Food Combining

'Food and drink are relied upon to nurture life. But if one does not know that the natures' of substances may be opposed to each other, and one consumes them altogether indiscriminately, the vital organs will be thrown out of harmony and disastrous consequences will soon arise. Therefore, those who wish to nurture their lives must carefully avoid doing such damage to themselves.'

Chia Ming from Essential Knowledge for Eating and Drink, 1368

The best way to ignore this whole section and eat the perfect food combination is by means of a mono diet; a meal of only one type of food. As this is problematic for most people, understanding the dynamics of food combining is important. Food combining involves learning which combination of foods are easiest to digest and help us feel more energetic. When we put something in our mouths, our sensitive taste buds send a message to the brain saying what foods are on their way down. They ask our brain if it could prepare specific juices to digest them as they arrive. Liquids are emptied from the stomach within minutes, solids usually take more than an hour with smaller particles first, and larger and more fibrous parts following. This is one of the reasons it is important to chew food properly. Factors that slow digestion include eating a high proportion of fatty foods and drinking alcohol before or during a meal.

The absorption of foods is dramatically affected by what foods have been mixed together. With a single item of food, the brain has no trouble. Two items, say bread and butter, are still manageable although the brain will be somewhat stressed by it. When you eat a burger in a bun with butter, lettuce, cucumber, mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, pepper and wash it down with a milk shake, what do you think the brain says? It doesn't, it gives up. The proper digestive functions are not set in motion and a heavy toxic waste tip is created in the digestive tract for some time. It does not take such extreme foods to confuse the system either - a cheese or jam sandwich does the trick. Bread, cheese and jam 'plants' were just never meant to be consumed together.

Most digestion of food occurs in the stomach by digestive juices. The type of juice secreted for digestion of one type of food is of no value for another type. In addition, juices for two types of food are of no value to a combination of both foods. For example, if an acid food such as pulp-less orange juice is taken at the same time as a starch food, such as bread or cereal, the secretion of the enzyme ptyalin is inhibited (it needs an alkaline environment) and digestion of the starch is inhibited, resulting in gas, upset stomach or more subtle effects.

Meat and potatoes, fish and rice, eggs or cheese and toast, cereal and milk are all protein and starch combinations that cannot be digested efficiently in the stomach. There are suitable alternatives that help efficient digestion. Proteins need acidic juices, starches need alkaline juice, and when both are produced they neutralise each other. Some good food combinations are strawberries and mango, apple with pumpkin seed and orange with sunflower seed. To balance out our usual acid diet we sometimes need a strongly alkaline food - drink a raw green juice (with pulp).

Beware of highly acidic foods such as rice, wheat, bread, kidney beans, lentils, alcohol, vinegar, tea, coffee, walnuts, all processed foods and even purer foods such as dried apricots, blackcurrants, redcurrants, lemon juice and grapefruits. Such foods are invaluable for their purification properties and are useful for this purpose alone. A pint or two of pure water with the juice of a single organic lemon is the best start to a day of purification during the transition to a purer system.

The most helpful aid to digestion, apart from chewing properly, is to be aware of what you are eating. Take a few moments to be aware of what you are about to do as this is often forgotten in the rush of modern life. Write it down. A highly undervalued tool in your food preparation - a piece of paper reminding you to take a minute to be grateful for the food, giving time for the body to prepare for the immense task of digestion ahead.

Protein digestion is carried out in the stomach and is helped by hydrochloric acid. Those who take antacid to obstruct the natural digestion usually have more gastrointestinal problems in the long run. A bitter or sour taste such as lemon or umeboshi plum is more helpful in stimulating the digestion of bacteria. Most foods are digested and passed to the small intestine within three hours. When you have that heavy feeling in your stomach 5-6 hours after a large meal you can be sure it is due to an incorrect food combination preventing efficient digestion. This leads to putrefaction in the stomach that is such a mess that you would not want a graphic description. If you enjoy a large salad (which is recommended at least once a day) with a protein then eat them together. Only drink in very small quantities during meals if at all. Washing your food down can bypass the proper chewing that is necessary to break down food for digestion. Excess fluid can also dilute digestive juices. This can lead to cramping and fermentation.

Not all of the recipes in this book are perfect food combinations, but ideal to work with until your intuition kicks in. The idea of food combining was discovered by Dr William Howard Hay in the early 1900s. A trained doctor who, after 16 years of medical practice, became ill and realised that freedom from disease lay not in relieving symptoms, but in treating the underlying causes. My own experience has shown that better combined meals means quicker digestion and more vitality and energy. A reward well worth the initial energy directed to conscious food choices. Etc. ...