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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Food Combining and effects on digestion

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
LettuceCucumbersGreens (Kale, etc)Okra
CelerySweet PeppersSummer SquashKohlrabi
Celery CabbageCauliflowerEggplantGreen Corn
CabbageBroccoliTurnipsGreen Beans
Brussel Sprouts
ProteinProtein/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)
StarchMildly Starchy
NutsBeansPotatoesCarrots
SeedsPeasSweet  PotatoesBeets
OlivesLentilsYamsRutabaga
CheesePeanutsMature CornWinter Squash
EggsCoconutsJerusalem
Artichokes.
Pumpkin
Flesh FoodsChestnutsParsnipsEdible Pod Peas
Wild RiceSalsifyGlobe Artichokes.
All GrainsWater
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
CitrusBananas
PineapplesPersimmons
StrawberriesThompson Grapes
PomegranatesMuscat Grapes
Sour ApplesAll Sweet Grapes
Sour GrapesAll Dried Fruits
Sour Peaches
Sour Plums
Sour Cherries
Sub-Acid Fruits
Sweet ApplesSub-acid GrapesApricotsBlueberries
Sweet PeachesPearsSweet PlumsRaspberries
Sweet CherriesPapayasCherimoyasBlackberries
MangosFresh 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

Bibliography: 
- Nilson, Paul - The Raw Life Health E-Newsletter # 3 - For week of February 3rd-February 9th, 2008 
- Bass, Stanley - Sequential eating and food combining http://www.drbass.com/sequential.html - visited on February 6, 2008 
- http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/DietandLifestyle/food-combining-general-chart-a.htm - visited on February 7, 2008

More charts







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