Fruity fermentation

During my Italian singing exercises (yes NITC is attempting to learn to sing!) my wonderful teacher Karen, from city music services, suggested that I'd like fruit salad as a pudding. Rather than agreeing and carrying on with the exercises I couldn't help but point out that at the end of a meal is exactly when you shouldn't be eating fruit.

Fruit digests very quickly when eaten alone, however if you eat it at the end of a meal it won't be able to be broken down quickly as it will be stuck above the slower digesting proteins, fats and other carbohydrates from your meal. If it remains partially digested for too long, fruit can then start fermenting creating gas. This can lead to bloating, wind, irritable bowel symptoms as well as incomplete digestion of your meal and also overtime aggravate the gut.

Fruit is best eaten on an empty stomach and is a great way to break the overnight fast - have a piece before you leave the house in the morning to get your metabolism going and then eat your breakfast when you get to work or have some fruit 3 to 4 hours after your lunch as a mid afternoon snack rather than eating it immediately after your lunch.

If you fancy a fruit dessert after supper stick to berries, which ferment less than other fruit (as do ripe bananas), or have your fruit cooked which partially breaks it down, dramatically reducing the fermentation. Fruit tarts and crumbles fit the bill, although can be sugar and fat laden. Baked apples and poached pears make a healthy alternative, and as usual Elena's Pantry has some great healthy recipes:

http://www.elanaspantry.com/apple-crisp/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/baked-apples/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/cherry-blueberry-crumble/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/peach-crisp/