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Do you know how and when to eat fruits? It seems like a silly question. Of course, everyone (the IBS person included) knows how to eat fruits. However, if you want to be healthy and if you want to lesson your IBS, you have to listen to advice from experts in UK, USA, Japan, and from perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The secret side of fruit: what Mother Nature is hiding
Fruits are supposed to be natural and healthy. They are gifts from Mother Nature, aren’t they? Yes, they are.
But Nature does not only take care of humans, it also ‘takes care of’ fruits. What does that means. It means Nature has designed a built-in, hidden weapon to protect fruits from being eaten by animals and humans. That mechanism (that hidden weapon) involves a type of protein. And here is how this mechanism affects IBS people:
Fruits produce a protein, called lectin, to poison their eaters (humans included), to protect themselves from being eaten.
Digestble Knowledge from Dr Steven Gundry, an American physician, and bestselling author known for pioneering the controversial lectin-free diet
Why you should care about lectins in fruit
Lectins are the hidden weapon of plants that acts as a kind of natural “shield” to protect themselves. When we eat fruits, the weapon (lectins) irritates our gut, make us feel bloated or uncomfortable, a warning signal telling us to staying away from them.
Though fruits have much lower amounts of lectins (compared to foods like beans, lentils, or nightshade vegetables) Dr Gundry warns us that eating too many lectins could make your gut lining a little too “leaky.” You might have heard this called “leaky gut,” where tiny gaps form in the intestinal wall, making it easier for things like undigested food or toxins to slip into your bloodstream.
Is fruit off-limits? Smarter ways to enjoy your favorite treats
So you should give up those delicious, healthy food! Well, not exactly. This is also why the title of this post is: how to eat fruits. There are two things you can do:
- Eat fruits without skins.
- Do not eat seeds.
Why? Most lectins are found on skins of fruits as they are used to paralyse any eaters, you and me included. And speaking of seeds, they are ‘babies’ of fruits and it makes perfect sense that fruit parents will try their very best to ‘hurt’ any predators.
A refreshing twist: How TCM views fruit and digestion
If you think the the above tips sound troublesome, then think outside the box and get into the box of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Before we go to the method, does the experience of a patient of TCM Dr Ting sound familiar to you?
Every time she has some cold yogurt topped with fruit, cramps, diarrhea, and bloating will trouble her.
Could your favorite fruit be sabotaging your digestive fire?
In the box of TCM some fruits (to be exact, those with high water content and juicy ones) has a cooling effect on your body. Cooling effects? Yes, in TCM there is a fire, a digestive fire, in your body, which helps you ‘burn’ what you eat. In other words, in the process of digestion a certain amount of warmth, or heat energy, is needed.
However, when you eat fruits that are juicy and contain a lot of water, you cool the fire down. This is a kind of coolness that weakens the fire of your digestion, a kind of coolness that interrupts, if not hinders, your process of digestion.
(In other words, some fruits will give your body a tough task as you have to use excessive amounts of heat and energy to break them down. In a word, eating certain types of fruits will waste lots of engery from your body.)
TCM caution: which fruits to avoid with IBS
So, what fruits are juicy and high in water content that cool down your fire? There are a few common ones mentioned by Dr Tang:
watermelons, bananas, oranges, tropical fruits, raw melons, grapefruit, and strawberries
Best time to eat fruit for energy and gut health
However, just avoiding fruits on the list is not enough. If you want to lesson your IBS, you have to pay attention to time, the time of eating them.
If you want to make the most of your morning, start your day with fruit. But do not take them in the afternoon or evening.
Here are the reasons why offered by Dr Hideyuki Negoro, a Harvard and Sorbonne visiting professor:
Since fruits naturally contain sugar, having them in the afternoon or evening could put extra strain on your metabolism, especially if you sometimes struggle with blood sugar levels. But in the morning, your body’s metabolism is at its highest, so you can efficiently process the sugar from fruit.
Sources of knowledge
Expert from USA: Gundry, Steven R. (2017). The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in “Healthy” Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain. First edition. Harper Wave.
Expert from UK: Glickman, H. (2016). Beat IBS: A simple, five-step plan for restoring your digestive health. Little, Brown Book Group.
TCM expert: Tang (2009). Total Health the Chinese Way: An Essential Guide to Easing Pain, Reducing Stress, Treating Illness, and Restoring the Body through Traditional Chinese Medicine. Balance.
Expert from Japan: Hideyuki Negoro (2018). Is your capillary health good? 14 capillary health lessons: Say goodbye to hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia (M. Chen, Trans.) Taipei: Cosmos Culture Ltd. (Translated Text in Chinese)
