Learn how to combine your foods for improved digestion

The purpose of food combining is to reduce the stress in the gastrointestinal tract by enhancing the efficiency of our digestive enzymes.  Proper food combining principles allow for better digestion and absorption of the nutrients in your foods by reducing the inflammation and irritation of your intestinal lining, as a result of poor digestion.  Remember, it is not only what you eat, but rather what your body absorbs that is important.  By doing proper food combinations we could make it easier for our body to absorb nutrients.

We have been told that we need to have a balanced diet consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.  However, when you look at all the other mammals in the animal kingdom.  You will see none of the other animals eat a balanced diet either.  Rather they eat a whole stack of leaves, bananas or meat at one time.  This allows for greater absorption and assimilation of our nutrients due to the fact that some foods digest faster than others and when you place two foods together that digest at different rates it can cause digestive difficulties.

Carbohydrates digest very rapidly.  Starches take a little longer.  Proteins and fats digest very slowly, 3 to 5 hours in length, depending on the quantity.  There are certain food combinations that are difficult for the body to handle or are poor combinations.  If you are not having any digestive problems it might not be that difficult for your body to digest those difficult food combinations. However, if you are experiencing indigestion, bloating, gas or heartburn - maybe it is the food combinations that can be the problem. 

A common statement many patients have told me when we talk about the need for proper food combining, is “I have eaten this way all my life, why did it all of a sudden start creating a problem?”  In which I usually say, when you buy tires you don’t wear them out in the first thousand miles, but it takes 40 thousand miles to wear them out.  The same applies to your intestinal lining, it has taken a certain amount of time before your body has worn-out your intestinal lining and now you are having symptoms that need to be managed.  Plus you may have worn-out that lining that much faster with the history of poor food choices.

Rules to Follow and Understand

Proteins and Starches:  To digest proteins requires a lot of acidity.  If that acidity is not there or is diluted - protein is not adequately digested.  This undigested protein than begins to putrefy and rot in the stomach.  This putrefied rotted food than runs through our small intestine irritating and damaging the intestinal lining.  This undigested protein will further promote the overgrowth of the unwanted bacteria in our intestines. Therefore avoid poor food combinations such as steak and baked potato, chicken and rice or shrimp pasta.   Having protein with high fibrous vegetables is a good combination.

Proteins, Fats and Sugars: All simple sugars (jams, jellies, honey, etc.) and fruits are digested very rapidly.  However if they are consumed with fats and proteins (which require 3-5 hours for digestion) the sugars will begin to ferment in the stomach.  This fermentation of the sugars can cause irritation to our intestinal lining and promote overgrowth of the unwanted “bad” intestinal bacteria.  This overgrowth can reduce the absorption and assimilation of our nutrients.  So eating fruits by themselves are suggested.

As we age we produce less enzymes and hydrochloric acid - which are needed for proper digestion, absorption and assimilation.  By proper food combining we may be able to reduce and eliminate the discomfort associated with heartburn, bloating, gas and indigestion.  Remember better health begins with proper digestion, absorption and assimilation of our vitamins.

If you do experience bloating, gas, indigestion, heartburn, or acid reflux I would recommend proper food combining along with the use of digestive enzymes.  Poor digestion not only leaves you with the above stated symptoms but can lead to fatigue, cravings, headaches, allergies, sinus problems, weight gain or irritable bowel syndrome, which may lead to more complicated health issues.

 Simple Rules of Food Combining

• Eat proteins (fish, chicken, beef, eggs etc.) with fibrous carbohydrates (broccoli, cauliflower, squash, zucchini, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, asparagus etc.)
• Do Not combine proteins with starchy carbohydrates (potato, corn, beans, rice etc.)
• Only eat fruits by themselves.  Do not eat them with your meals.
• Drink only a few ounces of water with your meal.

Follow these dieting tips to improve your digestion, also look at possible hidden food allergies and begin using a good digestive enzyme like Digestin.

Dr. Len Lopez