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The reason for proper food
combining:
To make digestion easier and
more efficient! Most protein foods require an acid-digestive environment for
proper digestion; whereas most carbohydrates digest properly in an alkaline
medium. Therefore, if we are going to eat more than one food at a meal, we can
greatly improve digestion and acid indigestion by eating foods that will require
the same gastric juices for digestion and are compatible. Proper combining leads
to good digestion and to better health. ‘The simpler the meal, the better you
feel.”
Proteins
Protein foods are those that
contain high percentage of protein in their makeup. Most protein foods require
an acid-digestive medium. Chief among these are the following:
Nuts, Seeds
All flesh foods* (except fat)
Dry Beans
Egg boiled or poached
Olives
Dry Peas (combined as starches)
Margarine*
Cheese* and other dairy products
Peanuts*
Avocados
Soy Beans
* These substances are not
recommended, but included for clarity.
Carbohydrates
The carbohydrates are the
starches and sugars. These we break up into three distinct groups in the
following classifications: Starches, Sugars, and Sweet Foods.
Starches
Sweet Fruits
All Cereals
Bananas
Dry Beans (except soy beans)
Dates
Dry Peas
Figs
Potatoes
Raisins
Yams
Prunes
Chestnuts
Persimmons
Squash
Dried Fruits
Pumpkin
Corn
Coconut**
Mildly Starchy
Sugars
Carrots Pure
Maple Syrup*
Rutabaga
Pure Honey*
Beets
Artichokes
Parsnips
* These foods should be used
sparingly.
**Coconuts are a
starch/protein combination, and also a saturated fat.
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Avoid eating
carbohydrates with acid fruits
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Avoid eating
concentrated proteins with concentrated carbohydrates.
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Do not consume two
concentrated proteins at the same meal.
Two concentrated proteins
of different character and com position, such as nuts and cheese, should not
be combined. Gastric acidity, type, strength, and timing of secretion for
various proteins are not uniform. Since concentrated protein is more
difficult to digest than other food elements, incompatible combinations of
two different concentrated proteins should be avoided.
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Do not consume fats with
proteins.
Our need for concentrated
fat is small and most protein foods already contain a good deal of fat. Fat
has an inhibiting effect on digestive secretions and lessens the amount and
activity of pepsin and hydrochloric acid necessary for the digestion of
protein. Fat may lower the entire digestive tone more than 50%.
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Use fats sparingly.
Fat inhibits the secretion
of gastric juice. Except with avocado, fats used with starch delay the
passage of starch from the stomach into the intestine. When fats, such as
avocados or nuts are eaten with raw green vegetables, their inhibiting
effect on gastric secretion is counteracted, and digestion proceeds
normally.
Avocados: Though not
a high protein food, avocados contain more protein than milk, They are high
in fat, and the small percentage of protein they contain is of high
biological value. They are best used with a salad meal. Eating avocados with
salad enhances their digestion. The next best combination for avocado is to
take it with sub-acid or acid twit. It is even better when lettuce leaves
and celery are eaten with the fruit and the avocado, Since the avocado is
low in protein; it may also be used with potatoes or other starch foods,
provided a green salad is included in the meal. Avocados should never be
used with nuts, which are also high in fat. Fats, other than nuts and
avocados, are not recommended for regular use.
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Do not eat acid fruits
with proteins.
Citrus, tomatoes,
pineapple, strawberries, and other acid fruits should not be eaten with
nuts, cheese, eggs, or meat.
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Do not combine sweet
fruits with proteins, starches, or acid fruits.
The sugars in sweet fruit
should be tree to leave the stomach within twenty minutes, and are apt to
ferment if digestion is delayed by mixture with other foods. Sugar/starch
combinations cause additional problems. When sugar is taken, the mouth
quickly fills with saliva, but no ptyalin is present. Ptyalin is essential
for starch digestion. If starch is disguised by sugar, honey, molasses, or
sweet fruit, digestion is impaired. Fermentation is inevitable if sugars of
any kind are delayed in the stomach by the digestion of starch, protein, or
acid fruit. Sugar also has a marked inhibiting effect on the flow of gastric
juices.
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Eat only one
concentrated starch at a meal.
This rule is more important
as a means of avoiding overeating starches than avoiding a bad combination.
Slightly starchy vegetables may be combined with more starchy vegetables,
such as carrots and potatoes, but now with combination foods, such as grains
and legumes.
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Acid fruits may be used
with sub-acid fruits.
This combination is best
made with less sweet sub-acid fruits. Never use acid fruits with sweet
fruits. Tomatoes should not be combined with sub-acid fruit, nor with any
other kind of fruit. They are best combined with a salad meal, at which no
starch foods are served.
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Sub-acid fruits may be
used with sweet fruits.
It is best to use the
sweeter varieties of sub-acid fruits when making this combination. For
people with poor digestion, bananas are best eaten alone. For others,
bananas combine fairly well with dates, raisins, grapes, and other sweet
fruit; and with green leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and celery. Dried
sweet fruits should be used sparingly, because the sugar concentration is
naturally greater. It is best to have these fruits at a fruit meal combined
with a salad of lettuce and celery.
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Combine fruit only with
lettuce and celery.
These uncooked vegetables
with a fruit meal may even enhance digestion of the fruit.
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Salads combine very well
with proteins or starches.
Non-starchy vegetables may
be combined with proteins or starch. The green leafy vegetables combine very
well with most other foods, and should form the major part of one’s diet.
Through the week, use as wide a variety of vegetables as possible.
Lettuce and other green and
non-starchy vegetables leave the stomach with little change. They pass
through the stomach rapidly, unless delayed by oily dressing, or foods that
require a more thorough gastric digestion.
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Do not consume melons
with any other foods.
Many people, who have
complained that melons did not agree with them, have no trouble when eating
only melon at a meal. Melons are more than 90% liquid, and leave the stomach
quickly, if not delayed and fermented by combining with other foods.
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Sprouts.
The best way to eat grains
is as sprouts. Other seeds and legumes may be sprouted as well. Do not eat
sprouts over 5 days old.
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Other non-recommended
foods.
Cranberries, rhubarb,
overripe fruit, and bitter vegetables.
Spices and Condiments*
Salt, pepper, vinegar, oils,
radishes, mustard, cranberry sauce, and all other condiments are irritants, and
should be avoided. *Check with doctor.
Water
You should drink water:
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20 minutes before meals,
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40 minutes after a fruit
meat,
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2 hours after a starch
meal, and
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4 hours after a protein
meal.
Don’t dilute the natural
enzymes in your body by drinking with meals.
REMEMBER...
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Do not eat when you are
emotionally upset, stressed, or after a hard workout.
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Eat only when hungry, and
stop before you are full.
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Do not eat foods that are
too hot or too cold; they can damage the enzymes necessary for proper
digestion. Room temperature is optimum.
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Drink little or no liquid
during meals; it dilutes digestive juices and impairs digestion.
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Always avoid refined,
canned, fried, and processed foods.
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Learning to combine foods
properly is not just a passing trend. The principles of proper food
combining are scientific, biochemical facts of life.
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Health is wealth! This
cannot be emphasized enough. If we do not have our health, nothing else is
going to matter.
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A positive attitude towards
yourself, others, and life, along with a healthy diet, is the ultimate
combination for a long, joyous and productive life!
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