Do not mix fruit with your meals

Published: 08/01/2012 - Updated: 10/08/2018

If you are someone who normally eat a fruit for dessert, right after lunch or dinner and then don’t understand the reasons for your digestive problems, here we explain you why you shouldn’t mix the food and when is the best time to eat fruit.

When is the best time to eat fruit?

According to nutritionists, the ideal time to eat fruit is mid-morning or mid-afternoon, at breakfast or for dinner. The reason is that fruits aren’t digested in the stomach; they pass through the stomach in 20 to 30 minutes and decompose, releasing nutrients in the intestines.

If you eat fruit followed by your food, then the fruit can’t pass directly into the stomach as it contacts with digestive juices and other foods in the stomach; they get fermented and acidified, causing a sensation of indigestion, without flavor and acidity, and in other people can cause heavier discomfort including gas and stomach pain.

Empty stomach

So if your stomach is empty you can eat all the fruit you want, but you should wait half hour to eat other food. Only bananas, peaches and nuts require 45 minutes to an hour.

If you eat correctly your fruits, your body will get the maximum benefit from their nutrients, you can even reduce your weight, because the energy saved by not having to be digested in the stomach is significant and is automatically redirected to clean your body toxic waste.

Now once you've eaten your food, depending on the ingredients of your meal, you should expect a margin of 3 hours to eat a fruit for dessert. For example if you only ate a salad of raw vegetables, after two hours you can eat fruit, if your food has no meat, 3 hours and if it has meat about 4 hours.

Not everybody feel bad after mixing foods, some are more sensitive than others. If you combine and don’t present any symptoms, that shows your body is highly adaptable.

Fruits with fruit

Sweet and sour

Another clarification to make is that not all mixtures of fruit are necessarily correct. It isn’t good for our body to mix sweet fruit together with acid fruits; they delay the processing of glucose, giving more time than normal in the intestines which also produces toxic fermentation.

Acidic foods and semi-acid don’t allow any mixing with other fruits.

Neutral with sweet

If we mix neutral fruits as hazelnut, walnut, almond, coconut, peanuts, etc, with sweet fruits at one meal, that will cause indigestion and fermentation and can cause liver damage, as they produce toxic enzymes for cellular life.

Neutral fruits can be mixed together.

Sweets with sweets

The sweet fruits are those with fewer restrictions, can be eaten any time of day (of course without mixing with food), and are best taken early. Sweet fruits also can be mixed between them, as in a nutritive and rich salad.

Orange and carrot

Another combination that must be considered is between the orange and carrot.

A combination of both could increase the acidity, cause discomfort in the liver and could generate an excess of bile.

Pineapple with milk

Can be toxic because pineapple contains bromelain, which added to the milk can activate poisoning.

Papaya with lemon

Causes problems in hemoglobin and causes anemia.

Don’t stop eating fruits; they contain many vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids, also plenty of soluble fiber that promotes intestinal transit. They prevent the accumulation of gases and they have a lot of water that disappear the accumulated waste. Just know when to eat them.

About the author
  • S.M. Aiquipa

    She has a degree in Communication. She has complemented her work as a journalist with an in-depth study of dietetics and health. Sally has a solid background in journalism and great communication skills. She is able to explain in a clear, simple and understandable way complex nutritional concepts or high level scientific studies. Linkedin profile.