Fact check: Should you drink cold drink after eating mangoes?

The viral message on WhatsApp

It further claims that the doctors advised against drinking cold drinks or any cold beverage after eating mangoes. “The citric acid present in mangoes combines with the carbonic acid present in cold drinks to form poison in your stomach. Please send this message to all your loved ones. The mango season has begun. Ensure to explain this to children as well,” it reads further.

But, is the claim true? Is it really fatal to drink cold drinks after consuming mangoes? We reached out to experts to know more.

Here’s why mangoes should be eaten separately (Source: Pexels)

Ideally, you shouldn’t have anything aerated while or immediately after eating fruits, Karishma Shah, an integrative nutritionist and health coach said. “That is because drinking anything aerated makes it a little problematic for the body to digest food. When you eat something, the natural digestive juices start functioning. But when you drink something aerated or carbonated, you end up creating an air pocket in your stomach which leads to a lot of unwanted air in the digestive system, making it difficult to digest the food well,” she explained.

As far as mangoes are concerned, the nutritionist shared that there could be a phenomenon where you might feel a little uncomfortable after drinking a cold drink. “This may not necessarily be true for everyone but might happen to some. As such, don’t have anything fizzy right after it to avoid any gastric issues.”

Talking about the viral claim that the combination of the two could lead to death, Shah said that it’s quite extreme and one must not believe in such WhatsApp forwards. “It’s like a lot of people asking you to not have bottle gourd juice because it is oxidative in nature and can lead to health concerns. But, the truth is that some people don’t react like that. I don’t believe in the WhatsApp school of knowledge. So, you don’t have to get scared about such claims about mangoes or other things. They don’t happen to everybody and are likely to occur only in extreme and rare cases,” she said.

Agreeing, celebrity nutritionist Shweta Shah, founder of Eatfit24/7, said that mixing the wrong kind of fruits together can do more harm than good. “Of course, it isn’t deadly, but it may cause severe digestive issues like gas, bloating and constipation as cold drinks and mango are incompatible food, according to Ayurveda,” she said, adding that it can also lead to a spike in blood sugar levels.

But its not just cold drinks, as the nutritionist said that one must not eat anything right after eating a mango. “Eat it like a separate index. This is because mangoes have a high glycemic index. When you eat it with something else, your blood sugar levels further increase. Thus, it should be eaten separately. Forget mangoes, fruits, in general, shouldn’t be eaten with anything else,” Shah said.

Milk, especially, should also be avoided with mangoes as it is highly incompatible with fruits and hampers digestion, Shweta highlighted. “Some food items you should avoid with mangoes are milk, curd, buttermilk, milk products like cheese, cold drinks, mango smoothies etc. Having aerated drinks with mangoes should also be avoided to stay away from gas, bloating and constipation,” she added.

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