Food Combining 101

Food Combining 101
FOOD COMBINING BASICS: WHAT IS FOOD COMBINING?

Our bodies digest different foods in different ways:

• FRUIT should not be eaten with any other food group because it is very acidic and likes to pass through the stomach rather quickly for be digestion in the small intestines.  If it is mixed with other food groups, which need to be digested in the stomach, it has to sit there waiting for the other food to digest.  That means that it will sit there fermenting with the other food and, since it is very acidic, will most likely produce gas, bloating, and pain in the stomach.  Never eat fruit for dessert!  Fruit should be eaten at least 3 hours after any other food, and at least 10-20 minutes before eating any other food.  

• FRESH NON-STARCHY VEGETABLES are comprised of mostly water. They are the most "neutral" food, and pass through the stomach rather quickly with little or no digestive enzymes necessary. You can eat them with anything -- except fruit. (Examples of fresh non-starchy vegetables are leafy greens, green beans, celery, tomatoes, and onions.)  
  

• STARCHY FOODS require an ALKALINE digestive enzyme, which starts in the mouth and continues in the stomach and small intestines. These can be eaten with fresh, NON-STARCHY vegetables, but not with fruit and not with the next group, Protein Foods. (Examples of starchy foods are acorn squash, bagels, bread, corn, grains, kidney beans, carrots, potatoes, and yams.
  

• PROTEIN FOODS are digested by ACIDS which are secreted by the stomach. They can be eaten with fresh non-starchy vegetables, but not with fruit and not with starchy foods. (Examples of protein foods are beef, chicken, pork, fish, eggs, and dairy. 
  

The reason starchy foods and protein foods should not be eaten together is because the different pH of the digestive enzymes they each require neutralize each other out, and the food sits there putrefying rather than being digested correctly. This causes pain, gas, bloating, and lots of complications in the long term.  When eating starchy food, be sure to wait 3 hours before having proteins. Vice versa. 

Source: Great Taste No Pain, by Sherry Brescia

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