Last Updated on March 25, 2024

Fruit is one of the healthiest foods on the planet. It is packed full of vitamins and minerals, while it also contains good sugars for energy, fibre to keep you feeling full and water for hydration.

Although fruit is great for your body whatever time of the day you consume it, research suggests that fruit will give you the most benefits when eaten on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.

Read on to explore why you should eat fruit on an empty stomach, why it should always be served warm and how it can boost your wellbeing.

Which is best: whole fruit or juice?

Certainly one of the key benefits of fruit is the large water content it contains. A high percentage of fruit is water, so your body benefits from its excellent hydrating properties. A great way to ingest the high water content is by drinking the fruit as a juice.

Although the whole fruit will keep you feeling full for longer with its higher fibre content, the juice of a fruit can be digested more quickly, helping your body to absorb the goodness faster.

In fact, fruits are digested initially in the intestines, which absorb the sugars most beneficially and lets the nutrients flow into the blood stream to be carried to the rest of the body.

Why it is best to eat fruit on an empty stomach

It is always better for the body to drink fruit juice or eat fruit on an empty stomach before breakfast because this way the fruit can pass through to the intestines easily and quickly.

If you eat fruit after eating other foods, such as starches or proteins, the fruit will be delayed by the full stomach and the sugars will slightly ferment within the stomach.

Fermented sugars from fruit left in the stomach can cause irritating health issues such as heartburn, trapped wind and gas, stomach ache and other digestive discomforts.

For these reasons it is always best to eat fruit on an empty stomach before breakfast and at other times of the day when our stomachs are empty, such as snacks between meals.

With this in mind, it is a good idea to allow at least 2 hours to pass after eating a meal before snacking on fruit, or eat the fruit 1 hour before a meal.

The health benefits of fruit

There are many benefits to eating fruit, including all the vitamins and minerals which help to strength your heart, blood cells and veins, protecting you from heart disease. Fruit also helps to thin the blood, preventing heart attacks and blocked arteries.

Some particularly useful and important components of fruit include fibre, healthy carbohydrates, potassium, vitamin C and folate.

These are nutrients that are best absorbed while the stomach is empty. You will not feel the benefits if you eat fruit at the same time as other foods or right afterwards.

Improve your digestion

Fruit is one of the best foods you can eat to improve your digestion. The benefits are much higher when you eat fruit on an empty stomach before breakfast because they nutrients are absorbed straight away.

If you eat a breakfast of toast, coffee, rich cereals, meats and dairy products, all these foods stay in the stomach for many hours, slowing you down and making you feel sluggish.

Fruit is an excellent alternative breakfast choice as it quickly absorbs into the body giving you energy without making you feel heavy and slow.

Fruits help to actually clean your body from the inside out, which is a perfect way to start the day feeling fresh and energised. In this way, fruits act as natural cleansers for the whole body. So by eating only fruit for breakfast you detoxify your body’s cells quickly, which is excellent for both your physical and mental health.

The best temperature for fruits and juices

Although eating fruit and drinking fruit juice is always a good idea and beneficial for the whole body, eating and drinking them ice cold can cause the absorption process to slow down. This is because the components of the fruit have a higher level of viscosity at low temperatures.

Therefore, the best way to eat fruit and drink juice is at room temperature or even slightly warm, as the body is far better able to digest the fruit at this slightly higher temperature.

Fruit is great for you whenever you eat it and any irritation factor related to eating it alongside other foods, later in the day, or at a cold temperature will not detract from the excellent nutrition it can provide. However, by eating fruit on an empty stomach and eating it at room temperature you will enjoy the maximum benefits from nature’s dessert!

Let us know your thoughts

Do you eat fruit for breakfast?

What other foods do you think are ideal for breakfast or snacks?

Do you feel more energised after eating fruit first thing?