Is Eating Fruit After a Meal Bad for You?

Some people falsely believe that eating fruit immediately after a meal can cause disease, according to the Chi Health and Workplace Wellness Solutions website. It’s true that Ayurvedic principles of food combining suggest eating fruit alone rather than with a meal is for best digestion. But you can rest assured that eating fruit at any time during the day is a healthy choice that will increase your intake of key vitamins and minerals. However you eat fruit, you’re doing a nutritious thing for your body.

Fabulously Nutritious Fruit

Fruit is an essential part of your diet because it supplies key nutrients you might not get from other foods you eat on a regular basis. According to doctors, eating plenty of fruit is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. A diet rich in fruit might also protect you from Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. The MyPlate.gov website also notes that fruit is a good source of potassium, a nutrient that helps keep your blood pressure normal. Most fruits are low in fat, too, which makes them a smart way to keep your weight in check.

Fruit For Dessert

Fruit makes a tasty and nutritious dessert. Fruit contains naturally occurring sugar, which means that it’s sweet without added sugar. Traditional desserts, such as cake, cookies and ice cream, contain large amounts of added sugar, which puts you at an increased risk of weight gain and heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. Opting for fruit as dessert also helps you increase your intake of key vitamins and minerals that aren’t present in most traditional desserts.

Eating More Fruit

While you’re making dinner, toss together a bowl of several kinds of fruit, such as apples, bananas, berries, melon and citrus fruits, and stick it in the refrigerator. This already prepared bowl of fruit can serve as a dessert immediately after dinner or you can save it for just before bed when you’re a bit hungry and don’t want to wait until breakfast. Though you can certainly eat fruit as part of your breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as for dessert, you don’t need to be afraid to eat fruit between meals either. For example, eating a whole apple an hour or two after you eat breakfast isn’t harmful, and in fact, supplies you with fiber, a nutrient that will help keep hunger at bay until it’s time to eat lunch.

Don’t Go Crazy

While fruit is highly nutritious, it does contain calories. If you eat a bowl of fruit right after eating a meal with a large amount of calories, you might be getting more calories than your body needs. Consuming too many calories, even from healthy foods like fruit, will lead to weight gain. Factor your after meal fruit into your total caloric limit for the day so you don’t end up getting more than you can burn. Keep in mind, too, that if your diet is very fruit heavy, it leaves less room to eat other nutritious foods such as vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy foods.