blackberry

I never do fruit smoothie with dairy products (i.e. with cow milk products). I read in a few books that mixing fruits and dairy products doesn’t make good to your body (although you think you drink something healthy, don’t you?). Fruits are either sweet or sour but they definitely contain acid and sugar.

“If you add acid to milk, be it from a sweet fruit like strawberry or a sour one like lemon, it will curdle. Weak acids (like those in sweet fruits) don’t instantly curdle the milk but if you let it sit for too long before drinking it, then by the time it gets into your stomach, it will be.

Milk is actually not digested in the stomach, but in the small intestine by the enzyme lactase. When you drink it on its own, its presence in the stomach does not stimulate gastric secretion. Carbohydrates in fruits are also not digested in the stomach – the breakdown starts in your mouth by the salivary amylase and when it gets in to the stomach, digestion is stopped because the enzyme is denatured by the acidity of the gastric juices. The primary function of the stomach is to churn up all the food into a mush, so that when it enters the small intestine (primary site of digestion) it will have a bigger surface area for the digestive enzymes to work on. “

“So milk will curdle when mixed with fruit and will slow digestion, therefore creates stasis and fermentation, which leads to feeling heavy and gassy. The stomach in its normal state contains a small amount of acid, which will curdle the milk on its way down anyway, so fruit juices simply facilitate or supplement the action of the gastric juices.If it curdles too much before you even put it in your mouth, and your gastric condition is not ideal, therefore can’t churn it.” (Source: Notions & Notations of a Novice Cook)

So I’m saying it’s better to make fruit smoothies with non-dairy milks like almond, hemp, rice, oat or soy milk. Let’s give them a try!