Is it ok to mix fruit with protein? (Like in a Smoothi...

V

vron

Cathlete
I was thinking about putting noni juice in my morning smoothie, which is just strawberries, whey powder, and some type of milk substitute. I mentioned this to a friend who told me that I should never put fruit or juice in my protein drink because your not suppose to mix your protein with sugar. :eek: Anyone else hear of this?
 
Hmmmh, actually I put fruit in my protein shakes all the time. I heard the contrary is true, we need to mix protein with some complex carbs to keep the blood sugar stable and supply vitamins.

Although, I had a personal trainer several years who told me to replace two of my meals with just plain water and protein powder - YUCK!! I made it less than a week and the success was more than questionable.

However there are so many theories out there now, it makes my head spin.

Did your friend say why you are not supposed to mix your protein? Just curious!

Carola
 
I heard the same as Carola. Besides, it makes it much more palatable to have strawberries blended in with my protein powder! A scoop of powder, some strawberries (and/or banana) and a little milk or a tsp of peanut butter gives it staying power for a great snack.

Jill
 
I have a fruit smoothie with peaches, strawberries or any other fruit, soymilk, some type of protein powder, 1T ground flaxseed every morning after my workout. I have never heard of not mixing fruit with protein?....
 
I have a smoothie almost every morning post-workout, containing protein powder AND fruit (usually strawberry or orange). I've heard that the combination is a GOOD thing - protein/carb replacement wise post workout.
Bernadette
 
Here's her message below. What do you all think?

-----------------------------
"Never ever mix sugars w' proteins or oils they have diffe rent absorption rates and occur in different parts of you
sugars first ,proteins oils secondthen salad which is opposite of americans...the french got it right. The antioxidants will bind the the proteins in the protein shake (if it is whey or any other milk derivative) and become, pretty much, useless. take it on it's own first thing in the morning with your green tea, wait at least 45 mins then do shake."
 
RE: Is it ok to mix fruit with protein? (Like in a Smo...

i can only speak from personal experience, and i've noticed a huge difference in my body and my workouts since starting shakes post workout. i put a banana in mine, so i say go for the fruit!
 
RE: Is it ok to mix fruit with protein? (Like in a Smo...

Allright, this sounds like the Hay's separation principle or Hay's separation diet. It has it's origins in the 1920s or 30s. The inventor, Howard Hay claimed that the human body consists of 20 % acidic elements and 80 % alkaline elements and the food intake needs to be similar (more alkaline forming foods) in order to keep the body chemistry balanced.

It was originally intended to prevent and cure disease (supposedly Hay had a kidney disease and was cured through this diet), only later did it turn into a weightloss program.

It is based on the principle of food combining, it proclaims that foods are either alkaline or acid forming, proteins are acid forming, foods high in carbohydrates are alkaline forming and therefore, need to be eaten separately.

To really confuse everyone there is a third, neutral category, which are foods with lower carbs as well as oils/fat dairy products, cheese, and some meat (whereas the other meat and seafood is in the protein category, yikes, makes your head spin :) )

So you can eat foods from the alkaline forming group with neutral or foods from the acidic forming group with neutral, but NEVER acidic and alkaline forming food together

The diet was very popular in Germany in the 80s and 90s, many spas, health facilities and health care practicioners recommended the diet to their clients and patients. It's still around and some people swear by it.

My opinion, it is almost impossible to seperate the foods, because most foods contain alkaline AND acidic elements. The notion that protein and carbs eaten together cause fermentation in the small intestines, and therefore prevent either weightloss or prevent the absorption of nutrients doesn't sound credible to me. So in short, I think it's a bunch of crock! But that's me, come to your own conclusions.

I will be off to make my protein shake WITH raspberries - Yummm!!
}( :+

Have a great day everyone!

Carola
 
RE: Is it ok to mix fruit with protein? (Like in a Smo...

Oh thank God! Now I can have my smoothie guilt-free! ;)
 
Some schools of thought (like Natural Higiene) say that you should never mix fruit with any other foods, because fruits digest very quickly (about 20 minutes transit time in the stomach), while other foods take longer. So eating them together would slow down the digestion of the fruits, which would begin to ferment, and cause gas and digestive problems. (A good reason to eat fruit first in a meal rather than last...and I find it helps).

But a smoothie would be more easily digested than a regular meal. I make protein/fruit smoothies all the time.

But I've got to ask: Noni juice? Yuk! Tastes like dirty socks, IMO (But it IS very good for you!).
 
>"Never ever mix sugars w' proteins or oils they have diffe
>rent absorption rates and occur in different parts of you
>sugars first ,proteins oils secondthen salad which is opposite
>of americans...the french got it right. The antioxidants will
>bind the the proteins in the protein shake (if it is whey or
>any other milk derivative) and become, pretty much, useless.
>take it on it's own first thing in the morning with your green
>tea, wait at least 45 mins then do shake."


I've never heard or read this reasoning before. And most of it doesn't make much sense (the antioxidants binding with proteins? proteins and oils being absorbed in different parts of you? what about foods that are high in both protein and fat?). Sounds like it's from some very specific school of thought (maybe even one person's opinion).
 
RE: Is it ok to mix fruit with protein? (Like in a Smo...

>It is based on the principle of food combining, it proclaims
>that foods are either alkaline or acid forming, proteins are
>acid forming, foods high in carbohydrates are alkaline forming
>and therefore, need to be eaten separately.

Hmmm...most grains are acid-forming, so he got that wrong.
 
RE: Is it ok to mix fruit with protein? (Like in a Smo...

>Some schools of thought (like Natural Higiene) say that you
>should never mix fruit with any other foods, because fruits
>digest very quickly (about 20 minutes transit time in the
>stomach), while other foods take longer. So eating them
>together would slow down the digestion of the fruits, which
>would begin to ferment, and cause gas and digestive problems.
>(A good reason to eat fruit first in a meal rather than
>last...and I find it helps).
>
I believe the Hay's seperation diet is a variation of the philosophy of natural hygiene. Purists on the Hay's diet also claim that fruit should never be mixed with protein or starches. Sweet fruit should never be eaten with acidic fruit and all fruit should be eaten before noon.

It's my understanding that the natural hygiene movement is actually made up of different kinds of diets, i.e.

Food Combining (Hay's seperation principle an example)
Raw Food/Living Food Diet (at least 75 % of food has to be raw)

I don't know, the whole principle sounds a little far-fetched for me, but whatever floats people's boat.

At the risk of sounding stupid and uninformed, what the heck is Noni juice? Not that I would want to drink "dirty socks" }( but I am curious

Carola
 
RE: Is it ok to mix fruit with protein? (Like in a Smo...

>At the risk of sounding stupid and uninformed, what the heck
>is Noni juice? Not that I would want to drink "dirty socks" }(
> but I am curious

For your enlightenment:

http://www.noni.com/home/noni/index.aspx

(they don't, however, mention the socks).;-)
 
Dr. John Berardi, who has a doctoral degree from the University of Western Ontario (2005) with a specialization in the area of exercise biology and nutrient biochemistry, highly recommends adding fruit to protein shakes. This provides for proper balance of proteins & carbs.

You can read more about Dr. Berardi on his website www.johnberardi.com or his Precision Nutrition website (you won't be able to post on the forums unless you own the manuals) www.precisionnutrition.com.

Disclaimer: I purchased Precision Nutrition. Got a lot of useful info out of it but decided I would never follow the plan & sent it back. Essentially, PN is a "clean" eating program. You can/will find a TON of useful info on his personal site.
 
RE: Is it ok to mix fruit with protein? (Like in a Smo...

My Ayur-vedic doctor and many of my friends from India always advise that fruit should be eaten alone (or twenty minutes before other foods) since of all foods, fruit is digested the quickest and moves swiftly through the GI tract. Proteins apparently require the most time in the stomach being digested. I have followed this prescription because I have personally found that eating fruit with proteins can cause gas for me. I have noticed that several cultures (not American) practice this dietary rule.

Angie Reginato, RHN, Natural Nutritionist and Health Consultant writes more technically about the need to eat fruit alone—not with protein or other foods:

“Fruit has a different digestive process. It is NOT digested in the stomach, but in the intestinal tract. If there is food in the stomach already, the fruit will sit on top and cause fermentation and putrefaction of proteins (fruit contains sugar and our body is warm). This compromises the digestive process and facilitates toxins which can be absorbed through the intestinal walls along with nutrients. The body will then have to deal with these toxins over-exerting the liver and lymphatic system. Over time, if these toxins accumulate, it can lead to diseases such as arthritis, allergies, and auto-immune (auto-intoxication) as well as affect the immune system. Eating fruit as a snack is the best way to consume it. Try eating fruit mid-morning or mid-afternoon, two hours after your last meal and a minimum of half an hour before you eat again. Also, avoid eating jam on toast if you are eating protein, as the digestive processes of protein and fruit, in particular, produce a large amount of toxins.”

So I think the food combining issue has more to do with differing sites and rates of digestion for particular foods than anything else.


Manmohini
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top