Nothing about Nutrition

I realised that sometimes it is not essential to talk about nutrition during the first visit with the patient or client. Because nowadays, majority people practise an unhealthy hectic lifestyle that lead to their nutrition deficiency or diseases. The first measure should be to find out why are they unable to eat meal on time, eat high trans fat easy fast prepared food, eat their meals speedy and etc. And then suggest ways to overcome these obstacles. Especially for weight management clients. 

I have to admit that I am still a junior dietitian and there are a lots more for me to discover. Even till the day I become a senior dietitian, there are still much about nutrition and dietetics to explore because nutrition dietetics progress everyday to a better era. It is a long-life learning.

A senior pharmacist was chatting with me on the other day. He told me that my role is not only to educate about nutrition but also to consider little things about eating habits. For example: To eat fruits before or after meal? Is drinking water before a meal makes a better diet or worse? What kind of nutritious food when taken in large amount will result in indigestion?

I will try to answer these questions at here. But, to be frank, again there is no 100% in nutrition. Hence, every diet must be individualised. There is no one recommendation that works for everyone. 

1) To eat fruits before or after a meal?

   Many claim that we should eat fruits alone or on an empty stomach, due to better absorption of nutrients as all the enzymes work for the ingested fruit only. Some also mentioned that if fruit is taken with a meal, it will slow down the digestion process, leading to fermentation of sugar in fruits (fermentation by the bacteria). Hmm yes, fructose sugar might cause gastrointestinal problem for people who have sensitive bowels, but it also depends on how much fruit and what type of fruit. And generally, fructose sugar is easier to digest with the intake of other food or with intake of glucose. About better absorption of nutrients, our body is basically designed to absorb a mixture of nutrients/food, unless if the person has malabsorption problem. 

I guess, whether to eat fruits with a meal, before or after a meal is depending on your needs. For example, Vitamin C in fruits helps in absorption of Iron, therefore if you want to have better absorption of iron, please do not eat your oranges on empty stomach. Whereas, if you want to avoid over-eating during a main meal course, perhaps you can try eating 1 serving of whole fruit before your meal. Fibre in fruit can help to fill up your stomach with lesser calories.

2) Is drinking water before a meal makes a better diet or worse?

   I remember my coach dietitians were giving tips to weight management client on how to increase their satiety before they consume a main meal. Drinking 1 glass of water before meal can avoid the patient from over-eating during the main course. But somehow we have forgotten to mention when to drink water before a meal. 

Okay, one essential thing that I must mention is drinking water during a meal/with a meal is not essentially good. Because while our stomach is secreting gastric acid to digest the food in the stomach, if we were to drink too much water, we can potentially dilute the gastric acid and hence making the digestion not so efficient. Alright, my idea is too much of water is not good, but little water may be helpful, and also when you drink it. Drinking 1 glass of water 30 minutes before your meal, can prepare your stomach for digestion, other than giving satiety signal. And of course, sipping soups during your meal is definitely alright. But, keep in mind is sipping, not too much. 

I remember the gastroenterologist always consults his patients with this: If an emergency of acid reflux happens and you do not have any medications at home, you can try drinking lots of water so as to dilute the acid in the stomach. But of course, if too severe, please visit the Emergency Department.  

3) What kind of nutritious food when taken in large amount will result in indigestion?

   Beans, honey, garlic and onion are basically nutritious food. From my experience, after I advised the patient to stop eating these food and start them back in smaller quantity, their gastrointestional problem improved by almost 80% most of the time. 

Picture from www.wholesomeone.com

Please do consult your dietitian or pharmacist for any related topics.