This webpage is interesting. Read it when you get a chance... Food Combining I personally was fascinated to see that proteins(acid) and carbohydrates(alkaline) should not be eaten together because they digest at different mediums. *Here are the general rules at the bottom of the page... 1. Eat all kinds of meats, fish, eggs, leafy vegetables, citrus fruits (and carbohydrates only if you must) as the safest way to avoid deficiencies. 2. Do not combine pure fats (butter, cream or bacon) with high starches (potatoes, cereals, breads, cakes or sweets) in any one meal. 3. Do not combine acids (citrus juice, vinegar, buttermilk) with high starches at any one meal. 4. Do not combine high proteins (meats, fish eggs, cheese) with high starches at any one meal. 5. Eat fats freely with proteins and acid solutions. 6. Be sure you get enough of each essential nutritional element as follows: a. Meat, fish, fowl and eggs: One serving of each, or two servings of one per day with butter or other fat. b. Milk, buttermilk, or cheese: Two glasses of raw organic milk or buttermilk, or two and one-half ounces of cheese a day (or one glass of milk or buttermilk plus an ounce or more of cheese). c. Raw, low-starch fruits and raw green and yellow vegetables: Two servings a day or one large salad bowl a day. d. 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of a plain cod liver oil, or its equivalent in other fish liver oils, or their concentrates in capsules. But if you use capsules, then be sure to take plenty butter fats and cream; your liver must have fats, if it is going to make bile for you. e. If you are a carbohydrate eater, supplement with yeast or other equivalent Vitamin B Complex. Other natural fats and oils may also be necessary as the fact remains that natural fats and oils are absolutely necessary in ample quantities for natural, healthy ****bolism.
This was just recently discussed in this thread: http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f15/d...ffect-absorption-my-diet-804448/#post24021731 You'll find some discussion about it there. For me, I find the different tips interesting and try to apply some to my diet (try to eat fruits first/alone, I also try not to go too heavy with the protein and starch combos). It'd be interesting to apply these "rules" for a month or so and see how it affects my energy and digestion, but there's no way I'd be able to (or really want to) be so regimented with my diet.
Okay thanks, I didn't notice that thread. It's interesting how the link I posted says that fats/proteins work great together and the link on that thread says they don't.
Oddly enough, there was an article on CNN about this too, shortly after we were discussing this in the other thread. Didn't get very detailed, though.
How would you square some of this theory -- for example, that fruit should be eaten alone -- with what seems like real-world diet traditions that contract those rules but with good results. For example, the people of Crete whose health was so good that they were studied for what was essentially the Mediterranean diet, usually eat fruit for dessert. Hell, I think there's enough real-world evidence to consider "fruit for dessert" a best practice, theories to the contrary notwithstanding.
At first I wanted to criticize it, but I can't as most the rules are indeed very logical. It does, however, seem like an extremely boring way to eat. I feel like I should wear a tiger pelt and feast on a large animal for 3 days then pull vegetables out of the ground and eat them for my next 4 meals. I need a large club... Actually, this response is really fit for the other food combining article. This one seems much more rational and simpler, so to speak. I would've liked if the two articles had provided sources for their info, however.
Meh, my understanding is that the food combining rules are based on the belief that digestion has a huge impact on health. They've designed the "system" so that you digestive system can operate at maximum efficiency, which, again, they believe is integral to vitality, health, etc. You'll notice that they don't really specify things like "eat plenty of vegetables"...they're mainly talking about what should be eaten with what, not "what should be eaten" in general. So the people of Crete could be amazingly healthy more due to what they eat than how they combine their foods. I imagine that if the food combining rules are as effective and important as their supporters believe them to be, then the people of Crete would be even more healthy and vital if they were to apply some of the rules. For instance, you mentioned the fruit example. The link I posted to mentions something about fruit being very easy to digest (esp. melon) and that eating it at the end of a meal leads to the fruit sitting "atop" the other hard to digest food, which leads to its fermentation, which then leads to gas, bloating, and a general drag on your body (and energy). So yeah, maybe these people are a little tired and gassy after eating this way, and maybe eating this way over time could have long-term effects on the upper GI system. Maybe not, but that's the way I interpret the situation.
I think you're right, it would make sense that they would view things that way ... Exactly. And if it's provably the case that the healthiest people don't follow these combination rules but do pay attention to what they eat, doesn't that mean that what they eat is the most important factor? I don't think we have to focus in on just people from Crete, that was just one example among several of an acknowledged incredibly healthy cultures that does not follow the above food combination rules (another example: regular combination of starchy grains and protein sources by the Japanese). Which seems to me to say that we should spend our time eating the right foods and living the right lifestyle, rather than adding complexity with combination rules that may or may not have added benefit. Agreed ... but lots of maybes in there. With that many "maybes", I would be comfortable with the positioning of these rules as, "we've come up with a system that we think could be good, some study is warranted due to the following information <list information>, which shows some good local effects, even though we have no idea about long-term all-cause mortality".
Seems we're generally in agreement, but I just thought I'd highlight this and add that it would seem that what we eat is the most important factor of all, and I'm not sure that the food combining folks would dispute that. I think there's a danger when discussing new approaches like this to assume that they are touting it as a stand-alone approach--that all you need to be healthy is to properly follow these rules. In reality though, I'm sure they'd also advocate following some sort of reasonable diet. Actually, with their focus on digestion, you could assume they'd advocate a high-fiber diet, which would certainly have its plusses.
Ach, I'm just really curious when it comes to such "different" approaches to diet. When I first came across this stuff I considered implementing it to some extent but never really did. What has changed is that I do try to eat fruits first or alone and I'm more aware of the effect that a heavy carbs + protein meal can have on my digestion and my energy levels. I'm trying to gain weight these days and I have to break these rules all the time. I'm pretty sure my peanut butter and banana sandwiches violate many rules all at once! It has led me to make more tuna salads instead of tuna sandwiches though. Unfortunately, peanut butter and banana don't taste too good with lettuce.
