I know it’s hard to believe, but eating incompatible fruit combinations can make you sick. If you have been reading my health articles, you probably already know that I am a strong advocate of a Mediterranean Diet that includes adequate amounts of fruits because they provide many essential vitamins and minerals for good health. So if that’s the case, how can eating fruit make you sick? Because when you eat certain fruits in combination with other foods, your body produces toxins and chemical reactions that are harmful to your body. These toxins can cause illness.

Thus, the first rule is to pay attention to the different combinations that can be incurred when eating fruits; the correct combinations will promote health, while the wrong combinations will generate disease. This is due to certain incompatibilities between foods that can be classified into chemical and physical:

*Chemical incompatibility: That in which toxic elements are formed during the digestion process because some of the nutrients found in the foods that are part of the meal are chemically incompatible with each other.

*Physical incompatibility: One in which some foods slow down the digestion of others, causing the mixture to stay longer than necessary in the digestive tract, that is, the stomach and intestines. An example would be eating farinaceous and acidic foods at the same meal.

fruit sorting
It is important to know the different groups in which fruits are classified, since this classification would help you to combine them properly. Fruits are generally classified into:

sour fruit: These fruits are rich in acids. Not all acidic fruits contain citric acid, as is the case with pineapple. Acidic fruits include oranges, grapefruit, pineapples, tangerines, lemons, tomatoes, kiwis, and strawberries.

Low acid fruits: The acids in these fruits are not as strong as those in acidic fruits. Low-acid fruits include apricots, plums, grapes, green apples, pears, nectarines, peaches, cherries, and mangoes.

sweet fruit: These fruits do not contain acids. Among them we find ripe bananas, all nuts, ripe mangoes, custard apples, sweet grapes and figs.

neutral fruit: They are the richest in proteins, vitamins, mineral salts and oils. Neutral fruits are avocados, papayas and nuts.

Take into account certain mixes between fruits.
Fresh fruits are easily digestible because they are low in protein, starch and fat, while they have a high content of water, enzymes and vitamins, characteristics that make them quickly absorbed through the intestine. Due to their rapid absorption, fruits should not be eaten immediately after meals, as they will settle on top of other foods in the stomach and ferment. This fermentation will cause toxins and poor digestion.

Although fruits are best eaten alone, they can be tolerated when eaten with other foods that present similar digestive conditions. The following are some guidelines that you can observe when eating fruits to prevent the formation of toxins:

Acid and low acid fruits: It is better not to combine them with other foods. Especially do not combine them with sweet or starchy fruits such as potatoes, bread, rice, corn, crackers, cereals, pumpkin, lentils, or wheat. Of course, you can combine them with animal proteins such as red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese and nuts.

sweet fruit: They can be combined with each other. Sweet fruits are not compatible with acid fruits; when the acids mix with the sugars they remain longer in the intestine and a toxic fermentation takes place. In addition, the formation of glucose takes more time.
Do not mix sweet fruits with cheese, yogurt, nuts, seeds, beans, chicken, fish, red meat, eggs, and coconut.

neutral fruit: Eating neutral fruits (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.) and sweet fruits at the same meal will always cause indigestion that can damage the liver. When neutral fruit oils combine with sweet fruit sugars, they produce toxic compounds that damage cells in the body. Neutral fruits can be combined with each other.

Combinations to avoid
1. Oranges and carrots: May cause liver malfunction. They increase bile production, increase substances that damage the kidneys, and can cause heartburn.

2. Pineapples and dairy products: This combination is quite toxic to the body.

3. Papayas and lemons: Can cause problems with hemoglobin, causing anemia.

General recommendations to follow when eating fruit
1. Eat fruit before a meal, not after.
2. Do not get carried away by acidic fruit juices
3. Do not drink fruit juice after a meal. You can drink it an hour before the meal.
4. Don’t mix fruits and vegetables in the same meal.
5. Do not mix oranges with other fruits.
6. Citrus should be consumed in the morning.
7. Sweet fruits can be eaten at any time of the day.
8. The fruit must be eaten ripe. Unripe fruits become acidic in the body.

For a nutritious and tasty fruit salad, you can mix the following fruits: papaya, ripe mango, pears, figs, dates, red apple, peaches, banana, nectarines and fresh cherries.

final thoughts
Many scientific studies have shown that when people eat adequate amounts of fruit, there is a substantial decrease in many common chronic diseases. Note, however, that incompatible fruit combinations can lead to disease.

Have a wonderful and healthy day.

Emilia Klapp, BS, RD.