What could be more refreshing than biting into a cucumber or savoring a juicy tomato in summer? A piece of melon or watermelon will also be welcome to complete the whole thing… Not to mention delicious fresh fruit for a snack! The temptation is indeed great to eat a large quantity of raw vegetables because in the end… It’s the only thing that makes us want to! Yet not all digestive tracts are ready to handle and process so much raw food.
Indeed, as innocent as they seem, our favorite summer foods, full of water, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants also contain a lot of fiber. An excellent substrate for our intestinal microbiota certainly, but which sometimes tickles certain intestines that are a little sensitive. Digestion will not always be very easy and we will be plagued by gas, bloating, with a fairly “random” transit. The acids contained in the tomatoes, in contact with the starch of the bread (yum for sauce!) or that of the rice (or other cereal) will even further promote fermentation. Not to mention too little chewing existing to be effective and here we are with a swollen, uncomfortable or even painful belly. Should we therefore give up the beautiful summer salads? Nay! However, some moderation is in order. Traditional Chinese medicine, which aims to be preventive and in constant search for balance, advises against excessive raw vegetables. Not everyone has the same digestive potential and food processing requires a lot of energy. You can become exhausted from overworking your digestive tract, and even gain weight from a slow metabolism. Am I insinuating that we should throw more on the grilled sausages? Surely not ! But make room for cooked vegetables to ease digestion: yes. Eat fresh fruit outside meals: yes. Taken care of in isolation, they will be much better digested. That means melons are better at 4 p.m. than as a starter. Watermelons are better at 4 p.m. than for dessert. Only raw tomatoes… We’re going to abuse them, like every year, to eat them for lunch and dinner… And our mucous membrane won’t quite agree with that! But cooked, in ratatouille or stuffed, they will lose some of their aggressiveness, and the benefits will not stop there because cooking the tomato releases a powerful antioxidant: lycopene. We will need it to counterbalance the deleterious effects of barbecue cooking (we will have the opportunity to talk about it again). To conclude: vintage yes of course, but not exclusively!
health chronicle. Delphine Mazzoli, naturopath in Villefranche, gives us her well-being and health advice every two weeks to keep in shape. Today, focus on raw vegetables in summer.
Nature Notice
by Delphine
Delphine Mazzoli, naturopath, 2 rue Claude Granier, 12200 Villefranche. Such. on 06 01 29 70 27