The Correct Way To Eat Fruits For Optimum Nutrition

Fruits, are those bright, juicy natural wonders with a rich supply of nutrient goodness for you and me available according to season and the part of the world one resides in. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is an oft quoted adage. Fruits are succulent and rich in antioxidants. According to the nutrition experts,the recommended portion of fruits and vegetables per day is a minimum of 5 servings.

Why You Should Eat Fruits And Vegetables

This hub talks of the need to eat your fruits and vegetables everyday for optimal health and performance of the body.

When should we eat fruits?

We often tend to just cut a fruit, and pop it into our mouths after a meal. Let us examine what the researchers say about this.

As an example,if you were to eat a fruit after eating a meal, the fruit is easily digested and ready to go into the intestines, but is prevented from doing so, because of the food that needs to be digested first. Meantime, the food turns acidic as it digests. The fruit when it comes into contact with this food-digestive juices mixture, begins to spoil. The result is bloating and burping as gas is formed in the stomach making you uncomfortable.

Never eat fruits after meals. It is best eaten on an empty stomach.

Why should I eat fruits on an empty stomach?

The benefits of eating fruits on an empty stomach include

• Detoxification of the body-Detoxification is necessary for a healthy gut
• Energy giving-Carbohydrates are quickly released into the bloodstream
  
• Refreshing-Cool and refreshing
  
• Weight loss-Fills up the stomach if eaten before a meal,so you do not eat much at the meal. Also, fruit is great to eat as a snack instead of potato chips or fried and fatty stuff
• Antioxidants-Provide immunity from certain diseases
• Fiber-Prevents constipation and some forms of cancer
  
• Vitamins and minerals-These nutrients, particularly Vitamin C is got from fruits

So, how should we eat fruits? Is drinking fruit juice as beneficial?

To get maximum benefit of the nutrients each fruit contains,one should follow certain guidelines.

Fruits contain essential vitamins, minerals antioxidants and fiber. Research shows that these are available to the body if you eat the fruits as soon as they are cut. Leaving cut fruits open to air destroys some of the vitamins and antioxidants,and more of it is lost if one washes a fruit after it is cut, since they are water soluble.

Drinking fruit juice is also beneficial provided one drinks as soon as it is prepared. But it does not provide fiber, which is necessary in preventing constipation and some forms of cancer. Packaged and canned fruit juices are not beneficial as they would have lost some of the nutrients. And additives used are harmful. Never heat a fruit juice as heating destroys the essential nutrients.

Cooked fruits are of no use as they would have lost all nutrients while cooking, only the taste remains.

Fruits provide optimum nutrition to the body if eaten correctly with atleast 5 servings a day. Digestive system will work with optimum efficiency. All the body organs and systems will be in good shape giving the exterior a radiant glowing skin in addition to being immune, and always bubbling with energy to perform day to day activities.