Many people are confused about when to eat fruit. In fact, as long as your total daily energy intake doesn't exceed your needs, just eat fruit whenever you want! As long as your stomach feels comfortable, any time is fine.
Eating fruit before a meal
Almost any fruit that isn't too tart or astringent is suitable. Eating fruit at this time helps fill your stomach, creating a feeling of fullness and reducing your food intake for the next meal, which is most beneficial for weight control.
Eating fruit during a meal
It's perfectly fine to use it as an ingredient in dishes or to have a small portion as a dessert. It's worth noting that if you replace some vegetables with fruit, you need to be mindful of the total energy for the meal, as fruit has slightly more calories than vegetables.
Whether to eat fruit two hours after a meal can be decided based on your personal feelings. If you've already eaten a large meal and feel very full, you can eat fruit later. If you didn't eat much or have greasy food and feel your stomach can accommodate more, there's no problem eating fruit right away. A special consideration is the temperature of the fruit.
If you've eaten a lot of greasy food and then consume a large amount of cold fruit, the blood vessels in your stomach may constrict due to the cold. For more sensitive individuals, this could affect digestion and absorption, and even cause stomach discomfort. Therefore, it's best to eat fruit at room temperature after a meal.
If you eat fruit between meals instead of snacks like cookies, cakes, or sweet drinks, it is a very healthy choice.