood sugar nor causing hypoglycemia before the second meal. (life Times)