How many times has one heard the adage, "You are what you eat"? Recent health studies have only confirmed this fact as many nutrition experts claim that a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains is essential to a balanced lifestyle. But there may be more to a healthy diet than just eating the right foods? That's what the food combination diet is all about.
Origins of the Food Combination Diet
Also known as the Hay Diet, this diet was introduced in the 1920s by Dr. William Henry Hay. A practicing physician for many years, Dr. Hay found himself suffering from numerous health problems including high blood pressure and heart and kidney diseases. He was also terribly overweight. In an attempt to cure his health problems, Dr. Hay prescribed his own method of treatment. The results were impressive. His symptoms completely disappeared and in three months his weight dropped from 225 to 175 pounds.
What was Dr. Hay's magic formula? The Hay diet is centered around several key ideas, the primary idea being that there are compatible and incompatible food groups, referring to their digestive chemistry. In other words, when a food is consumed, the body will digest it in using specific digestive juices, over a specific period of time, and in a particular part of the digestive tract. If two incompatible foods are eaten at the same time, optimal digestion of each food is inhibited, and the body cannot completely absorb all the nutrients from the food. Even worse, the partially digested food can become toxic to the body and cause a whole host of negative symptoms and health conditions.
Food Combination Dieting and Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats
To get more specific, let's look at some of the main food groups and their basic digestive patterns. Proteins (meats, fish, eggs, cheeses) require an acidic environment to be digested. They are digested in the stomach by gastric juices; primarily hydrochloric acid and pepsin. Carbohydrates (starches, fruits, sugars) require an alkaline environment for optimal digestion, and begin the digestion process in the mouth. They are further digested in the small intestine by pancreas secretions like amalyse, which works to split the starch. Fats are digested in the small intestine as well, but are digested by bile secreted into the small intestine by the gall bladder, which emulsifies the fat and releases fatty acids. Three different food groups, each with vastly different digestive patterns.
When any of these three food groups are eaten in tandem, the results can be disastrous for the digestive system. The digestive juices produced will be a medium of the two food groups which won't adequately digest either food, leading to less than optimal digestion, and even bloating, gas, and abdominal pain.
Where do fruits and veggies fit into the mix? Fruits are digested extremely quickly and digestion occurs completely in the small intestine. Because of these factors, fruit is best eaten separately, not with a meal, as the fruit will get held up in the stomach if eaten with a protein food, and while there may decompose and ferment in the stomach. Also important to note is the fact that there are different categories of fruit. Fruits can vary from acid to sweet, and it's best not to combine sweet and acid fruits.
Veggies, which contain mostly water and little protein, fat, or starch, can be combined with any of these categories with no negative effects. The exceptions, or course, would be potatoes or yams.
Food Combination Dieting and Acid, Alkaline, and Neutral Foods
To get a more complete picture, let's use another popular breakdown system: acid, alkaline, and neutral. Fitting into the acid category, of course, are proteins and fats, while carbohydrates, sugars and starches land in the alkaline category. The neutral category contains vegetables. Acid and neutral foods can be combined, as well as alkaline and neutral foods, but never acid and alkaline.
Over time, more specific food combination rules and guidelines have been developed, but these are the basic concepts that led to the creation of the food combination diet. Following these principles is the best way to ensure that your body is digesting it's food completely and properly as well as assimilating the nutrients from the food.
Sources:
healingdaily.com, "Food combining" (accessed May 30, 2010)
internethealthlibrary.com, "Food Combining" (accessed May 30, 2010)
drkaslow.com, "Food Combinations" (accessed May 30, 2010)
synergy-health.co.uk, "Hay Diet" (accessed June 3, 2010)
targetwoman.com, "Hay Diet" (accessed June 3, 2010)
ssyyogalife.org, "Food Combining" (accessed June 4, 2010)
Sarah Lantz - Sarah Lantz is a freelance musician who enjoys writing on the side. She started piano lessons at the tender age of five and has been ...
