In our daily food, the main components are fat, sugar, and protein. The residence time of these foods in the stomach is approximately: 1 hour for sugars, 2-3 hours for protein, and 5-6 hours for fat.
When you eat fruit immediately after a meal, the slowly digested starch, protein, and fat will affect the quickly digested fruit. These substances need to stay in the stomach for one or two hours or longer to undergo chemical reactions with digestive juices before being broken down and entering the small intestine for absorption. The fruit's progress is hindered and it stagnates in the stomach, where it rots at a high temperature of 104°F.
The main component of fruit is fructose. Under the high temperature in the stomach, it undergoes fermentation and even spoilage, producing alcohol and toxins. This leads to symptoms such as bloating and constipation, adversely affecting the digestive tract and causing various ailments, including heartburn, indigestion, and stomach pain.
Fruit also contains flavonoid compounds. If they fail to enter the small intestine for timely digestion and absorption and are blocked in the stomach by other foods, they are converted to dihydroxybenzoic acid by the action of stomach bacteria. Meanwhile, the vegetables consumed contain thiocyanate. Under the influence of these two substances, thyroid function can be disrupted, potentially leading to non-iodine-based goiter.
Four points to note when eating fruit:
1. Many components in fruit are water-soluble. Eating fruit before a meal is beneficial for the absorption of essential nutrients.
2. Fruit is a low-calorie food, with an average calorie content of only about 1/4 that of an equivalent weight of staple foods and about 1/10 that of an equivalent weight of meat like pork. Eating low-calorie foods first makes it easier to control the total calorie intake of a meal.
3. Many fruits are easily oxidized and spoiled. Eating fruit first can shorten its residence time in the stomach, reducing the degree of oxidation and spoilage and minimizing any potential adverse effects on the body.
4. Children are in a period of physical growth, and some women have a "deficiency-cold spleen and stomach" constitution in Traditional Chinese Medicine, making it unsuitable or uncomfortable for them to eat fruit before meals. This group of people can have a fruit snack between meals. (Source: 39 Health Community)