Cucumber with Tomato, Kiwi with Jelly and Other Debated Combinations - Should They Be Shunned
Isabella Taylor
2026-03-23
7 min. read
1 / 1
1 zdjęcie
90
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in interest in a healthy lifestyle. Newspapers, television and social media are constantly publishing news about fresh trends in healthy food and revolutionary diets. However, this often leads to the spread of misinformation and myths that are not supported by any research or are supported by poorly designed research, such as the prohibition of combining certain foods. In the midst of the abundance of information, it is very easy to overlook the basics, which are proper nutrition and physical activity. Therefore, it is worth seeking out available scientific data and determining whether there are indeed grounds for excluding certain combinations from the menu.
Cucumber combined with tomato
In the realm of nutrition, the prevailing belief is that consuming cucumber and tomato in a single meal is detrimental. Tomato is a vegetable rich in vitamin C (15 mg per 100 g), which performs numerous crucial functions in the body, including involvement in infection fighting and wound healing, as well as in the production of collagen or certain hormones and neurotransmitters. It is also indispensable for the proper absorption of iron. However, cucumber contains an enzyme that deactivates the action of vitamin C. This enzyme is released during the mechanical processing process in an environment suitable for it, i.e., at a pH of about 5.6. Indeed, consuming cucumber and tomato may result in a smaller amount of vitamin C being delivered to the body, but it is not a problem that should be taken seriously and lead to giving up on combining these two vegetables. The requirement for vitamin C for women is 70 mg, for men 85 mg. These quantities can easily be covered within a day, as vitamin C is present in many food products, such as bell peppers, strawberries, parsley, and cabbage (M. Jarosz et al. 2020). If, however, one wishes to avoid the negative effects of the enzyme from the cucumber, one can sprinkle the vegetables with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar to reduce the pH – then the enzyme will cease to be active and there will be no decomposition of vitamin C. Similarly, replacing fresh cucumbers with pickled cucumbers will work (B. Jabłonowska-Lietz 2018).
You have started reading a PRO article
You can preview the first chapter. To read the complete article and unlock all content, upgrade to a PRO account.
