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Food Combining DietFood Combining enthusiasts believe the human stomach can only correctly digest one type of food at a time, as different enzymes are needed to digest different food types.
The Food Combining Diet is based on research that proves that food is only digested well when eaten in certain combinations. Our digestive systems will produce an acidic environment to deal with certain food groups, and an alkaline environment to digest others. For example, starches, such as pasta or potatoes are absorbed best when the PH of the digestive tract is alkaline. This occurs when starches are eaten alone or with vegetables. The digestion of proteins, however, requires stomach
acid. When proteins and starches are combined, the digestive
environment is neither acid or alkaline enough for either group to
be absorbed well, which can lead to digestion problems and weight
gain.  It is a basic fact in chemistry that alkalines and acids are opposites, they will neutralize each other. It is a fact in physiology that all starchy foods digest in an alkaline medium and the starch breaking enzyme we produce in our mouths will be destroyed by acid, even a mild acid. If acids are eaten together with starches, digestion
of both foods is not possible. If breads,cereals or potatoes are
eaten with berries or citrus fruits, or any other acid-bearing
foods, the digestion of these starches will be delayed. Rules of the Food Combining Diet1. Carbohydrate foods and acidic foods should not be eaten at the same meal. Do not eat bread, rice or potatoes with lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits, pineapples, tomatoes or any other sour fruit. 2. Do not eat a concentrated protein and a concentrated carbohydrate at the same meal. This means do not eat nuts, meat, eggs, cheese, or other protein food at the same meal with bread, cereals, potatoes, sweet fruits or cakes. 3. Do not eat two concentrated proteins at the same meal. Avoid nuts and meat, or eggs and meat, cheese and nuts, cheese and eggs, meat and milk, or eggs and milk or nuts at milk at the same meal. 4. Do not eat fats with proteins. This means do not use cream, butter, or oil with meat, eggs, cheese, or nuts. 5. Do not eat acidic fruits with proteins. Oranges, tomatoes, lemons, pineapples, should not be eaten with meat, eggs, cheese or nuts. 6. Do not eat starch and sugars together. Jellies, jams, fruit, butter, sugar, honey, syrups, molasses should not be used on bread, cake, or at the same meal with cereals, potatoes, or sugar with cereal, which will produce fermentation. 7. Eat only one concentrated starch food per meal. For example do not eat a bowl of pasta with a chunk of bread. 8. Do not consume melons with any other foods. Watermelon, muskmelon, honeydew melon, or cantaloupe should always be eaten alone. This is probabbly due to the ease and speed in which melons decompose. 9. Milk is best taken alone or better still, left
alone. Milk is the natural food of weaning mammels, however each
species produces milk precisely adapted to the needs of it's own
offspring. Cows milk is designed for a calf which in one year will
weigh the equivalent of twenty human beings. Say no more. Food Combining Table The simple chart pictured above explains the basic rules
of a food combining diet.
High Starch FoodsGrains, Pastas, Rice, Corn, Potatoes, Turnip, Squash, Parsnip, Beet, Carrots, Eggplant, avocado Non Starch FoodsAspargus, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Chives, Cucumber, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Leafy Greens, Onions, Peppers, Parsley, Radishes, Zucchini, Watercress, Green Beans, Artichokes, Sea Vegetables, Dandelion Greens, Endive, Okra, Swiss Chard High Protein FoodsBeans, Legumes, Fish, Poultry, Wild Game, Meat, Seafood, Seeds, Nuts, Dairy Products. FruitApple, Apricot, Banana, Berries, Cherry, Date, Lemon, Grapefruit, Melons, Mango, Nectarine, Pineapple, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Plum, Tomatoes, Fig, Oranges. My Opinion on the Food Combining DietThe science behind the food combining diet is sound. Different foods are digested differently. Starchy foods require an alkaline digestive medium and protein foods require an acid medium for digestion. If we mix these food types we cause our digestive systems distress. The diet has many fans, although critics complain it can become boring to eat this way. My advice? TRY IT!
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