We all think that a bowl of fruits and vegetables is the best kind of meal one can have. We chop all the fruits and salad vegetables that our refrigerator has, squeeze a lime, add a dash of salt and we believe it to be the healthiest ever. But is this the right way to go about it?
Acidic, sweet or neutral – If this isn’t how you categorize your fruits when combining them, you need a lesson in how to go about your salads.
First of all, you shouldn’t mix fruits and vegetables with each other. Second of all, you shouldn’t even combine certain fruits with each other. This basically depends on the speed of digestion of different fruits and vegetables. Many permutations that you are making are perhaps hindering optimal digestion and assimilation.
Here’s how you can decide what to pull in that bowl of yours the next time.
Have melons with melons
Melons are celibates. They never pair up with anyone else. Have them by themselves as they may not digest well with any other fruit. This is because they digest faster than most other fruits owing to their high water content. Avoid mixing your watermelons, muskmelons, cantaloupe and honeydews with other fruits.
Never have acidic/sub acidic with sweet fruits
Try not to mix acidic fruits, such as grapefruits and strawberries, or sub-acidic foods such as apples, pomegranates and peaches, with sweet fruits, such as bananas and raisins for a better digestion. However, you can mix acidic with sub-acidic fruits.
For a similar reason, you should not mix guavas and bananas. Some studies claim that the duo can even increase your chances of nausea, acidosis and headaches.
Never have fruits with vegetables
Fruits and vegetables digest differently. Fruits have a quicker pace of digestion and in fact, many nutritionists say that they are partially digested by the time they reach the stomach. Also, fruits have more sugar content, something that can hinder the digestive process of vegetables.
For the same reason, one shouldn’t mix orange with carrot as when taken together, they may cause heartburn and excess bile reflux.
Never mix starchy with high protein
Only a few fruits are starchy in nature. These include green bananas and plantains. But there are many vegetables that are starchy in nature, such as corns, potatoes, cowpeas, black-eyed peas and water chestnuts. You should never mix them with high protein fruits and vegetables such as raisins, guava, spinach and broccoli. This is because your body needs an acidic base to digest proteins and an alkaline base to digest starches.
4 quick fruit fixes
- Consume between 4 to 6 fruits at one time.
- If you have had a lot of proteins, have papaya the next morning as it contains papain to break it down.
- If you have over-eaten salt, have a water-based fruit, like watermelon, the next morning to flush out the salt.
- If you have had excess carbs, like pasta, have apple the next morning as your body needs to work out more to break the complex carbs that an apple contains. This helps prevent bloating which may otherwise be caused by simple carbs like the ones in pasta.
FAQs
Some Useful Tips to Aid Digestion
| DON'T EAT | WITH |
|---|
| Milk | BANANAS, cherries, melons, sour fruits; bread containing yeast, fish, kitchari, meat, yogurt |
| Nightshades, e.g., potato, tomato | melon; cucumber, dairy products |
| Radishes | bananas, raisins; milk |
| Tapioca | fruit, especially banana and mango; beans, raisins, jaggary |
9 more rowsA list of common foods that don't complement each other.
- Cereal and orange juice. The acids in orange juice destroy the enzyme that helps digest starches present in cereal. ...
- Melons and milk. ...
- Fruits after meals. ...
- Beans and cheese. ...
- Ghee and honey. ...
- Tomato and cheese pasta sauce.
The nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant) should not be consumed with meat, fish, cucumbers or dairy products. Avoid combining meat with milk, radish, sprouts, honey and sesame. Starchy foods should not be combined with fruit, milk and eggs. Moreover, starch and fructose should not be combined.
Which food combination causes sudden death? ›
Recently a 17 year old girl from Kerala, India has died after consuming Prawns biriyani and Limejuice. Doctors confirmed the cause of the death as 'allergic combination' of these food items after Autopsy.
What not to mix with bananas? ›
This is why, health experts recommend avoiding acidic and sub-acidic fruits like lemon, pomegranate, strawberries, etc with banana, which is sweet in nature. In fact, some studies have found that when eaten together, bananas and acidic fruits create issues like nausea, headache et al.
Can apple and banana be eaten together? ›
Yes, it is safe to eat apples and bananas at the same time. Apples are a crunchy, bright-colored and one of the most popular fruit in the world. Bananas are also healthy, delicious and very convenient snack food. Both are extremely healthy and delicious.
Which fruit combination should be avoided? ›
Avoid mixing acidic fruits with sweet fruits
Acidic and sub-acidic fruits such as grapefruits, strawberries, apples, pomegranates, and peaches, should never be combined with sweet fruits such as bananas and raisins. This is because it often leads to digestive problems, nausea, acidosis, and headaches.
Which fruits cannot be mixed with yogurt? ›
“Fruits, especially citrus fruits such as strawberries, grapes, oranges, amla, etc, should not be taken with milk or yoghurt. This is because this combination can lead to gastritis and a host of other gut health issues,” she said.
Which fruits should not be mixed with milk? ›
Mixing milk with sour and citrus fruits or ingredients is a strict “No'' this is because the presence of vitamin C and citric acid in sour foods like orange and lemon when combined with milk can coagulate and lead to acid reflux, heartburn, upset stomach and allergies, chest congestion and cold cough to name a few.
Which two food combination is poisonous? ›
6 Dangerous Food Combinations
- Fruit and Starch-rich Foods. Foods are easily digested into the intestinal tracts. ...
- Sugar and Protein-rich Foods. If you're a regular at the gym, this is significant for you. ...
- Dairy Foods and Antibiotics. ...
- Mint and Cold Drinks. ...
- Milk and Lemon. ...
- Melons and Milk.
1. Poultry. Raw and undercooked poultry such as chicken, duck and turkey has a high risk of causing food poisoning.
What food combinations make you sick? ›
10 Food Combinations That Cause Indigestion
- 1/10. Banana Smoothies with Milk. ...
- 2/10. Bean and Cheese Burritos. ...
- 3/10. Melon and Prosciutto. ...
- 4/10. Steak Sandwiches. ...
- 5/10. Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Parmesan. ...
- 6/10. Pancakes with Blueberries. ...
- 7/10. Fruit After Dinner. ...
- 8/10. Yogurt with Tart Berries.
Go slow on unhealthy foods
- Added sugar. Whether it's white granulated sugar, brown sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, corn sugar, or honey, sugar contains almost no nutrients and is pure carbohydrate. ...
- Baked sweets. ...
- White carbohydrates. ...
- Processed and high-fat meats. ...
- Salt.
Do not combine starches or sugars with proteins or acid fruits. Eat fruits and vegetables as most of one's diet. Eat proteins, starches and fats in moderation. Only eat whole, unprocessed grains (e.g., no white flour or refined sugar).
Why shouldn't you eat fruits and vegetables together? ›
Dietician Garima Goyal says, “Mixing vegetables and fruits is a controversial topic. They have different digestibility index and mixing them is linked with potential gastrointestinal disturbances.”
Why should you not eat protein and starch together? ›
When you eat starches like potatoes or bread, your stomach secretes the enzyme ptyalin to create an alkaline environment. Eating proteins and starches together tends to neutralize the acids and inhibits digestion. The body then has to deal with this poorly digested food.
