Is it true that some products cannot be combined
About why you can’t drink herring with milk, whether vitamins from different foods are at war with each other and what you can’t eat with meat.
Some foods are said to not be eaten together. Allegedly, milk with pickles brings indigestion, fruit for dessert is harmful, and whole grain bread should be eaten separately from everything. Lists of incompatible products are growing and multiplying. We did not dare to try dangerous combinations on ourselves (suddenly it’s really impossible) and asked a specialist.
Anna Yurkevich
Gastroenterologist. He is the author of a blog on nutrition and digestive health.
Provided that we have a relatively healthy person, his gastrointestinal tract must cope with almost any combination of products.
The exception is individual intolerance: if the human body does not have enough enzymes to digest milk, then in any case, he risks an extraordinary time to visit the restroom. And it doesn’t matter if he ate herring or not.
Another example: in many people, the intestines cannot simultaneously absorb a large amount of fructose (many fruits and vegetables are rich in it). Intestinal bacteria utilize its excess, as a result of which gas is released, a person feels bloating.
Another thing is if we want to get the maximum benefit from food, some products are undesirable to combine.
How to eat meat
For many, the problem of iron deficiency is relevant. This is a condition in which there is not enough iron in the body, but there is still no anemia (low hemoglobin level), and there are already clinical manifestations: weakness, dizziness, hair loss, restless legs syndrome.
Therefore, if we want to absorb the maximum iron from the product, it is not necessary to combine meat rich in iron and dairy products rich in calcium in one meal. But it is desirable that in a plate with meat there are foods rich in vitamin C, such as cabbage. Strong tea and coffee also impede the absorption of iron.
How to eat porridge
If we want the body to receive certain microelements (zinc or iron) from food, we should not get involved in this meal with whole grain cereals, which are rich in phytates, which slow down the absorption of nutrients.
To reduce the phytic acid content in products, they must be soaked (fermented). This applies to cereals, legumes, nuts. After fermentation in warm water for 10-12 hours, antienzymes and phytic acid are neutralized. As a result, we get a product from which vitamins and minerals are better absorbed.
How to eat vegetables and fruits
There is also evidence that vitamins, which are abundant in fruits and vegetables, can interact with each other and with some components of food. Therefore, it is believed that the simultaneous use of certain vitamins is undesirable, as they will interfere with each other’s assimilation.
But studies proving this fact were carried out “in vitro”. How this actually happens in the body and how we can really affect it is still not clear.
But what we can really do is try to get the most vitamins from the foods. To do this, you need:
Eat vegetables and fruits fresh. And the faster, the better – long-term storage reduces the content of nutrients, but does not completely destroy them.
Process fruits and vegetables less. Heat treatment also reduces the content of many vitamins. Therefore, do not send broccoli to the oven for an hour, it is better to steam. By the way, if you chose such a cooking option as cooking, remember that some of the vitamins will go into the broth.
Cook vegetables immediately before meals. The mechanical effect also affects vitamins: the longer the sliced salad is stored, the less vitamins it contains. Let me remind you that long-term storage of salads is also unsafe from the point of view of the occurrence of food poisoning.
