Silver N
Food combining is a health-conscious approach to eating, where foods that require different digestive environments are eaten separately. Basically, no one in there right mind would ever think of eating these foods together if they knew what would happen in our digestive system. Some of the immediate consequences of bad food combinations are digestive un-ease, gas, bloating, stomach ache, nausea, fatigue, and problems with elimination. While short-term effects can clear up within a day or two, long-term food combining can lead to more severe problems like bad breath, dry skin, rashes, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, low energy, and chronic digestion issues.
- Fruit after a meal. Natural Hygienists have known for a long time that fruit doesn’t combine well with other foods. The reason is that fruit contains simple sugars that require no digestion. Thus, they will not stay for a long time in the stomach. Other foods, such as foods rich in fat, protein and starch, will stay in the stomach for a longer period of time because they require more digestion. So if you eat fruit after a meal, the fruit sugar will stay for too long in the stomach and ferment.
- Cereal or oatmeal with milk and orange juice. Acids in orange juice or any acid fruits destroy the enzyme that is responsible for digesting starches present in cereal. Also, acidic fruits or juices can curdle milk and turn it into a heavy mucus-forming substance. To keep your breakfast healthy, try having fruit or orange juice 30 min before the oatmeal.
- Bananas and milk. Ayurveda lists this combination as one of the heaviest and toxin-forming. It is said to create heaviness in the body and slow down the mind. If you are a fan of milk-based banana drinks make sure that banana is very ripe and add cardamom and nutmeg to stimulate digestion.
- Pineapple and milk. The bromelain in pineapple and milk do not go well together. That is the main reason why you should not mix these two products together. If you choose to do that, you will cause a series of problems to your body such as nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and headaches.
- Vegetables and fruits. It is important to know that you should not consume vegetables and fruits together. You should not do this because the sugar that you enter in the body by consuming fruits will stay in your gut for an extended period of time since it needs more time to digest. By consuming vegetables and fruits together you may cause belly ache, diarrhea and headaches because as the fruits remain in your gut, they ferment and release toxins in the bloodstream.
- Lemon on cucumber and tomato salad. Nightshades such as potatoes, chillies, eggplant, and tomatoes are not supposed to be combined with cucumbers. While lemon does not go well with either.
- Lemon and milk. Milk curdles when lemon is added to it. The same happens inside the stomach. Although it is generally believed that the digestive juices in the stomach are far more acidic than lemon, yet Ayurveda and traditional science considers this toxic.
- Water and melon. All melons should be left alone, goes the old saying. Since melons are 90-95% water, drinking water after having them may dilute the digestive juices in the body.
