Discover the 5 Essential Rules of Food Combining

Standard diets contain numerous recommendations regarding healthy nutrition. They classify foods, herbs, spices and beverages as good or bad for everybody.

(Un)fortunately, we are all unique and different. Every person has their own metabolic type, blood type, sensitivities and most of us at least some health issues. We live in different climate and environmental conditions and each of us has a very unique collection of inherited (or mutated) genes.

All these factors and several others determine:

• Which foods are good for us and which are not;
• which ingredients from the food intake our body can digest and utilize and
• which of the ingredients get stored somewhere in the body because they cant be processed or eliminated. These excess substances may start causing health problems after they build-up to a certain level and because we keep adding them.

The ability to hear what our body is telling us is the best way (above all!) to follow in order to treat this earthly vehicle in a form of physical body the best we can. However, with all the distractions that the modern society is screaming at us, we experience many moments when its difficult to hear or feel the signals that come from within us.

Therefore, adopting the following five rules of food combining can be a tremendous help to our digestive system. All the bodily processes may run smoother without incompatible foods. At the same time, only the foods that complement each other can be properly processed or eliminated from the body.

1. Fruits or variety of fruits are best eaten alone (in the morning or a few hours after other foods) because they are easier and faster digested than other foods. When eaten with or on top of other foods, fruits begin a fermentation process in the stomach (due to delayed stomach juices) which enables gas to go through the intestines. The only exception to this rule seems to be citrus fruits, eaten with nuts.
2. Proteins are best combined with vegetables.
3. Starches are best combined with vegetables.
4. Whenever possible, avoid combining protein (like meat, milk and milk products) with starches (like potatoes, pasta, rice and breads). For digestion, proteins require an acid digestive medium and starches are digested in alkaline one. Eaten together (proteins and starches), they interfere with each others utilization. Digestion of a meal that includes both (proteins and starches) is not efficient, takes much longer and may lead to poor utilizing of nutrients, indigestion, gas, abdominal discomfort and bloating.
5. One protein per meal is enough; different protein foods consumed during one meal can easily mean an excessive intake of fats or protein.

The five rules above alone can aid loosing excess weight and health in general. Of course they mean that there will be no more common meals like sandwiches (lunch meat, cheese and bread), meat with potatoes or fish with pasta and so on.

For most people these rules might seem completely unacceptable or too hard to carry out. But if you are one of those whose heart resonated with the message of this article, give food combining a try for thirty days - and see how that makes you feel.

Copyright 2007 D. Perse. All rights reserved.

D. Perse is a student of Herbology at Clayton College of Natural Health, passionate about growing herbs and collecting interesting facts about them, including history and legends, medicinal uses, recipes, growing tips and more. Website http://www.dariasworld.info is devoted to herbs and offers tons of free information for the purpose of educating and empowering, never to diagnose, prescribe or treat. Because one's health is in one's own hands.