For the longest time, we thought tomato and cucumber go hand-in-hand. When mixed together, they make for a refreshing salad, a healthy raita, and even a cool and comforting sabzi at times. Both the ingredients are hydrating, cooling, and packed with a range of health-benefiting properties. But did you know, the combination of cucumber and salad is not as healthy as you might have thought it to be? You heard us. According to Ayurveda, they are 'virudh anna' that may disrupt the regular balance of the body. Let's elucidate further.
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What Is Virudh Anna? Why Certain Food Combinations Is Considered Unhealthy?
Every food ingredient has its own unique nature, characteristics, and digestion speed. And these are what define if the combination of two ingredients is safe, or not. To put it simply, when two foods of two different natures or different digestion speeds come together, they cause a "traffic jam" in the gut, leading to negative effects on overall health.
According to an article by Ayurvedic expert Vasant Lad on the website of 'The Ayurvedic Institute', "Every food has its own taste (rasa), a heating or cooling energy (virya) and a post-digestive effect (vipaka). Some also possess prabhava, an unexplained effect. So, 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. When two or more foods having different tastes, energy, and post-digestive effects are combined, agni can become overloaded, inhibiting the enzyme system and resulting in the production of toxins."
However, to your surprise, these same foods, when consumed separately, can stimulate agni and promote proper digestion and metabolism.
Also Read: 5 Reasons Why Tomato Shorba Makes For The Perfect Dinner Option
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Cucumber And Tomato: Good Or Bad Food Combination? Let's Find Out:
Both cucumber and tomato are popular ingredients in a quintessential Indian salad. But according to health experts, they do not make a great combination in terms of health. Why, you ask?
According to health experts, cucumber contains several essential nutrients that help you stay hydrated. But it also contains a property that is known to interfere with vitamin C absorption.
Tomato, on the other hand, contains a generous amount of vitamin C, when combined with cucumber, may imbalance the acidic pH in the body.
Vasant Lad weighs in, "Poor combining can produce indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction and gas formation and, if prolonged, can lead to toxaemia and other diseases. Alongside, it may also cause confusion in the intelligence of our cells, which can lead to many different diseases."
Bonus Tips: How To Eat Tomato-Cucumber Salad And Aid Digestion?
While we understand cucumber and tomato make a poor food combination, let's be practical, omitting any one of the two from a salad bowl seems impossible. So, what do you do then? Fret not. Here's a solution for you. According to Vasant Lad, you can start the meal with half a tsp of grated ginger and a pinch of rock salt to stimulate digestive juices. Alongside, add some salt (preferably rock salt/black salt) to the salad to aid digestion and retain water. And most importantly, chew your food well to speed up the digestion process.
Eat healthy, stay fit!