When queried about what Americans would like to change about themselves, the vast majority of replies were "lose weight" and "improve health". There is no pill or medication that can make these happen, though. Health is based in nutrition, and nutrition is based in the foods you ingest - but you are not "what you eat". You are what you digest.
Digesting Foods Well
All foods incite a specific reaction from the body to break down and digest them. Proteins require a highly acidic reaction from digestive enzymes while starches, fruit and sugars require an alkaline (base) reaction. If you remember anything from grade school about chemistry, it's probably that acids and bases cancel each other out - sometimes violently when such reactions have catalysts applied.
The same kind of thing happens in your stomach when you eat foods that require opposite digestive reactions. Because the enzymes cancel each other out, they not only produce extra gas and discomfort by they also don't actually digest food with any efficiency. The food then sits there and gives your natural processes much more time to extract not only nutrients but harmful fats and toxins from the food. In the cases of proteins and sugars (especially fruit), the environment in the stomach is perfect for allowing other harmful reactions such as fermentation and putrefaction.
Separating Meals
It's already common knowledge that eating several small meals a day is healthier all around than eating one or two big meals a day. One of the best ways to use food combining is to stick to this small meal plan and only put certain foods together:
- Don't eat proteins and starches at the same time. That means no "meat and potatoes"
- Eat starches with vegetables or by themselves.
- Eat proteins with vegetables or by themselves.
- Eat fruit by itself.
- Wait at least an hour between each small meal to allow your body to digest your last meal fully.
- Don't eat acidy foods like pickles or vinaigrette with starches.
- Melons don't go well with anything, so eat them by themselves.
Sticking with the Program
"Going on a diet" is usually the first mistake than anyone makes when they are trying to accomplish a goal such as weight loss. Food combining is more about making a significant lifestyle change that will not only help you lose extra weight but, more accurately, help you maintain a healthy weight. By approaching any kind of dietary adjustment with a focus on making long-term changes instead of trying for short-term gains, you do yourself a much greater service.
There are many sites with unique recipes and options for keeping a food-combining diet interesting. Below is a handy chart that helps illustrate the combinations that work best together.
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