Everyone tells you to eat healthy. With so much junk food around, one of the easiest replacements is fruits. When trying to eat healthy, fruits are a delicious and convenient alternative to other kinds of unhealthy snacking options.
Lately though, a conversation has emerged that puts restrictions on the hows and whys of consuming them. While earlier in a piece that we did in consultation with nutritionists, the consensus gave fruits an all-clear in terms of their consumption, an exploration of Ayurvedic advice ended up being in disagreement with most of those conclusions. So, we reached out to an Ayurveda doctor to explain to us our body’s relationships with fruits.
Speaking with FIT, Dr Partap Chauhan, Director, Jiva Ayurveda, asserts unequivocally that fruits immediately after a meal is just “wrong”. The reason for this is a disruption in digestion of the ingested food items.
Consequences of this could be several - from bloating and gas to indigestion and even weight gain. This could have more long-term consequences like skin diseases and chronic disorders, adds the doctor explaining it further.
The only raw food that can be consumed with cooked food is that which is grown underground.
When we talk of milk and fruits, again the combination is a big no-no, says the doctor.
The best time to have milk is at night while the best time to have fruits is during the day. This is precisely why banana shakes should be avoided, along with mango shakes unless the mango has ripened completely on the tree before being plucked and has not been ripened chemically or with adulteration. However, the doctor adds, since this is near impossible to confirm, it’s always advisable to steer clear of them.
When it comes to mixing fruits and vegetables, Dr Chauhan, reinforces the point about mixing cooked and uncooked food items. Vegetables are almost never eaten raw and it’s the opposite for fruits. Consequently, the two should not be mixed.
The doctor calls the combination of the two a “slow poison” resulting in various health problems over a period of time. The gap between the two should be about two hours so that there’s enough time for the stomach to empty itself.
Other than the whole idea of not mixing cooked and uncooked food items, there is also the concern of several body types not being too compatible with raw food items. Dr Partap mentions the vata (one of the three doshas of the body according to Ayurveda) prakriti in this context which is marked by the presence of air inside the body. It’s more commonly found in lean bodies.
Having said that, the doctor also adds that there is no general advice in Ayurveda that can be given to all. Every individual is different and is assessed against twelve parameters according to Ayurveda. Thus sensitivities specific to a particular person have a huge role to play.
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