For some reason, a lot of rumours bounce around the internet concerning foods and the time
of day you should eat them.
But the idea that your body would look at the clock and say “okay, visiting hours
are over for these foods”... well, it rarely works like that
So all those articles saying “no fruit after 2PM” or “fruit is best in the afternoon”,
that’s not backed up by research.
So, that’s it...end of video!
Actually, hang on, maybe there are some interesting areas to look at today.
Now, the time of day might not be important when it comes to eating fruit but what about
when you eat it compared to your meals and other types of food?
For example, does it matter if you have an empty stomach or if you just ate?
Can you get more benefits from some fruit if you eat them before a meal or after or
during?
This is the health chronicle and today we’re going to answer the question - “is there
a good time to eat fruit”.
But before we begin make sure you hit the subscribe button and click the bell icon to
never miss a video.
One myth that we’ve heard is that you should always eat fruit on an empty stomach.
The reason they give is that if you eat it with a heavy meal, it slows down your digestion
and the food will begin to rot in your stomach.
But there are many problems with this idea.
First of all, for something to rot, there needs to be bacteria.
And most types of bacteria are killed off by stomach acid.
The acid in your belly is very powerful, with a pH as low as 2 or even 1.
This can rise to about 6 when it’s full of food but it will quickly become acidic
again.
A few strains of bacteria, such as the infamous salmonella, can survive on the food particles.
That’s why you can get food poisoning.
But the big majority of bacteria are killed of quickly.
So, food can’t rot in your stomach.
The other problem is that you digest everything in your stomach quite quickly.
Most meals will have completely left the stomach in 4 to 5 hours, so certainly not enough time
for any kind of rotting.
Within 8 hours, it should have passed through your small intestine and then it can take
up to around 40 hours to go through your large intestine.
Alright, so those are some of the myths - what about the truth about when you should eat
fruit?
Well, it seems like the best time to eat fruit is at meal times.
Whether it’s before, during or after, probably isn’t that important.
If you eat it between meals, the sugar in the fruit can lead to you produce more insulin
to balance out your blood sugar.
And once that has happened, it can make you hungry again.
But that only happens if the fruit is low in fibre.
Fibre slows down the whole process of digestion so you won’t get a spike in blood sugar
that stimulates insulin production.
Ripe bananas and melons are low in fibre and so is most tinned fruit.
Most fruit juices also remove a lot of fibre in the process.
So, when it comes to snacking on fruit, choose the higher fibre options like berries, passion
fruit, coconut and anything dried.
Some citrus fruits, especially those high in citric acid, such as lemons, limes and
grapefruit, are not a great idea on an empty stomach.
They are particularly bad if you suffer from acid reflux since you are just adding more
acid, without anything to balance it out.
But citrus fruits do have a big benefit when eaten with a meal
First of all, they contain high amounts of vitamin C.
This has a whole range of benefits on it’s own.
It helps battle high blood pressure and heart disease, it’s an antioxidant, and it can
boost your immunity.
But vitamin C also helps you to absorb iron.
Now, iron actually comes from your food in two form ; heme iron and non heme iron.
Heme iron is very easy to absorb and comes from animal flesh such as meat, fish and shellfish.
Non heme iron is found in cereal, greens, and beans, for example.
But it’s harder for your body to absorb.
But vitamin C makes the non-heme iron into a different form and can help you absorb over
60% more.
The other benefit of citrus fruit is that they contain two flavonoids called naringin
and hesperidin.
This two act like scavengers when you eat an unhealthy meal.
They are antioxidants and they protect you from the inflammation that some junk foods
can cause, because your body treats this junk like an infection.
Naringin and hesperidin also help to protect the walls of your blood vessels and have some
anti-cancer benefits.
So, there are some obvious benefits to eating citrus fruit with your meal.
And finally, let’s just finish by saying, don’t worry too much about the timing.
So long as you are getting a good amount of fruit and vegetables during the day, you will
see most of the benefits.
Maybe a banana is best eaten at 11:13 AM and maybe an orange is best combined with eggs
and red wine, but it’s impossible to live your life like that so just do your best.
Thanks for watching.
You can watch more of our amazing content here.
Also don’t forget to subscribe and hit the bell icon for notifications.
Keep watching.
See you next week !