There are numerous myths around food that, even today, are still more than present. In addition, when we think of certain foods such as vegetables or fruits, thousands of doubts arise from everything we have heard throughout our lives and that, in reality, we are not entirely correct.
For this reason, in this article we have spoken with nutritionists Marina Díaz-Naranjo and Axel Ceinos Moraza so that they can explain to us 4 myths about fruit that you should take into account in your daily diet. Take note of all of them, as they will be of great help to follow a healthy and balanced diet that will help you have the necessary nutrients in your body. Let’s see them!
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Is it better to eat fruit before or after meals?
One of the best known and general nutritional recommendations is to consume 5 fruits and vegetables a day. And the truth is that it does not matter if you consume these fruits before, after or during meals, because they are rich in minerals, fiber and vitamins and, therefore, beneficial for health despite the fact that they have sugars, in this case fructose.
In short, the fruit must be eaten at whatever time of day it is, according to the habits of each person. It is not bad to eat fruit at night, worse would be to eat a glass of milk with chocolate or cookies. Actually, a banana or any other fruit has sugar, but it has many other good things.
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Is whole fruit better than fruit juices?
When choosing whether to eat whole fruit or fruit juice, it is important to take into account different variables such as time or quantities. How long does it take to eat the fruit? And in making the squeezed juice and drinking it? The truth is that, in addition, whether you take the fruit whole or in juice, you should keep in mind that you should not choose one thing over the other. That is to say, by drinking a juice do not displace the fruit, because it will never be the same, especially with those juices with added sugars or processed concentrated fruit nectars.
Of course, you must bear in mind that there is something that differentiates both ways of eating fruit: the whole fruit will satisfy you more than the juice. And it is important because in weight loss diets, the fact that fruit satisfies you is something very positive since at meals you will eat much less.
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If you have diabetes, is it not advisable to eat fruit?
There are many people who think that because they have diabetes you can no longer eat fruit, because of the amount of sugar it has. And, according to nutritionists, “fruits and vegetables are the most important except in special cases” but, in diabetes, “the important thing is to quantify and normalize a quantity of carbohydrates throughout the day, and within those carbohydrates can be the sugars of the fruits”. The important thing, ultimately, is to adjust the diet to the type of diabetes, treatment and lifestyle of the person in question.
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Is fruit better than other foods that have the same calories?
A fruit can have, a priori, the same calories as a cookie. So, does it matter the same to eat one thing than the other? The answer is clear: of course not! “It is not what you are eating, but what you stop eating,” say the specialists. The sugar in a cookie is added or processed, while in fruit it is not. Fruit also has many good things to contribute.