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Melon: Should You Eat it Separately?

Have you heard of Trophology? It is the study of food combining. Since foods digest at different rates you should avoid certain food combinations and some foods should just simply be eaten on their own. I have a friend who is really into trophology and she insists that melons of all kinds be eaten solo.

Her reasoning about melons goes like this - melons are really easy to digest since they're mostly made of water. Food combiners believe that melon should be eaten separately or only with other fresh fruits. When eating melons with other types of foods, like whole grains, dairy products or meat which all take longer to digest, the melon has to hang out in your stomach while the other food is digested. This holding pattern causes the melon to ferment and then cause gas pain and/or flatulence.

The only info I could find on this is from food combining websites - not so scientific data. So you can believe this and eat your melons on their own, or forget about it and enjoy your cantaloupe and cottage cheese. Personally I've never had a problem, but I guess ever body is different.


Join The Conversation
cherrylevsky cherrylevsky 3 years
I get stomachaches and gas when I eat musk melon after a meal, but regular watermelon is fine.
pixelhaze pixelhaze 10 years
I read somewhere that you should only eat fruit by itself or before a meal, because afterward it slows digestion. So that's all kinds of contradicting information. I say just eat what you want, haha.
krisua krisua 10 years
Based on the picture, I've got several ideas...
RebeccaAdele RebeccaAdele 10 years
I can't eat melon. It doesn't work with my body chemistry and molds. I am allergic to mold.
erlking erlking 10 years
I had a masseuse tell me about this several years back, and so I consulted a registered dietitian and she said it's bunk. It was then that I realized that I shouldn't be getting nutrition advice from a massage therapist.
jhuck jhuck 10 years
I enjoy a nice slice of watermelon after dinner. That's unfortunate that I probably shouldn't be doing it though.
orangeflower orangeflower 10 years
actually I believe the melon sitting in your stomach and getting gas. Or maybe I just always get gas and am blaming it on food mixing! lol.
AtatakaiSunshine AtatakaiSunshine 10 years
I know next to nothing about food combining (I hardly even know what flavors taste good together), but I love this picture :D!
am am 10 years
dude, i want a melon baller. where do i get one?
nikolem2 nikolem2 10 years
There is no science behind food combining. From a nutrition and physiological standpoint, the body is more than capable of digesting and processing all combinations of food. In addition, I'm not sure I believe the idea that food can "ferment" in your stomach. Maybe I'm wrong? But either way, fermentation sounds bad but it doesn't mean what it may connotate for some (it sounds a lot like "rotting"). In fact, fermented food is natural and healthy, and used to be a staple of people's diets (and is a staple of macrobiotic diets). Bottom line is same as Fit's: Every body is different, so eat whatever combinations work best for you.
buffyanne buffyanne 10 years
I don't know the science of food combining, but some may wish to consider the glycemic response. Melons rate medium (cateloupe) to high (watermelon)on the glycemic index. Those who monitor and regulate their blood sugar would probably not agree with eating melons without protiens or fats to slow their breakdown and balance their glycemic response.
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