Food combining for better digestion

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Did you know the combinations of foods you eat can affect your digestion and health? Do you suffer from bloating, smelly gas, constipation, mucous, or partially digested foods in your stools? All foods enter and exit the body at different times and require different digestive enzymes and acid or alkaline conditions. When we eat foods that don’t combine well, a bevy of negative things can occur within our body, including putrification, fermentation, indigestion, and constipation, which can eventually lead to disease. If you experience these symptoms, please know that your body should not respond this way to food every time you eat. When you digest your food with ease, your body functions with ease. And what happens in your stomach and digestive tract affects all aspects of your health.

Food Combining Basics:
Rule #1: Eat fruit and melon on an empty stomach. Fruit is excellent and offers plenty of nutrition, but it is best eaten alone to avoid fermentation and putrification in the digestive tract, which causes gas. Twenty to 60 minutes away from other foods is ideal.

Rule #2: Starches + vegetables = good. (Starches + protein = bad). Starches should be eaten with vegetables only (not protein). This includes grains, squashes, sweet potatoes, yams, root vegetables, beans, cereals, and breads. Give yourself about 3 hours to fully digest.

Good combinations are salad and squash soup, quinoa and vegetables, brown rice and vegetables, beans and stir fry, veggie sandwiches.

Rule #3: Protein + vegetables = good. (Protein + starches = bad). Protein should be eaten with vegetables only (not starches). This includes nuts, seeds, beans, and flesh. Give yourself about 4 hours to fully digest non-animal protein. Animal protein can take 8 hours or more.

Good combinations are nuts on a salad, beans and veggies, flesh meat and salad, veggie omelette, and seed pâté.

Rule #4: Avoid liquids with meals. Most people are shocked at this because we are often told to hydrate. Hydration is one of the best things you can do for yourself, but drink your water away from meals. The best time to drink is 15 minutes before you eat or 1 hour after. Liquids during eating dilute digestive juices, which slows digestion and metabolism, impedes absorption of nutrients, contributes to indigestion, and can also contribute to cravings because not all nutrients are absorbed. (Strong cravings indicate your body is out of balance). A little sip here and there throughout a meal is not detrimental; just avoid a lot of liquids. Also, stick to room temperature water that doesn't shock your body and slow the digestive process.

For more on food combinations and tips to aid digestion - get the May/June issue!