Food Combining for Health

A lot of people (such as M.D.s) pooh-pooh the concept of food-combining.  We know, however, that everyone is different.  What works for one person may not work for another person.  But if you have problems with digestion or with losing weight, try food-combining.  It won't cost you a thing.  You don't have to go hungry.  You only have to be careful about what foods you combine for a few weeks and then you'll know.  During that time, you might have to stay away from hamburgers, sandwiches and Mexican food, but if it works for you, you'll know rather quickly.  If you have no digestion problems, and no weight problems, you don't even need to bother to read about this.  We bring you this statement because this is an area in which you shouldn't listen to other people's advice.  Try it or don't.  If it works for you, great!  If it doesn't, it can't hurt you in the slightest.

Food-combining is really a deliberate process of  food "un-combining."  In order to understand why it can help digestion, it should first be remembered that the human body evolved over millions of years and it has been virtually the same for at least the past 10,000 years.  Obviously, modern lifestyles do not compare in any way with what ancient "lifestyles" were.  The fact is that even as little as 75 years ago, people didn't have the variety of foods that we have today, because they didn't have modern agriculture and modern transportation.

The Basic Rules of Food Combining

• Avoid mixing Protein with Starch, Fats/Oils, and/or Fruits.
• Melons are better alone.
• Sweet Fruit is best eaten alone. Eat fruit without other groups.
• Non-Starchy vegetables mix well with Starches or Protein but not at the same time.

The body was not designed to eat so many things at the same meal.  The body does not do a great job of digesting different kinds of foods simultaneously because different enzymes are required to digest proteins than carbohydrates.  Also, the primary location in the body where proteins are digested is different from where carbohydrates are broken down.  Proteins begin digesting in the stomach.  Carbohydrates begin to digest in the mouth, but their final digestion takes place in the small intestine.  This is not to say that the body can't digest them both at once, it just doesn't do a great job of it – especially as we age and our body's production of digestive enzymes diminishes.

To improve digestion, the recommendations are that fruits – which are high in natural sugar – should be eaten alone.  This means they should not be eaten with, or after, other foods.  From this perspective, they don't make either a good salad or dessert item.  When they are good to eat is either first thing in the morning or when the stomach has had time to empty, say, in the middle of the morning or afternoon.  Fruits digest very rapidly, so that other foods can be eaten within a half-hour or so after finishing a piece of fruit.

The trickier part of food-combining is to avoid eating proteins and carbohydrates at the same time.  As you can see, that is contrary to a lot of modern eating concepts, such as hamburgers, sandwiches, meat and potatoes, etc.  (Some nutritious foods such as beans even combine lots of carbohydrates and protein in a single item.)   An observance of proper food-combining principles can be found in certain Oriental dishes where one eats rice and vegetables.  Vegetables combine with either protein or carbohydrates.  Green salads also go well with either. 

THESE FOODS	COMBINE BEST WITH	COMBINE BADLY WITH
Sweet fruits (sub-and non-acid)	Sour Milk	Acid Fruits Starches (Cereals, Bread, Potatoes) Proteins, Milk
Acid Fruit	Other Acid Fruits Fair with Nuts Fair with Milk	Sweets (all kinds) Starches (cereals, bread, potatoes) Proteins (except nuts)
Green Vegetables	All proteins All starches	Milk
Starches	Green Vegetables Fats and Oils	All Proteins All Fruits Acids, Sugars
Meats (all kinds)	Green Vegetables	Milk, Starches, Sweets Other proteins Acid Fruits and Vegetables Butter, Cream, Oils
Nuts (most varieties)	Green Vegetables Acid Fruits	Milk, Starches, Sweets Other proteins Butter, Cream, Oils, Lard
Eggs	Green Vegetables	Milk, Starches, Sweets Other proteins Acid Foods Butter, Cream, Oils, Lard
Cheese	Green Vegetables	Starches, Sweets Other proteins Acid Foods Butter, Cream, Oils, Lard
Milk	Best taken alone Fair with Acid Fruits	All proteins Green Vegetables Starches
Fats and Oils (Butter, Cream, Oils, Lard)	All starches Green Vegetables	All proteins
Melons (all kinds)	Best eaten alone	All Foods
Cereals (grains)	Green Vegetables	Acid Fruits All proteins All Sweets, Milk
Legumes Beans and Peas (except green beans)	Green Vegetables	All proteins All Sweets, Milk Fruits (all kinds) Butter, Cream, Oils, Lard