Fruits are everyone's favourite, but are you eating them right? Let’s take a look! Fruits are a great natural way to satisfy your sugar cravings. You sure love your daily bowl of fruity goodness, but are you consuming your fruits in the right manner? Or are you eating the fruits that are beneficial for you? Fruits bring down your hunger pangs as well as control your carb intake. Though there is no harm in eating fruits that you like, here are a few mistakes that most of you might be making. Let’s take a look at 5 mistakes you may be making with your fruit intake. Watch your time - eating a bowl of fruit right after your lunch or dinner is a big mistake that most of you are making. The ideal time to eat fruits should be between breakfast and lunch. Try giving a gap of at least 30 minutes before your last meal. If you are craving fruits right after your lunch or dinner, try switching to a piece or two of dates or dark chocolate rather than consuming fruits after your lunch and dinner meals. Tip: this doesn't restrict you from having fruits anytime other than post breakfast, you may eat them whenever you want but keep a check on the gaps between your meal and fruits. Don’t eat over ripe fruits -the shelf life of fruits is very important. It does get difficult to consume all the fruits in one go. But stock as much as required for a week or less. The shelf life of common fruits like bananas, apples, lasts up to 3-4 days, while chikoo and papayas last up to two-three days maximum. Store your fruits properly in your fridge if you think you have a hectic week ahead. Tip: you can make smoothies from the fruits if they get overripe instead of throwing them away. Limit your quantity- consuming fruits require mindful eating habits. Be careful about your portion size. Eating a big bowl of fruits in one go may make you feel fuller at that time but you will feel hungry faster. Consuming a large number of fruits may create problems like acidity, high blood sugar levels, especially for those who are diabetic. Some fruits such as a banana may add up to your calorie intake if you are trying to lose weight. Tip: eat in small quantities and try not eating all fruits together. Avoid juicing up your fruits -fruit juices may be convenient for you to make and consume but refrain from having too much of it. Juicing may be the most popular trend, it is not the right way to consume fruits. When you juice your fruits, it reduces or eliminates all the fibre, and necessary nutrients from them. Tip: make a smoothie instead with some greek yoghurt if you want to drink up your fruits on a few lazy days. It's a better alternative to juices. There is no harm in eating fruits and it's the best and the most natural way to meet your daily nutrients, fibre and vitamin intake when eaten in moderation. The way you eat fruits can directly or indirectly affect your digestive and absorbing capacity. Be mindful of choosing the fruit combination to get the best benefits from fruits.
