A. Jackson, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Sep 24, 2007

Carbohydrates and proteins require different types of chemical environments for proper digestion to occur and for our bodies to receive the full nutritional benefit. Foods can be categorized as acids or alkalines. Proteins require an acidic environment while carbohydrates require an alkaline environment. When eaten together, digestive juices cancel or neutralize each other and can result in intestinal and health problems.The reason for this is that food is mainly digested in the small intestine. When the wrong combination is consumed, the result is a sticky, gluey substance. I know this is not something we like to hear or read about, but that is the truth. This substance instead of passing through and being eliminated the way it should, will stick to the intestinal walls and provide the perfect environment for bacteria to flourish and for parasites to reproduce. Some consequences of this is indigestion – at the very least, constipation, toxic bowels, and toxic blood. If not corrected, over time it can lead to developing a compromised immune system and other chronic illnesses. Additionally, “this wall” of hardened matter can prevent the intestine from absorbing the necessary nutrients, which in turn can lead to malabsorption complications. We have heard that “most diseases start in the intestine,” now we know why.Vegetables on the other hand, can be digested in either an acidic or an alkaline environment. Therefore, they can be eaten either with proteins or with carbohydrates.Examples of proper food combinations are: a bowl of soup and a salad, protein and a salad, carbohydrates and a salad or steamed vegetables and a salad. It is recommended that a healthy diet include more vegetables and fruits and that protein is served as a side dish instead of the main course.This is completely different from what we learned in school. We learned that it was important to eat balanced meals. Balanced meals are still important but the definition of a “balanced meal” has changed within the past decade or two. I still remember the picture of the food pyramid from the fifth grade. The truth of the matter is that that kind of eating is not making people’s health any better. In spite of all the technological advancements, diseases like colon cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune problems are on the rise. People are turning to alternative methods of treating health problems or to prevent them in the first place.

Nutritional recommendations vary greatly from one nutritionist to the next but the basic principles mentioned before make sense when we stop to think about it. I personally know of people who have benefited from applying them – my husband and I being part of that group.

Now you know the story behind improper food combinations. If you decide to follow these guidelines, I hope that you too reap the benefits and rewards that come as a result of combining the right foods.

THE FOOD COMBINING CHART

for a smooth digestion

Important: Only combine where circles touch directly!

* Click here for a printable version
of this food combining chart

Important: Only combine where circles touch directly!

 

 

1. Protein and carbohydrate concentrated foods

Breakdown of protein requires an acid medium, and digestion of protein dense animal products requires high levels of hydrochloric acid. Since digestion of carbohydrate dense foods requires an alkaline medium in order to be broken down, high carbohydrate foods that have been mixed with high protein foods will not digest but will sit there fermenting, producing indigestion, bloating and gas. And since this fermentation of carbohydrates will inhibit the digestion of the protein, more gas, bloating and discomfort will be produced. This makes the typical American meal, composed of a large hunk of meat along with potatoes and bread, a recipe for digestive disaster.

Most protein foods are best digested when accompanied by a fresh green salad. Other concentrated protein foods like nuts and seeds combine well with acid fruits such as oranges, pineapples blackberries, or strawberries. They also work fairly well with sub-acid fruits such as apples, cherries, mangos, or peaches. The vitamin C in these fruits aids digestion of the mixture.

2. Eating two concentrated proteins together

Each type of protein requires a specific character, strength and timing of digestive juice secretions. This means that no two types of concentrated protein
should be consumed together at a meal. Nuts, meat, eggs, cheese, or other protein foods should not be eaten together. And no two types of animal protein
should be eaten together, a rule that may be hard to swallow by the surf and turf crowd.

3. Protein and fats

Fats inhibit the secretion of gastric juices needed to digest meat, fish, dairy products, nuts, and eggs by as much as fifty percent. When fat concentrated foods
are eaten with protein concentrated foods, the digestive breakdown of the fats is delayed until gastric juices complete their work on the complex proteins. This
means fats will remain undigested in the stomach for a long period of time. Although some high protein foods also contain high amounts of fat, these fats will be
held in suspension awaiting breakdown without impeding gastric action. However, free fats such as oil, butter and milk fat will coat the gastric mucosa,
inhibiting gastric juice. This is why fried chicken is so hard to digest.

4. Acid fruits with carbohydrates

The enzyme in saliva that begins the breakdown of starch concentrated foods in the mouth does the important job of converting complex starch molecules
into more simple sugars. In order to work, the enzyme requires a neutral or slightly alkaline medium, the natural condition found in the mouth. When acid foods
are eaten, the action of the enzyme needed to break down starch is halted because the medium needed has been altered. Thus acid fruits should not be
eaten at the same meal as sweet fruits or other starches. This combination is what makes spaghetti and other dishes combining tomatoes with starch so
bloating.

5. Acid fruits with protein

Oranges, tomatoes, lemons, pineapples and other acid fruits can be easily digested and produce no distress when eaten away from starchy and protein
foods. However, when included in a meal that contains a protein concentrated food, the acid fruits seriously hamper protein digestion. This is in part what
makes the typical American breakfast of orange juice, bacon, eggs and toast such a digestive nightmare

6. Starch and sugar

Eating starches that have been disguised as sweets is not a good way to eat starch. Although the “treat” produces an abundance of saliva, the saliva contains
none of the enzyme needed to digest the starch because the sugar has turned the environment acidic. This is why such items as fruit filled Danish settle on the
digestive tract like a sack of bricks. The carbohydrates are fermenting in the body, producing noxious gases.

7. Consuming melons

Melons should not be consumed with any other foods. Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and the more exotic melons should always be eaten away from
mealtime and alone. Melons are meant to decompose quickly in the digestive system, which is what they will do if there is no interfering with the process.

8. Consuming milk

Milk is best left to babies who traditionally consume it alone, away from other foods. Milk does not digest in the stomach, but in the duodenum, so the presence
of milk in the stomach does not promote secretion of gastric juice. The use of acid fruits with milk does not cause any digestive difficulty, although the benefits of
the antioxidant potential of the fruits may be lost due to the affinity they have for the protein in milk.