The number one rule when eating fruit
Contemporary science would have you think that fruit can be eaten at any time and it can be eaten along with other foods, that is because the body produces digestive enzymes for protein, fat, and carbohydrates which help it digest mixed meals. In addition, since the stomach has a high concentration of hydrochloric acid, bacteria is killed before it is able to reproduce so fermentation cannot take place in the stomach.
This is all well and true if all digestive systems were created equally and worked exactly as designed. However, in actual fact, it’s very rare that GI systems performs perfectly and in practical terms my advice would be:
Don't eat fruit after a meal
Some food takes longer to digest. For example, watermelon digests in about 20 minutes whereas a beefsteak can take up to four hours. So, if you were to eat a watermelon after a steak, what would basically happen is that the watermelon will be sitting on top of the steak waiting for its turn to be digested. In gut terms, a stomach jam.
This will lead to fermentation of the watermelon, and the fruit will begin to rot, inviting bad bacteria to have a ball, while toxins proceed to trickle into your blood. Now imagine this happening day after day. This causes other health issues which stem from the digestive tract. So, if you’re experiencing indigestion, heartburn, burping and other digestives discomforts, you know what to blame.
When fruits are eaten by themselves on an empty tummy, your body can more easily process all of the nutrients, fibre and the simple sugars contained in the fruit. There is no better way to eat fruit.
When's the best time to eat fruit?
Some nutritionist claim that the best time to eat fruit is at breakfast. Personally, I’m not too crazy about this idea (unless you’re going to exercise immediately following breakfast). Those who support the ‘fruit for breakfast’ idea think it’s best because of the night fast (followed by eating fruit on an empty stomach). In principle, if you’re going to have fruit after a meal the safe time period is as follows:
Juice – 30 minutes
Smoothie – 1 hour
Raw Salad – 2 hours
Cooked Plant Meal – 3 hours
Cooked Animal Meal – 4 hours
Is it a good idea to add fruit to salad or smoothies?
The short answer is ‘yes’ but there are a few guidelines; Fruits mix well with other fruit and vegetables, but they do not mix so well (digestively speaking) with avocado, nuts, cheese, meat … etc. But, it’s still ok to do mix it occasionally if that’s what tickles your fancy.
