Fruit should be part of our daily diet. According to the WHO we should eat 400 grams of vegetables and fruit a day, which is equivalent to between three and four pieces of fruit daily. According to this organization, it is estimated that each year 1.7 million lives could be saved if the consumption of vegetables were sufficiently increased.

However, one of the questions that usually comes up is when is the best time to eat the fruit. There are theories that it is better to do it before eating and never after eating, however, Cristina Morillo, nutritionist at Blua de Sanitas, assures that there is no restriction regarding when to take it as long as we are eating healthy. The expert adds that the fruit can be eaten with other foods, such as salads, in main meals or with cereals, at breakfast or dinner. In addition, a piece of fruit is a perfect snack to take between meals.

Morillo points out that it is a basic food for both children and adults or people with diabetes. “Although it is a food rich in simple carbohydrates or sugars, it also has an extraordinary fiber content that causes these sugars to be absorbed more slowly, which keeps blood glucose levels more stable and produces satiety.” In the case of people with uncontrolled diabetes, the specialist recommends regulating the consumption of fruit (and that of any food that provides carbohydrates) based on blood glucose measurements.

always fattening the same
Despite the fact that it is believed that fruit makes you fatter at certain times of the day, such as at night or after eating, Morillo clarifies that this is not the case. “The way to digest the fruit is practically the same regardless of when it is consumed. Nor do the calories it contains vary.

Why is it said that it is better to take it before eating then? The expert clarifies that this happens because if we eat fruit before eating, we will have a greater feeling of satiety when we sit down at the table and, therefore, we will eat less quantity of other foods. “But if we control the amounts we take, there is no reason to eat it at the beginning. There are people who after eating the fruit generate a greater amount of acidity and gas, but it is at an individual level and therefore it should not be generalized, ”she points out.

As for eating fruit at night, Morillo explains that having only fruit for dinner is not recommended because we would be providing simple sugars and leaving aside other macronutrients such as complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats.