# Eating meat with fruit **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978 "2005-05-15T22:39:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hauss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5fc32e/32.png) [@hauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hauss)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/1 "2005-05-15T22:39:13Z")
Does eating meat with fruits cause them to fester inside yours stomach? Stupid question? I’m just wondering about the ecology of the matter. What about in a container other than your stomach? ---
**Author:** ![EvilGhandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@EvilGhandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilGhandi)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/2 "2005-05-15T22:58:46Z")
Hmm, things I like Apricots w/ ham. Salami w/jalepeno. Melon slices and procuitto(sp)? I am more curious as to what made tou pose the question than the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/3 "2005-05-15T23:06:42Z")
Some fruits contain enzymes and acids that will act to alter proteins, most fruits contain sugar that make the protein-rich meat an even more attractive prospect for pathogenic and degenerative bacteria. But in general, it’s pretty widely believed (and has been for centuries) that eating meat and fruit together is actually beneficial for the digestion (as well as being considered aesthetically pleasant); that’s why we have duck a l’orange (or with plum sauce), roast pork with apple sauce, lemon chicken, game with redcurrant jelly, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/4 "2005-05-15T23:11:38Z")
To say nothing of using juices like pineapple, mango, or papaya with peppers and spices for delicious marinades for chicken and pork, lemon juice for chicken and fish, grilled ham with pineapple… plus tomatoes and peppers are actually fruits, not vegetables, and we eat those with meat all the time without thinking. ---
**Author:** ![hauss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5fc32e/32.png) [@hauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hauss)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/5 "2005-05-15T23:22:50Z")
I’m talking about raw fruits and veggies with cooked meat. All those things you guys brought up were cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/6 "2005-05-16T00:26:58Z")
> [@hauss](#): > > Does eating meat with fruits cause them to fester inside yours stomach? Stupid question? Yep. The stomach covers both fruit and meat in a bath of hydrochloric acid and then several hundred enzymes pour into the small intestine to tear proteins, fats, and sugars down to their simplest compounds. Nothing “festers” inside the system. Food enters, gets broken down, and either gets absorbed into the system or excreted. The nonsense spewed by those faddists talking about “cleaning out the system” is the only thing festering about it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/7 "2005-05-16T01:05:39Z")
It sounds like you’ve heard this as a bit of folklore, am I right? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/8 "2005-05-16T01:13:39Z")
> [@hauss](#): > > What about in a container other than your stomach? Well, if you leave 'em in there for long enough, they probably get pretty nasty. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-meat-with-fruit/303978/9 "2005-05-16T03:15:12Z")
It sounds like you have heard something about the principles behind the “Fit for Life Diet” which Harvey Diamond has made a small fortune from. The idea is that a good diet depends more on when and how you eat rather than what or how much you eat. Diamond claims that eating foods in the wrong combinations causes them to rot so that they cannot be assimilated. He is also big on “the toxins idea” and claims that some foods clog the body. This is all **complete nonsense** , as anyone who knows about digestion (see Exapnos) post can attest. For more information on Diamonds misleading ideas and where they originated - [Quackwatch](http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/fitforlife.html).