Avoid These 5 Mistakes While Eating Fruits

Fruits are the most natural and nutritious food available to man because they contain high amounts of sucrose, fructose, and glucose that the body uses for energy. This energy powers each of the trillions of cells to carry out vital bodily functions. Fruits also contain various vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that help you build your immune system.

But did you know that there is a right and wrong way of eating fruits? Today, we will discuss the most common mistakes you need to avoid while eating fruits.

The right and wrong way of eating fruits. Photo Credits: Unsplash

Stop eating fruits right after a meal

When you consume a fruit immediately after a meal, the fruit reaches your stomach and starts decomposing with the food that already entered your stomach from your last meal. Now your stomach has to produce more acids to break them down. When fruits quickly decompose, they become more acidic. Most of their properties and nutrients at this point are destroyed.

When is the best time to eat them?

The best time to eat a fruit is on an empty stomach or 45 minutes to an hour before your meal. It will ensure that fruit gets digested and reaches your intestines before your next meal. It will also help your stomach produce the right amount of acids to break down your cooked food.

Fruits have detoxifying abilities that can be felt when consumed on an empty stomach. It ensures maximum absorption of vitamins, minerals, and other compounds. Since fruits are alkaline, you want to digest them in an environment that keeps your pH balance in check. But when mixed with cooked food, it becomes highly acidic. It putrefies in the stomach. This is one of the reasons why many people feel bloating, flatulence and indigestion if they follow a meal immediately with a fruit.

Stop juicing them

The right way to eat fruit is whole. Juicing a fruit takes away most of its dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. It is a waste of your money and health because all you have left is a glass of sugar. This quickly spikes your blood sugar levels. When you bite into a whole fruit, your saliva contains digestive enzymes that break down the natural sugars from the fruit like sucrose, glucose, and fructose the right way.

On the other hand, when you drink your juice, the enzymes in your saliva have no time to break them down. Many people get an overload of fructose in their bodies. It can then lead to high uric acid. So always eat fruit whole. You need roughage or fiber to boost digestion, feed good gut bacteria, and prevent constipation.

Avoid cutting fruits and consuming them after hours

Have you observed how cut fruits turn brown? Photo Credits: Freepik

Do not cut your fruit and keep it out or refrigerated for long hours before consuming it. It reduces its nutritive value. When exposed to light and heat, these cut fruits lose Vitamin C and B complex vitamins. You may notice that carrying cut fruits in your tiffin or keeping them in the refrigerator causes browning of the surface. It not only affects the texture but also the taste. Once you peel or cut your fruit, eat it within the next 20 minutes.

Say NO to mixed platters

Do you often eat fruit platters? Photo Credits: Freepik

Eating one or two fruits spread out in the day is healthy. But mixing fruit platters can confuse your body and discourage the proper absorption of nutrients. Eat one fruit at a time to boost digestion and avoid sudden spikes in blood sugar levels.

Avoid eating fruits after sunset

As the sun sets, your body moves into the rest and digest mode. Eating fruits at night can spike blood sugar levels and increase energy levels. And while this energy boost is required during daylight hours, it can disturb your sleep at night. Again, it is important to not generalize.

Remember, each of us is unique. If eating fruit at night works for your body, go ahead and do it. But if you realize that eating fruits after a meal or late at night is causing indigestion and an inability to absorb nutrients efficiently, it is a sign you should not avoid.

Local v/s Global

My last tip for you is to eat fruits local to your geography. Eat fruits that are grown in your country, state, and region. Sometimes, exotic fruits are plucked unripened. It ensures that by the time they reach your local market, their shelf life is extended. But unfortunately, on arrival, many of these are sprayed with chemicals and pesticides to unnaturally ripen them.

It not only lowers their nutritive value but also makes them dangerous for consumption. If you trust a local vendor that ethically sources these exotic fruits, make an informed choice. You can find fresh fruits on our sustainable and farmers-first platform here.

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