I have been eating my fruits on an empty stomach in the morning for almost 20 years. My ex-colleague was the one who introduced this health regime to me. Sure enough, after following this fruit-eating on empty stomach routine for weeks, I felt the difference in my health. And so I have been religiously doing this since 1996, everyday of my life, even when I had to travel overseas or was stuck in the hospital with Cass.

But now health experts are saying that eating fruits on empty stomach is a myth. These experts are saying that fruits can be eaten at any time and it can be eaten along with other foods.  The body produces digestive enzymes for protein, fat, and carbohydrates which help it to digest mixed meals. Besides, since the stomach has a high concentration of hydrochloric acid, bacteria is killed before it is able to reproduce, so fermentation cannot take place in the stomach.  If we could not digest mixed meals, we would not even be able to digest most foods since most foods are a combination of nutrients. For example, even vegetables like green beans and broccoli are a mix of carbohydrate and protein.

Whatever claim there is on eating fruits, I still prefer to eat my fruits on an empty stomach.  My kids do that too and we have been practising this for many years.   What food is good for you and what food is bad for you keeps changing. Decades ago, coconut oil was the bane to our health. Now, coconut oil is touted as a super food!  Similarly, years ago, we were advised to choose margarine over butter. Now, it is the other way round!

If you have an elderly Chinese relative  living with you, I’ll bet she / he will digress and say that fruits is too ‘leong’ or cooling for the body and should be eaten after food.

My take is – do whatever makes your body feel good. You can try both methods and compare the effects and then stick to one that you are comfortable with.