Not all smoothie combinations are healthy, know what to avoid

If your idea of a healthy smoothie is to blend all things nutritious, you might have to rethink this strategy. While many stand-alone ingredients might be healthy, when blended together, these can be quite dangerous. Not all fruits and vegetables can be mixed together, and one must be aware of which fruits work well with each other. There are a few smoothie combinations that can be toxic for our body. Considering the nutritional value of fruit combinations, when the ingredients are churned together, must be kept in mind. Packed with all the greens, fruits, nuts, seeds and milk, the choice of ingredients are unlimited. But making smoothie combinations can be a tricky subject without knowing the nutritional values of all the ingredients.

What are smoothies, and how to make them?

Smoothies have a liquid base, such as fruit juice, water, coconut water. Fruits and vegetables are blended together in this base to get a smoothie. Pureed fruits and vegetables can be mixed in yoghurt and ice cream as well. However, one needs to be careful of what one mixes together. “Did you know, the wrong smoothie combinations are the leading cause of chronic gut health issues and serious skin disorders like psoriasis, eczema, body acne, urticaria and such,” says Ayurvedic health coach Dimple Jangda in an Instagram post. It is important to understand why shouldn’t you mix fruits and vegetables in smoothies.

How can smoothie combinations be toxic ?

Drinking a smoothie packed with the richness of health-benefiting nutrients can be a healthy and delicious addition to any diet. But incorrect and unsafe smoothie combinations can prove to detract you from your health instead of being wholesome – even in a smoothie bowl! Therefore, it is important to note what should you not mix in a smoothie.

While fruits and vitamins provide us with a lot of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fibre, excessive or inappropriate intake of these ingredients surely isn’t a good thing.

Jangda suggests a few permutations and combinations for a toxic smoothie:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Dairy
• Yogurt

Let us see how:

1. Fruits:

   One of the worst smoothie combinations is mixing fruits and vegetables. Jangda says, “Eat it alone or leave it alone!”. Fruits have active antibacterial enzymes that react with everything they’re mixed with. In all healthy smoothie recipes, fruits cannot be mixed with milk, yogurt, vegetables, grains and pulses or meat! Fruits turn toxic when combined with other food groups and can trigger skin disorders. Hence, it is highly recommended to eat fruits without mixing with other ingredients.

2. Vegetables:

   It is advised to never blend vegetables with fruits. Jangda says, “Do not mix vegetables”. Vegetables cannot be mixed with fruits in smoothies as they create toxic gases which can trigger digestive issues and skin disorders like psoriasis, eczema, acne, urticaria and such.

3. Yogurt or Indian curd:

   Curd or yogurt is loaded with gut friendly bacteria, but it is considered the heaviest food in Ayurveda, according to Jangda. It is an important ingredient in healthy smoothie recipes as long as it is not mixed with fruits.

Mixing dairy with fruits may slow down your digestion and take longer than usual to get absorbed by the body.

Come, check out Dimple Jangda’s post for yourself!

But how can we consume these ingredients?

Fruit combinations in healthy smoothie recipes

Here are a few recommendations by Jangda on how to include fruits in your smoothie:

• You can have a single fruit or similar fruit groups together, in stewed or raw forms
• Astringent fruits like apples, pear, berries, cherries, strawberries, or sour fruits like tangerine, orange, grapefruit, lemon, or sweet fruits like mango, custard apple etc can’t be mixed with other groups
• You can also have single fruit juices during the summers.

How to include vegetables in your smoothies?

Here’s how you can put vegetables in your smoothies, without them causing them harm to you.

• You can cook them or consume them raw
• Vegetables should be either steamed, cooked, or made into a soup for easy digestion
• Vegetable juices are a new lifestyle habit, but must be consumed under a doctor’s guidance to avoid chronic long term side effects
• Carrot, celery juices are the safest to consume.

How to include yogurt or curd in your smoothies

As far as curd and yoghurt go, here are some healthy smoothie combinations for you to try out.

• Instead of mixing the curd with fruits, add some spices, salt or even sweeteners like jaggery or honey
• You can even consume it raw or with your main course.Also Read: Weight loss alert! Gulp a glass of this smoothie to shed the extra kilos

Forbidden smoothie combinations

According to Jangda, these combinations can trigger digestion issues and skin diseases like psoriasis, eczema, acne, urticaria or skin issues. Therefore, avoid blending these combinations:.

• Vegetables + Fruits
• Fruits + Milk
• Fruits + Yogurt
• Fruits + Grains

Safe smoothie combinations

• Fruits + Nut milk
• Fruits + Dry fruits
• Vegetables + Yogurt, spices
• Vegetables + Grains, spices
• Milk + Dry fruits, spices
• Yogurt + Dry fruits, spices

Try out these combinations as a healthy and nourishing smoothie bowl or slurp these on your way to work or at home!