![Here are the 3 fruits that make digestion easier (yet we think the opposite) Here are the 3 fruits that make digestion easier (yet we think the opposite)](https://img-3.journaldesfemmes.fr/zHqUeYYYRtcwoxWXXr3x0d2inxk=/1500x/smart/f5c33b9ac7c6492281d86c3a1ba3c268/ccmcms-jdf/39967520.jpg)
Three essential fruits for health, available all year round in our supermarkets.
Difficult digestion can cause daily discomfort. Generally caused by poor eating habits, it results in bloating, heartburn and/or stomach aches. For fear of making the situation worse, we prefer to avoid eating fruit. Their consumption is associated with the idea that they digest too quickly and increase stomach acid. “Fake” answers dietician-nutritionist Angélique Houlbert. The pH of the stomach – corresponding to its acidity level – is very low between meals then rises when we eat and then falls again. “Any ingestion of food, including fruit, temporarily reduces stomach acidity” explains the dietician-nutritionist. “Eating fruit at the end of a meal therefore does not increase stomach acidity.” Besides “it would be better, to limit the rise in acid, to eat fruits, which are rich in carbohydrates, during the meal rather than doing it later.”
Generally “fruits help protect the body against potentially toxic substances, such as those that can, for example, promote cancer” continues the expert. Indeed, a meal often brings foreign substances that the body must get rid of, such as additives, pesticides or alcohol. During digestion, these substances are first metabolized by enzymes which frequently make them more dangerous. Fortunately, new compounds formed are then taken care of by other enzymes (called type 2) which bind to them and neutralize them so that they are eliminated in urine and stools. These famous type 2 enzymes are activated by certain foods, particularly fruits such as berries and citrus fruits. According to the dietitian-nutritionist, other fruits could have benefits during digestion:
►Thepineapple : “It provides a little bromelain which improves protein digestion.”
►The lemon : “With its organic acids (and in particular citric acid) it reduces the pH in the stomach and therefore facilitates the work of digestion.”
►The Kiwi : “It contains actinidin, an enzyme that aids in protein digestion.”
These fruits can be ingested at any time of the day: “The stomach is an environment rich in hydrochloric acid, which means that there are very few bacteria. As it takes 6 to 10 hours for food to reach the colon, it therefore does not matter when you eat a fruit .”
To improve digestion, the consumption of fruit should be integrated into a healthy lifestyle, recommends Angélique Houlbert who ideally advises“stop smoking, avoid fried foods, coffee, alcohol and above all chew well at meals because by mixing with food, the saliva secreted during chewing buffers gastric acidity”. Finally, let’s not forget that fruit is a very good alternative to snacking when hungry outside of meals.
Thanks to Angélique Houlbert, dietician-nutritionist and author with Thierry Souccar of “The best way to eat” published by Thierry Souccar Eds.