Milk takes more time to digest, compared to watermelon (Photo Credit: iStock)
We have very few things to like about the summer season and fresh fruits are one of them. The season brings along a range of fruits that are juicy, and sweet and cool you down in just no time. One such popular summer fruit is watermelon and we have hundreds of ways to savour its goodness throughout the season. We have it as is, in the form of salad, and juice, and even add it to our regular shakes and smoothies. But wait, that's where you need to reconsider your food habits. While we know watermelon smoothies and watermelon milkshakes are summer favourites, as per Ayurveda, the combination might not be as good as you thought it to be. You read that right!
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Watermelon And Milk: Is It A Healthy Or Unsafe Food Combination?
Watermelon packs a punch when it comes to nutrients. As per Northwestern Health Sciences University, it contains about 15 percent of your daily vitamin C needs, along with a wealth of other vitamins and minerals including potassium and vitamins A and B6. Milk, on the other hand, is a storehouse of calcium, potassium, magnesium, and several essential nutrients. While individually the ingredients offer a range of benefits, as per experts, they can turn toxic together.
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According to Ayurvedic experts Usha and Vasant Lad, every food has its own taste (rasa), heating or cooling energy (virya), and a post-digestive effect (vipaka). While it is true that an individual's agni largely determines how well or poorly food is digested, food combinations are also of great importance. "Poor combination can produce indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction, and gas formation and, if prolonged, can lead to toxemia and disease," reads an article on the website ayurveda.com.
A combination of milk and melon of any kind is the perfect example of the same. Both the ingredients have cooling properties, but milk is laxative and melon is diuretic in nature. This means milk requires more time for digestion when compared to the latter. And the stomach acid, required to digest the melon, causes the milk to curdle, further leading to indigestion. "These incompatible food combinations not only disturb the digestion but also cause confusion in the intelligence of our cells, which can lead to many different diseases," writes Usha and Vasant Lad on the website ayurveda.com.
So, we suggest, instead of combining the two, have watermelon and milk separately and enjoy the benefits of both healthy ingredients individually. Enjoy a healthy life!
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.