There are so many tricks to eat fruit, how many do you know? ?

Sweet, delicious and colorful fruits are the favorites of people of all ages, especially children, pregnant women and the elderly.

Although fruits are delicious, we can't eat as much as we want. So what are the precautions for eating fruits in daily life?

1. How much fruit should you eat every day?

According to the recommendations of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" of the Chinese Nutrition Society, under normal circumstances, the amount of fruit that adults should eat is about 200-350 grams/day, 100-200 grams/day for children aged 2-3 years old, 150-250 grams/day for children aged 4-5 years old, 150-200 grams/day for children aged 6-10 years old, 200-300 grams/day for children aged 11-13 years old, and 300-350 grams/day for children aged 14-17 years old.

Regarding the intake of fruit, generally speaking, 200 grams of fruit is equivalent to the intake of a medium-sized apple. Although the amount is limited, we can have more varieties, and generally do not exceed the recommended amount for each age.

2. Do you know some common misconceptions about eating fruits?

Many times, when we eat fruits, we only pay attention to the sweetness and deliciousness of the fruits, but ignore that improper consumption of fruits may also have certain effects on health.

1. Can eating bananas help with bowel movements?

When it comes to constipation, the first thing that comes to mind is to eat more bananas. In fact, the laxative effect of bananas is relatively limited. In terms of dietary fiber content alone, 100 grams of bananas contain 1.2 grams of dietary fiber, which is lower than dragon fruit (1.6 grams), apples (1.7 grams) and pears (2.6 grams). In addition, if you eat unripe bananas, the "tannic acid" in them may aggravate constipation.

So when we have constipation, we don't have to choose bananas. We can appropriately increase the intake of leafy vegetables, coarse grains, appropriate varieties of fruits, ensure water intake, and exercise appropriately.

2. Lychees are delicious, but there are some rules for eating them.

In summer, sweet and delicious lychees are everyone's favorite. However, in this season, fainting after eating lychees is also frequently reported, especially among children.

This phenomenon is mainly because eating a large amount of lychees when the stomach is fasting stimulates the rapid secretion of insulin, leading to a lower blood sugar concentration. Children's self-regulation ability is not yet perfect, so they often experience symptoms of hypoglycemia such as fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, and fainting, which is often called "lychee disease."

Therefore, for children, do not eat on an empty stomach, only 1-2 at a time. Do not eat lychees before going to bed, as it is more difficult to detect hypoglycemia symptoms at night. Do not choose unripe lychees, as this will increase the risk of hypoglycemia. Of course, it is not recommended for people with diabetes to consume lychees.

3. Can diabetics eat fruit?

After getting diabetes, many patients are afraid to eat fruit, especially watermelon. In fact, under normal circumstances, as long as the condition is stable, blood sugar remains stable, and blood sugar is lower than 10mmol/L 2 hours after a meal, diabetics can appropriately consider increasing their intake of some fruit.

However, diabetics should still pay attention to some things when consuming fruits. First, we can choose a time when blood sugar is relatively low, or we can choose to eat at a time when we have a meal, such as around 2 pm. Start with a small amount, starting with 1/4 of a fruit, and gradually increase the intake. When it increases to about 200 grams, you should appropriately reduce the intake of rice or other staple foods.

In addition, the types of fruits vary from person to person, but seasonal fruits and fruits with relatively low sugar content or glycemic load are preferred, such as apples, pears, cherries, oranges, strawberries, watermelons, etc.

When it comes to watermelon, everyone's first reaction may be that watermelon is very sweet, but in fact, the sugar content of watermelon is relatively low, lower than oranges, apples, peaches, etc. Watermelon is sweet mainly because it contains a high amount of fructose, plus a high water content, so the taste seems sweeter. So if you meet the above requirements for eating fruit, you can try to eat a small amount of watermelon.

3. Eat fruits in different ways to make your life more delicious

Eating fruit one bite at a time with your mouth is the most commonly recommended way to eat fruit. In fact, in addition to this way of eating, there are some other ways that can play a certain role in our health and increase our intake.

1. Add fruits to dishes. Cooking fruits together with meat, vegetables and staple foods can reduce the amount of cooking oil and salt without losing the deliciousness of the dishes, and it also helps with absorption. For example, it can be made into mango shrimp, mango beef, mango chicken nuggets, dragon fruit shrimp, orange chicken wings, pineapple rice, apple fried rice, papaya pork ribs soup.

2. Fruit desserts. Fruit desserts can increase children's appetite, such as banana milkshake, blueberry yogurt, mango coconut milk tapioca pearls, etc.

3. Fruit and medicinal diet. In autumn and winter, cough and sore throat are common diseases. At this time, we can make Tremella and Pear Soup, Steamed Honey Pear, Salt Steamed Orange, etc.

Have you felt the deliciousness and diversity of fruits?

If you have any other tips, or if you have special restrictions on certain fruits for some reasons, you can go to the hospital's clinical nutrition department to discuss with doctors and nutritionists!

References:

1. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022).

2.The pictures are from the Internet.

National Nutrition Week, registered dietitians take action

Author: Niu Yang, Xu Kaijie, Zhang Yajie

Instructors: Cai Wei, Tang Qingya, Feng Yi

Department of Clinical Nutrition, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Project source: Shanghai Health Science Popularization Youth Talent Project (JKKPYC-2022-06)