#1 Myth About The Best Time To Eat Fruit

YES! - I Want Healthy Blood Sugar

One of my favorite foods is fruit. For me, it’s like dessert.

Sometimes I eat frozen bananas, cherries, mangos, pineapples, and other tropical fruits. I just slowly eat the frozen fruit and you don’t need anything else with it – no extra sugars or toppings.

The fruit has lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Unfortunately, there’s a LOT of wrong information about fruit and more specifically about the type of sugar found in fruit – which is called fructose.

high fructose corn syrup

YES, “man-made”, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP is bad for you. This type of sugar is concentrated and usually found in soda, candy, prepackaged foods, fruit juice, agave nectar, syrups, and other sugary foods.

It’s cheap to produce and it’s addictive.

HFCS is a major contributing factor to 1

  • Insulin resistance and blood sugar problems
  • Obesity and belly fat
  • Blood pressure problems
  • Cholesterol problems
  • Inflammation and fatty liver disease

However, this is NOT the type of sugar I’m talking about today.

Basically – don’t eat High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Just read the label and if it’s in there, don’t eat the food.

But eating natural, WHOLE food fruit (not fruit juice) has many health benefits and doesn’t have the negative problems of HFCS.

However, there are a couple of things I want to mention.

About 100 Calories of Less

Fructose is metabolized primarily in your liver and thus, has limited storage capabilities. Unlike glucose, which is found in grains, for example, can be stored more in your muscle cells, and thus, a lot more can be eaten before it’s converted to fat.

So try to limit your fruit to about 100 calories daily or 25 grams. If you exercise, you can eat more.

NOTE: this is especially important for anyone who has blood sugar problems, or simply wants to manage their blood sugar levels better.

Fructose does affect these factors more and if this is something you’re concerned about.

Best Time To Eat Fruit

There are a lot of myths about the best time to eat fruit. Some say first thing in the morning … some say 30 minutes before a meal because it digests at a different rate than “regular” food … some say in the afternoon…. And many cultures eat fruit at the end of the meal, like a desert.

Best Time To Eat Fruit

The truth is, there’s ZERO medical or clinical evidence as to when the best time would be. So, don’t worry about this too much.

Personally, I like fruit on an empty stomach… like a snack. Or a little after a meal, if I’m craving something sweet.

And some people, have some fruit before bed with a little bit of fat like coconut oil and it helps them sleep better and longer.

So, just experiment. Nothing is written in stone.

Best Type Of Fruit

Typically, the berries and “thin skin” fruits have higher antioxidants and thus, are better for you.

And ideally, you’d eat fruit based on what’s in season. So for example, if it’s summertime – you’d eat more watermelon.

I know these days you can get fruit flown in from around the world and thus, anything can be eaten at any time. However, pay attention to what would typically be in season and eat that.

Your body will actually digest the “seasonal fruit” better.

Summary

  1. Whole food fruits are perfectly fine for you and very healthy.
  2. High Fructose Corn Syrup is “man-made” and is totally different than the fructose found in fruit and HFCS has to be avoided. Just read the label.
  3. You can eat fruit any time you want, it’s up to you.
  4. Berries and thin-skin fruits have the most antioxidants. So eat more of them and eat fruits that are in season
  5. Try to limit your fruit consumption to about 100 calories daily. You can eat more if you exercise.