Q My wife insists on eating fruit about two hours after lunch and dinner and no sooner than that. She read somewhere that it is not good or healthy to eat fruit immediately after lunch or dinner. If you eat them immediately after meals, the absorption of vitamins from the food is hampered.

I have to follow suit, but I find it uncomfortable eating fruit (especially oranges) around 10pm. I suppose that is due to the acidic conditions in my stomach.

Is there an optimum time to eat fruit in order to obtain maximum benefit, yet minimise undesirable side effects?

A In healthy adults, fruit can be eaten at any time of the day - before, with or after a meal and as a snack. There is no scientific evidence supporting the claim that fruit should be eaten two hours after a meal for the purpose of maximising nutritional benefits.

For those who are significantly overweight, try to monitor your intake of food during meals, if having fruit afterwards is a must.

On the other hand, having one portion of fruit as a snack between meals is healthy and can help prevent excessive food intake during meals, thus reducing total caloric intake.

Since you seem to experience discomfort - like heartburn - after eating certain fruit (for example citrus fruit such as oranges), you may want to choose non-citrus fruit instead: apples or pears, for example. If the discomfort persists, you should seek medical attention.

Natalie Goh is a nutritionist and full member of the Singapore Nutrition and Dietetics Association.