Mixing Vegetables and Fruits

by Jordan
(Florida)

Q: I've read in lots of places not to mix veggies and fruits when juicing. What is the reasoning behind this?

A: Hi Jordan! Good question. The reasoning behind a lot of juice enthusiasts saying that you shouldn't mix fruits and veggies has to do with food combining. And it goes for regular food too. Your stomach uses different enzymes for digesting both fruits and vegetables. When you eat fruit, you should eat it alone and on an empty stomach because it digests faster than other foods. When you cram lots of different fruits, veggies and other foods into your stomach, all of which take different a different amount of time to be digested it gets all mixed up and can cause gas.

The same type thing happens with juice and it can cause flatulence (the biggest reason behind people saying this). It doesn't mean that you can't though. You can, of course, and it's not the worst thing in the world, so don't worry too much about it.

You might be happy to know that apples and carrots are an exception to the rule. Apples can be combined with all veggie juices, and carrots can be mixed with fruits.