Fruit, as is, in-season and preferably from a local source is your best buy. Most fruits can be eaten with the skin which is ideal because the skin usually has the highest amount of antioxidants and fibre. It is fibre that keeps you fuller for longer and keeps your digestive system healthy and clean. Remember when you juice a fruit, you willfully throw away the fibre and nutrients but keep the natural sugar. So, if you must drink fruit juice, only drink freshly made juice. A fruit smoothie is a great compromise — it retains the fibre of the fruit and most of the nutrients.
Cooking fruit damages the nutrients in them. And, though fruit chaat is delicious, adding iodised salt or chaat masala dries out the fruit cells, cheating you of the hydrating properties of the fruit. And when you dust sugar over fruit, you’re just adding empty calories to a healthy snack.
Another myth is that some fruits, like lemons, are ‘acidic’. Most fruit turn alkaline in our body especially lemon which is acidic on the tongue but alkaline in the stomach. Only plums are slightly acidic so eat them paired with another fruit.
Feast on an empty stomach
Fruits when eaten as recommended, play a major role in detoxifying the system, boosting energy reserves and helping with weight management. Fruit is quickly and easily digested, gentle on the stomach and floods the body with energy, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. Which is why, ideally, you must eat fruit on an empty stomach. If you eat food before you eat fruit, the food starts reacting with gastric juices but will not be absorbed into the body because the fruit is preventing it from doing so. This will cause acidity, gas and bloating.
Beauty secret
They say if you master the correct way of eating fruit, the secrets of beauty, longevity, happiness and health are yours.
Apple
An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Though apples have a low vitamin C content, they contain antioxidants and flavonoids which enhance the activity of vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke. Apples are also low on the Glycemic Index, so they are low on calories and excellent for diabetics. However, there is a risk of constipation.
Strawberry
Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest antioxidant power among major fruits and protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals. Strawberries also contain lots of vitamin C, which make them an antioxidant-rich food. Again, low on the Glycemic Index, therefore excellent for diabetics.
Orange
Sweetest medicine. Two to four oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent and dissolve kidney stones as well as lessen the risk of colon cancer. All this is attributed to its vitamin C content. Low on the Glycemic Index.
Watermelon
The re-hydration expert! With water content at 92 per cent, watermelons are packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. They are also a key source of lycopene, the cancer fighting antioxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are vitamin C and potassium. Watermelon is high on the Glycemic Index, so it is not always recommended for diabetics. It could also cause gas when combined with other food.