Apples have a reputation for being healthy, but there are various sayings about when apples should be eaten. Some say “golden apples in the morning, rotten apples in the evening”, and some say “you can’t eat fruit before or after meals, and fruit can only be eaten between meals”, different statements, so people feel confused.
The saying that you can’t eat fruit before and after meals is mainly because of the special situation of some patients with gastrointestinal diseases. For healthy people with good digestion, fruit as a cold dish into the dish or eaten before or after meals, there is no reliable evidence of hindering health. One experimental study found that eating apples containing 15 grams of carbohydrates 30 minutes before breakfast had the benefit of lowering post-meal blood sugar.
The GI value of eating an apple first before a meal
The most significant drop
Eating apples and rice at the same time came in second place
To be fair, the comparison of blood glucose response in this experiment was manipulated by equal carbohydrates.
In the first group, white rice containing 50 grams of available carbohydrates was eaten directly.
In the second group, apples containing 15 grams of available carbohydrates were eaten along with rice. However, this rice was reduced, deducting 15 grams of available carbohydrates, and the total carbohydrates were still the same at the end, both were 50 grams.
In the third group, we ate apples with 15 grams of available carbohydrates first, and then ate rice 30 minutes later, counting from the time we ate the apples. This rice was also reduced, as much as in the second group.
In the fourth group, the sugar water containing 15 grams of available carbohydrates was drunk first, in which the type and content of sugar was the same as 143 grams of apples, also 8.3 grams of fructose and 6.7 grams of glucose. 30 minutes later, rice was eaten, which was also reduced, as much as in the second and third groups.
The results of the study showed that if the GI value of a meal is used to express, then eating rice is 82, rice and apples together is 64, the eating method of eating apples first actually reduced to 40! The method of drinking sugar water first can also reduce the GI value to 69, but the effect of drinking sugar water compared to eating apples is still far worse.
Orange, apple and pear three kinds of fruit
apples have the most obvious effect on lowering sugar, and
Oranges are the weakest
However, many people may ask: You have to eat less rice if you eat apples? Who can do that? If I eat an apple before a meal, I don’t eat a bite of rice, will there be such a hypoglycemic effect? Can I eat a pear? Can I eat oranges?
These questions, the researchers also took into account. So, continued to do a second batch of experiments. This time, with apples, pears and oranges, the three most common winter fruits to do the experiment. And, the number of carbohydrates in the experiment was again divided into two groups.
One group was called the isocaloric group, and as in the previous study, the total available carbohydrate intake was 50 grams after eating the fruit minus the rice.
The other group was called the high-carbohydrate group, which ate extra fruit and no rice at all. In other words, in this group, the total available carbohydrate intake was 65 grams after eating fruits containing 15 grams of carbohydrate and then eating rice containing 50 grams of carbohydrate.
Among the equal carbohydrate group, it was found that apples had the best effect, no different from the previous experiment – eating apples 30 minutes before the meal reduced the postprandial glycemic response two hours after the rice meal by 40%. Pears were slightly worse, only 25% lower; oranges had the weakest effect, only 8%.
In terms of postprandial blood sugar fluctuations, the reduction effect of eating apples first was 50%. Eating oranges first was the weakest, also with about 25%, which could not be ignored. So, what about the high-carb group? Because of the extra 15 grams of carbohydrates, the difference in blood sugar two hours after the meal was less significant. The effect of eating apples and pears first was about the same, dropping only 17% and 20% respectively, and oranges only 10%.
Moreover, even with the extra fruit and the total amount of carbohydrate added to 65 grams, there was still a significant reduction in blood sugar fluctuations after the meal compared to a pure rice meal with a carbohydrate count of only 50 grams. This result was already very surprising. It shows that eating fruit before a meal does not additionally raise the blood sugar response, and putting fruit before a meal can even effectively reduce post-meal blood sugar fluctuations.
Eat fruit first diet
Only for people with normal gastrointestinal digestive function
There are a few final words of caution.
1. The study was done in healthy people, and it cannot be confirmed whether diabetics can get the same post-meal blood sugar control effect by eating apples before meals.
2. The fruit first diet is limited to people with normal gastrointestinal digestive function. Those who are especially afraid of cold, prone to diarrhea, people with irritable bowel syndrome, it is still prudent to eat an apple before meals. If you feel uncomfortable, then do not eat so.
3. When using this method, it is important to be precise about the time. If you are not sure of the time of the meal, then “30 minutes before” will not be possible to talk about. For people who control blood sugar, they must ensure that they eat on time, not early and late, and the amount of time is not always the same. Never let yourself go without eating at the right time because you have eaten an apple.
4. For diabetic patients, food cannot be used to replace medication, but attention needs to be paid to adjusting the dosage of medication according to the effect of food. After the meal blood sugar is lowered, you have to reduce the amount of insulin and hypoglycemic drugs, otherwise it is easy to cause dangerous hypoglycemic reactions.
