raw in copenhagen: Food Combining and effects on digestion

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Food Combining and effects on digestion

12:19 PM | Posted by Luis Guerreiro |

Food combining

The combination of foods is a way of eating that allows us to easier digestion and a minimum of digestive conflict. It works like this: All the food take a while to digest. Eating similar foods with similar digestive time help the body digest food more easily, it is said that these foods combine well. For example, watermelon takes about an hour to digest; almonds can take five hours. Because of this is not a good idea to eat watermelon and almonds to the same meal, this is a poor combination. Eating too many meals in this way can cause constipation (constipation), causing bloating and gas that can lead to more serious situations.

As there are different types of raw food, each with their different digestive time, your body will have to work harder to digest foods with poor combinations. Ideally, you want your body to spend the least amount of energy needed in the digestion for the same reason it is important to combine your foods properly. In general, it helps to eat liquid foods with other liquid foods and dense foods with other dense foods.

Eating sequentially

According to Dr. Stanley Bass another wise way to consume food is eating sequentially. Sequentially is like food combining, but instead of combinations, consuming one type of food at a time, while still respecting the order of easily digested foods first and last in the denser foods. Also called "eating through layers" (see fig. 1).

Consuming a food at a time ensures greater ease of digestion possible. A group of research scientists at Columbia University found evidence that a meal is digested in the exact order that is taken, one food group at a time, regardless of their complexity or quantity.

Fig.1 - Illustrating the various layers that form in the stomach, according to Dr. Bass

According to the practice of eating sequentially, if you start with a relatively concentrated food that takes too long to be processed, followed by a meal that takes only half the time, the digestion of the first food will take more time and the second will begin to ferment and decompose before it can be digested, losing much of its nutritional value.

General Food Combining Chart A

COMMON FOODS	COMBINE BEST WITH	COMBINE BADLY WITH
Sweet fruits(sub-and non-acid)	Sour Milk	Acid Fruits Starches (Cereals, Bread, Potatoes) Proteins, Milk
Acid Fruits	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

DETAILED FOOD COMBINING CHART B

Non-Starchy & Green Vegetables

Lettuce

Cucumbers

Greens (Kale, etc)

Okra

Celery

Sweet Peppers

Summer Squash

Kohlrabi

Celery Cabbage

Cauliflower

Eggplant

Green Corn

Cabbage

Broccoli

Turnips

Green Beans

Brussel Sprouts

Protein

Protein/StarchCombine as Starch

Eat non-starchy & green vegetables with either protein or starch

Do not combine protein & starch

Do not combine vegetables, proteins or starches with fruitsExcept:
nuts with citrus(fair combination)
lettuce & celery with fruit(good combination)

Avocados:
best with salad
(fair with sub-acid fruit or starch)

Starch

Mildly Starchy

Nuts

Beans

Potatoes

Carrots

Seeds

Peas

Sweet Potatoes

Beets

Olives

Lentils

Yams

Rutabaga

Cheese

Peanuts

Mature Corn

Winter Squash

Eggs

Coconuts

Jerusalem
Artichokes.

Pumpkin

Flesh Foods

Chestnuts

Parsnips

Edible Pod Peas

Wild Rice

Salsify

Globe Artichokes.

All Grains

Water
Chestnuts

Sprouted Grains

Acid Fruits

Eat sub-acid fruits with either acid or sweet fruits

Do not combine acid fruits & sweet fruits

Tomatoes: Use with green & non-starchy vegetables & protein

Melons: Eat alone

Sweet Fruits

Citrus

Bananas

Pineapples

Persimmons

Strawberries

Thompson Grapes

Pomegranates

Muscat Grapes

Sour Apples

All Sweet Grapes

Sour Grapes

All Dried Fruits

Sour Peaches

Sour Plums

Sour Cherries

Sub-Acid Fruits

Sweet Apples

Sub-acid Grapes

Apricots

Blueberries

Sweet Peaches

Pears

Sweet Plums

Raspberries

Sweet Cherries

Papayas

Cherimoyas

Blackberries

Mangos

Fresh Figs

Simplified Food Combining Chart C

Eat Non-Starchy & Green Vegetables With Either:
Proteins	or	Starches
Nuts & Seeds	Do not combine	Peanuts
Olives		Coconuts
Cheese		Chestnuts
Eggs		Wild Rice
Flesh Foods		Grains
		Starchy Vegs.
		Mildly Starchy Vegs.
		Legumes
Eat Sub-Acid Fruits (All Fruits Not Sweet or Acid) With Either:
Acid Fruits	or	Sweet Fruits
Citrus	Do not combine	Bananas
Pineapples		Persimmons
Strawberries		Sweet Grapes
Pomegranates		Dried Fruits
Sour Tasting Fruits
Do not combine vegetables, proteins or starches with fruitsExcept: Nuts with Citrus(Fair Combination) Lettuce & Celery with Fruit (Good Combination) Tomatoes: Eat with green and non-starchy vegetables and protein Avocados: Best with Salad (Fair with sub-acid Fruit or Starch) Melons: Eat Alone