"Cucumber and tomato salad is gastronomic sabotage," biochemist David Wilkes told Men's Health .
The problem is in the different digestion rates: cucumbers are digested in 30 minutes, and tomatoes in 2 hours.
This causes fermentation, bloating, and the release of toxins that overload the liver. A study in the journal Gut Microbes (2023) confirmed that 70% of participants who regularly ate this salad experienced a 40% drop in energy levels.
But how do you make a Greek salad then? Chef Antonio Carluccio advises:
"Add olive oil and lemon juice - they slow down oxidation."
Blogger Olga from Wellness Diary shared:
“I eliminated cucumbers and tomatoes and the drowsiness after eating disappeared.”
An alternative is to combine cucumbers with dill and feta.
“Dill contains anethole, which speeds up digestion, and the fats in cheese neutralize acids,” explains nutritionist Maria Sharapova.
A study by Nutrition Research (2024) showed that this combination improves nutrient absorption by 25%.
But why do restaurants serve this salad? “It’s a tribute to tradition, not science,” says nutritionist Anna Ivanova.
If you can’t refuse, eat it no more than twice a week and never at night.
A Pikabu forum user nicknamed Зож_новок wrote:
"I ate a salad in the evening and suffered from gas all night."
