Fruit after cooked meal

Ashleylynn453

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I’ve been reading articles that fruit after a cooked meal is bad for digestion. But what can I eat instead? Is dried fruit ok or can it be blended? I have horrible digestion so I’m hoping doing this plus my vegan diet would help.
 
Hmm, I did a very quick Google search to verify this and couldn't find anything scientific on the subject confirming this claim.

I did see some raw vegans making this claim as well on YouTube, but again could not find any science or studies to back that up. What they said was similar to what you were stating about digestion.

I'd be interested to know what the facts are here, myself. I do tend to eat fruit after the odd meal, myself, as a healthier option to a decadent sugary dessert. Anyway you slice it, it has to be healthier than eating cake or pie for dessert.

What I did find:

https://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/fruit.asp

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-time-eat-fruit#modal-close
 
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From what I read, this is really simple to explain: imagine the stomach as a funnel ... one way in, one way out.

If the way out is blocked with foods that digest slower (i.e. cooked foods), then the fruits eaten after the cooked meal would spoil. Fruits spoil much faster than other foods and needs a clear path to the intestine for best benefits.
 
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I'm not sure this is true. French people usually have fresh fruit as dessert, as do the Chinese and cultures in the Mediterranean. In most of mainland Europe, from everything I've been told, it's customary to enjoy a green salad of raw vegetables AFTER dinner, unlike the U.S. where we serve it BEFORE.

I've never noticed having bad digestion if I ate fruit with or after a cooked meal.

If you've wandered off into "blood type diets" or hot/cold food pairings, you might want to consider that there are really imaginative people with disorders like OCD who enjoy listing and theorizing endlessly about things they have zero scientific proof for. I think some traditional medicine or dietary advice is right on, while some of it is really some cultural hoo ha.
 
Try raw vegan and eat all you want

Well except that it's more expensive and difficult to get enough food from a raw vegan diet, because our bodies absorb most nutrients more easily from cooked food (human intellectual/brain evolution is mostly attributed to the discovery of fire and cooked foods which reduced the energy required to simply keep the body alive). While some nutrients really are better obtained from raw veggies or fruits, it's actually a complete lie that we somehow magically get more nutrition from a raw diet. If that were the case, raw vegans wouldn't have to eat humongous portions of food.

I don't mean to say that I'm telling you or anyone else not to be raw vegan, I get that for some people it's their preference, I can especially see why someone might be raw vegan in a very hot tropical or sub-tropical climate, or even in a place like Southern California, if they had the excess money it requires to buy boxes and boxes of fresh produce and the time to sprout grains, make their own nut milks, etc.

However, I don't like it when raw vegans try to evangelize raw. I find it obnoxious because it's so scientifically illiterate. Also, it pushes people away from veganism, because it gives being vegan the image of being restrictive, expensive, difficult, or strictly about health.
 
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I’ve been reading articles that fruit after a cooked meal is bad for digestion. But what can I eat instead? Is dried fruit ok or can it be blended? I have horrible digestion so I’m hoping doing this plus my vegan diet would help.

There may be certain fruits that are not so great for digestion, but this simply isn't a truth. Many people at fruit last as a dessert or just as a juicy way to avoid needing liquids during meals.

A couple things you can do to help your digestion include:

  • Add cinnamon to foods
  • Drink warm lemon water (especially first thing in the morning)
  • Eat more green leafy vegetables (best to blend them in a smoothie and do the greens first to ensure they get well blended)
  • Eat kiwis
  • Don't drink liquids during meals (stop drinking 30 minutes before you eat and don't drink until 30 minutes after)
Hope this helps!

Well except that it's more expensive and difficult to get enough food from a raw vegan diet, because our bodies absorb most nutrients more easily from cooked food (human intellectual/brain evolution is mostly attributed to the discovery of fire and cooked foods which reduced the energy required to simply keep the body alive). While some nutrients really are better obtained from raw veggies or fruits, it's actually a complete lie that we somehow magically get more nutrition from a raw diet. If that were the case, raw vegans wouldn't have to eat humongous portions of food.

I don't mean to say that I'm telling you or anyone else not to be raw vegan, I get that for some people it's their preference, I can especially see why someone might be raw vegan in a very hot tropical or sub-tropical climate, or even in a place like Southern California, if they had the excess money it requires to buy boxes and boxes of fresh produce and the time to sprout grains, make their own nut milks, etc.

However, I don't like it when raw vegans try to evangelize raw. I find it obnoxious because it's so scientifically illiterate. Also, it pushes people away from veganism, because it gives being vegan the image of being restrictive, expensive, difficult, or strictly about health.

Raw vegan doesn't have to be expensive....that's a myth. While I don't promote fully raw eating, I do think something raw at every meal is a great way to live a vegan lifestyle and get the best of both worlds.

I don't believe it's scientifically illiterate to be a raw vegan, however. I also never found raw to be restrictive when I was trying it out.

Most of this comment is all about how you look at things in general. While the invention of fire may lead one to believe cooking food is better, I have known many raw vegans that were not the same before they went fully raw. Food is a very personal thing (hence the reason you find raw vegans that talk about it too much to be obnoxious).

Remember, a raw vegan is still a vegan and anybody practicing vegan or any type of plant-based diet shouldn't attack others doing it differently, even if they come across as obnoxious.

Just my two cents for what it's worth.
 
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There may be certain fruits that are not so great for digestion, but this simply isn't a truth. Many people at fruit last as a dessert or just as a juicy way to avoid needing liquids during meals.

A couple things you can do to help your digestion include:

  • Add cinnamon to foods
  • Drink warm lemon water (especially first thing in the morning)
  • Eat more green leafy vegetables (best to blend them in a smoothie and do the greens first to ensure they get well blended)
  • Eat kiwis
  • Don't drink liquids during meals (stop drinking 30 minutes before you eat and don't drink until 30 minutes after)
Hope this helps!



Raw vegan doesn't have to be expensive....that's a myth. While I don't promote fully raw eating, I do think something raw at every meal is a great way to live a vegan lifestyle and get the best of both worlds.

I don't believe it's scientifically illiterate to be a raw vegan, however. I also never found raw to be restrictive when I was trying it out.

Most of this comment is all about how you look at things in general. While the invention of fire may lead one to believe cooking food is better, I have known many raw vegans that were not the same before they went fully raw. Food is a very personal thing (hence the reason you find raw vegans that talk about it too much to be obnoxious).

Remember, a raw vegan is still a vegan and anybody practicing vegan or any type of plant-based diet shouldn't attack others doing it differently, even if they come across as obnoxious.

Just my two cents for what it's worth.
All very good and useful information. To delve deeper into the history behind believing it may cause indigestion problems l would say this may be true for carnivorous as the rates of digestion would be different and the addition of fruits which may be acidic and create conditions that may cause upset.
Thats my 2 cents..we are up to 4 cents now!
 
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According to me having a fruit after a feast has numerous advantages; first it goes about as a sweet treat for individuals with a sweet tooth, so as opposed to having pastry, eating a fruit is a more wise choice that is additionally lower in calories.
You can go through the articles on WebMd and Everydayhealth for some more detailed information.
 
I’ve been reading articles that fruit after a cooked meal is bad for digestion. But what can I eat instead? Is dried fruit ok or can it be blended? I have horrible digestion so I’m hoping doing this plus my vegan diet would help.

It may depend on the type of meal, not just that it's cooked. I rarely eat fruit for desert, but I do have one experience I'll never forget:

Before I started eating vegan, and some years back I remember having a rather heavy meal that included a fair amount of meat and starch (could've been potato, could've been rice or pasta, I'm not sure which). During that time I was aware that this meal in itself wasn't great for digestion, as the starch and meat require different enzymes and different ph environments (one alkaline, the other acid).

So, around half hour to an hour after the meal I thought "I'll make a fruit smoothie and that will clean everything out". Big mistake. Shortly after the smoothie I felt terrible, stomach hurt, my body felt bad and I got a bad headache. I had never had a problem with fruit on an empty stomach or just with starch. Without having the science to quote to you, my best guess is that the fruit never got to where it needed to go, got mixed with stomach acids/enzymes designed to digest meat and started to go bad in my stomach.
 
Well except that it's more expensive and difficult to get enough food from a raw vegan diet, because our bodies absorb most nutrients more easily from cooked food (human intellectual/brain evolution is mostly attributed to the discovery of fire and cooked foods which reduced the energy required to simply keep the body alive). While some nutrients really are better obtained from raw veggies or fruits, it's actually a complete lie that we somehow magically get more nutrition from a raw diet. If that were the case, raw vegans wouldn't have to eat humongous portions of food.

I've never done raw Veganism, but I can say with confidence it's not hard to get enough calories, and there is nothing magical about cooked foods. For example, sometimes after I soak brown rice over night I will blend it with water and fruit and down it goes. All the enzymes in the rice are there to digest it provided it's been soaked long enough and not cooked. The same is true with other grains I'm familiar with. For instance, when making wort (for beer), a sweet substance necessary for yeast to ferment, all one needs is malted (sprouted then stopped) barley - the enzymes in the malt itself work at approximately body temp and turn the starches into sugars (in beer making this is called a mash). Practically, that means the body doesn't need to provide any for the food to be digested, and why it's also a good idea to sprout or at least soak and start the germination process if one is going to feed a grain or legume to an animal like a cat - intact enzymes insure digestion is not an issue.

Cooking doesn't add calories, I've gotten enough eating seed and oat smoothies with fruit, all raw sometimes in the morning. Plenty of calories to keep me going especially considering the fat content in many seeds.

I don't mean to say that I'm telling you or anyone else not to be raw vegan, I get that for some people it's their preference, I can especially see why someone might be raw vegan in a very hot tropical or sub-tropical climate, or even in a place like Southern California, if they had the excess money it requires to buy boxes and boxes of fresh produce and the time to sprout grains, make their own nut milks, etc.

As I've stated, I'm not raw, but the raw meals I do eat do not cost me more money, sprouting is easy once you know how, and making nut/seed milks is a breeze, very little time required.

However, I don't like it when raw vegans try to evangelize raw. I find it obnoxious because it's so scientifically illiterate. Also, it pushes people away from veganism, because it gives being vegan the image of being restrictive, expensive, difficult, or strictly about health.

It isn't scientifically illiterate in itself. I'm not sure what claims you are referring to, but I know for a fact that when a food is started down the germination path and kept in good nick (properly looked after including rinsing it if it's to be sprouted), and not cooked, then the body needs to do practically nothing to get the nutrients from it, all the enzymes in the food itself does the work.
 
On the subject of digestion/indigestion

Any person who says they cannot digest gluten grains and does not have celiac disease, and when that grain is able to be sprouted (ie: it hasn't already been heat treated for import as some countries do) - and is properly soaked for enough time (over night, a few hours ain't nearly enough) and/or brought to sprout after a few days and NOT cooked...

...is full of it. I do not care what you claim, you are lying. I know this because I have worked with enzymes in making my own beer from sprouted grain and understand what is going on in the process. Sprouted grains self digest (they turn their own starches to sugars without the help of the human body, excepting body temp), just like fruit and vegetables that aren't cooked self digest. So yeah, you are full of it.

Thinking of one person here in particular...
 
https://www.google.com/search?q=pesticides+ibs

I've lived in Italy for many years and rarely the pesticides on produce would affect my digestion. The larger fruit variety would always affect my nervous system as they tend to contain high amounts of organophosphate pesticides. While the pesticides sprayed on conventional produce in North America are harmful because the growers tend to overspray. Shiny coat on fruits and vegetables is an indication of pesticides.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/27/eu-agrees-total-ban-on-bee-harming-pesticides

I don't agree with the comment above regarding the use of cinnamon since cinnamon contains a molecule(sodium benzoate) that does the same thing as nicotine. A slippery slope to cinnamon addiction. The answer for better digestion is to be physically active to build the muscles around the intestine; even a long walk with long strides and eat organic as you'll end up eating less.

Cooking food kills parasites, harmful microbes and softens fibers. Less time eating... More time for other endeavours... creating, playing, making love for hours, etc...

Gluten is gliadin and not wheat and by sprouting it... You're eliminating the gluten. I still can't digest gluten.