Why food combining? One it improves your digestion and increases energy. Our digestion is different for proteins and carbohydrates. Proteins need acid digestion and carbohydrates need alkaline digestion so the acids can neutralize the alkaline environment necessary to digest starches. It is no wonder there are so many people with digestion issues since we just eat whatever whenever and never give it a thought. It seems to make sense and I think it is worth it since everytime we eat a properly combined meal I feel really energetic and balanced after. Of course as with everything there is lots of different information out there. The one thing I am having the hardest time with is what can and cannot be paired with quinoa, millet, amaranth and buckwheat. Technically they are seeds but seems they are treated as grains in the charts. These were two great charts I found.
The basic rules are as follows. You may find other sources that go into more detail about detrimental food combinations, but these are the essentials taken from Food combining do’s and dont’s.
1. Don’t eat high protein and carbohydrates at the same meal. This means nuts, eggs, meats and cheeses should not be taken with breads, starchy vegetables like potatoes, pasta or especially sweet foods including fruits.
2. Avoid mixing carbohydrates with acids. This means potatoes, rice, pastas and breads should be eaten separately from acidic foods like lemons, limes, tomatoes, vinegar and other sour fruits. Orange juice in the morning with your cereal is a bad combination from a food combining perspective.
3. Don’t eat two high protein sources at one meal. Milk and meat, meat and cheese, eggs and meat, nuts and meat, nuts and eggs, eggs and cheese, etc., all need to be avoided while on a food combining regimen.
4. Fats should not be mixed with proteins. This means cream, oil or butter shouldn’t be mixed with meat, eggs or nuts. Eating lean meats is a must while on this diet.
5. Acidic fruits should not be mixed with proteins. Oranges, lemons and tomatoes should therefore not be mixed with meat, eggs or nuts. Lemon chicken, duck a l’orange or tomatoes in your omelet need to wait until you’re done with your food combining.
6. Most fruits, but especially melons, should be eaten alone. Other high sugar fruits like pineapple, bananas, mangoes and other tropical fruits should be eaten by themselves as well, but melons are the big ones. Skip those appetizers you find at Italian weddings where they wrap melon in prosciutto if you want to avoid the line for the bathroom later on.
