Food Combining

I found this today while looking up cycling on HCG. It's very interesting on what should and should not be eaten with what. (MANY thanks to J Beanie on the HCG Forums for this!)

Food Combining

This isn't specifically related to cycling, but I'm posting here just so I know where to find it quickly.

Many people report they are having issues when adding foods back in during P3 and P4. Some attribute this to food allergies or food intolerance. While this may be the case, I also think leaving out groups of foods can lead to digestive problems. If you are having issues and have ruled out allergies or intolerance, you may want to consider food combining. Be sure to adapt the concepts to the particular phase you are in as some of the rules don't always apply to P2 or P3.

It may be helpful to print this Food Combining Chart for a quick reference. I tape mine to the inside of a cupboard so it's handy.

This is a list of the basics I compiled from MH's book as a companion to the food chart. Note there is a section on alcohol which should come in handy for those of us who enjoy a refreshing alcoholic beverage now and then.

The Basic Rules of Food Combining

1. Do not eat proteins and starches together. Your body requires an acid base to digest proteins and an alkaline base to digest starches. Proteins and starches combine well with green, leafy vegetables and no starchy vegetables, but they do not combine well with each other.

Acids and Alkalines neutralize each other. Proteins and starches require different digestive enzymes which function at different pH levels in the body. Pepsin digests protein in the highly acidic environment of the stomach, and starches prefer alkaline environments such as the intestines. Combining these two types of food traps them and slows down the digestive process. The undigested food causes digestive problems such as gas, bloating, constipation, and weight gain. When you eat proteins (acid) and starches (alkaline) together, everything gets neutralized and nothing gets digested.

2. Do not mix fruit with proteins, starches, or any kind of vegetable. Fruits digest so quickly that by the time they reach your stomach, they are already partially digested. If they are combined with other foods, they will rot and ferment. Only eat fruit with other fruit.

3. Melons digest faster than any other food. Therefore, you should never eat melons with any other food, including other fruits. Always eat melons on their own.

4. Do not mix acid and/or sub-acid fruits with sweet fruits at the same meal. Acid fruits, such as grapefruits, pineapple, and strawberries, can be mixed with sub-acid fruits, such as apples, grapes, and peaches, but neither of these categories can be mixed with sweet fruits, such as bananas, dates, or raisins.

5. Eat only four to six different fruits or vegetables at one meal.

6. Fats and oils combine with everything (except fruits) but should be used in limited amounts because while they won’t inhibit digestion, they will slow it down.

7. Wait the following lengths of time between meals that don’t combine:
Two hours after eating fruit.
Three hours after eating starches.
Four hours after eating proteins.

Suggested: Divide the day into three food combining segments. Fruit in the morning, a protein lunch, and a starch dinner. This gives a cleansing fruit meal first thing in the morning, an energy-packed protein lunch in the middle of the day, and the slow, steady release of energy from eating complex carbohydrates at night.

If you miscombine food, there are ways to offset the bad combination. If you eat a protein with a starch, you can eat some legumes with the starch, and it will “convert” the starch to a complete protein. Let’s say you eat chicken with rice for lunch. If you eat some beans (any kind), the chicken-rice combination will digest more easily than if you don’t eat the beans. If you eat sushi (fish with rice) which is automatically a bad combination, make sure you add miso soup. Or to help round out your miscombined meals, you can always (in a pinch) eat some peanuts after the meal to offset the bad combination. Speaking of nuts, another good tip is that if you’re going to eat a lot of nuts, make sure you eat an acid fruit with them (ex. glass of orange juice).

Alcohol guidelines: When eating starches, it is better to drink beer or grain alcohol (vodka, scotch, etc.), since they are starch-based. Ideally, you should drink wine and champagne only with fruit. Wine with fish balance each other, too.

Liquids should be consumed fifteen minutes before a meal or one hour after eating. Ideally, you should never drink anything with your meal because it dilutes the digestive juices, thereby interfering with proper digestion. But, if you have to, make sure you sip rather than gulp your drink.

Food Combining “Fix It” Chart

If you eat protein and starch during the same meal, eat some legumes.
If you eat nuts, eat an acid fruit with them.
If you still eat dairy, make sure to eat an acid fruit.
If you’ve overloaded on pasta, eat an apple the next morning.
If you’ve eaten too much sugar, eat grapes the next morning.
If you’ve eaten too much salt, eat watermelon the next morning.

The Food Combining Chart in .pdf