FOOD COMBINING
by Mary Louise;Town Jaqua, Health Minister- 11/8/08The 'eating season' is upon us, and I shudder to think of the SAD consequences.
The Standard American Diet overload associated with holiday feasting usually turns
out to be a major gastronomical nightmare, albeit a lesson in SAD over-indulgence,
that takes a toll on both body and spirit. Given this annual ritual of reckless eating,
one wonders if popular holidays are merely an opportunity to worship the god of
the belly.Shocking as this observation may sound, the fact remains that eating has gotten
out of control in America. The wanton lifestyle habits of the average American
are alarming. I am convinced that eating is America's number one pasttime, far
surpassing sports or the pursuit of sensual pleasures. Stuffing the face at any
time of the day or night has become common place to the point that the average
American pays for it by experiencing poor health. Suffice it to say, improving one's
eating habits is not a popular idea, especially at this time of year. However, if we
wish to enjoy a healthy life, we must learn and apply the principles that are
associated with good health. One of these principles is FOOD COMBINING.In my years of healthy pursuits, I have determined that proper food combining
is a rare art, a practice that few know exists and much less follow. Nevertheless,
food combining is an essential component of superior health. The study of food
combining began as early as 1902 with Ivan Pavlov. His writing, The Work of the
Digestive Glands, revealed the basic fundamentals of proper food combining.
Further studies by Dr. Herbert M. Shelton and Dr. Philip Norman proved the
importance of proper food combining for the sake of health, elevating it to a
science. Combining food harmoniously in respect to the body's systems and
cycles was discovered as a prerequisite to achieving ultimate health, since
the digestive system requires more energy than any other function of the body.
Harvey and Marilyn Diamond in their book, Fit for Life, state:"Food combining is based on the discovery that certain combinations
of food may be digested with greater ease and efficiency than others.
The successful results obtained through the principles of food combining
can be explained and substantiated by the facts of physiological chemistry,
particularly the chemistry of digestion. Energy is the key, and nothing
streamlines the process of digestion, which optimizes digestion, than
proper food combining."Food combining teaches this: THE HUMAN BODY IS NOT DESIGNED TO
DIGEST MORE THAN ONE CONCENTRATED FOOD IN THE STOMACH AT
A TIME. This is a very simple but significant statement. Remember what is
meant by a concentrated food: ANY FOOD THAT IS NOT A FRUIT AND IS
NOT A VEGETABLE IS CONCENTRATED. Proper food combining merely
states that because the human stomach is not capable of difesting more
than one of these concentrated foods at a time, you should not eat more
than one concentrated food at a time. Its just that simple."Given the above truth, it is clear that the standard American practice of combining
meat and potatoes, seafood and rice, chicken and noodles, pizza and soda
creates a gastronomical disaster in the gut, placing great stress on the digestive
system which, in turn, robs the body of important nutrients and vital energy.
According to Diamond, this depletion is the ultimate 'energy crisis' in America.
I agree. Improper food combining is a contributing factor to increased sickness,
disease, and early death. It is also a major contributor to obesity.
Wrong combinations of food entering the body cause the stomach to go into
a state of emergency. Digestive juices jump into action to neutralize the in-coming
food. New digestive juices must be created and secreted into the stomach to
continue the neutralization process. Manufacturing these juices can take many
hours which depletes the body's energy. Though the stomach does what it can,
the food passes on to the intestines improperly digested. By now most of the
protein has putrefied and carbohydrates have fermented, rendering the food
nutritionally useless and toxic to the body. At this point, the average American
adds insult to injury by heading for the Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol, and Alka Seltzer.
Three cheers for the Standard American lifestyle. Is everyone having fun?Rotten food in the stomach and intestines (thirty plus feet) is a recipe for disaster.
While Americans relax after their meals by taking naps, the body is busy dealing
with its toxic overload. Food may stay over eight hours in the stomach and take
more than twenty hours to traverse the intestines. Then we wonder why and how
indigestion, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, Chrohn's Disease, constipation,
and more originate!The process of auto-intoxification (self-poisoning) is a fact of life for those who
eat a poor diet and violate proper food combining principles. In his book, The
Hygiene System, Dr. Herbert M. Shelton cites the work of Dr. Arthur Carson who,
along with his aides, discovered that proteins and carbohydrates when eaten
together retard and even prevent digestion. Furthermore, it is reported that
fermentation of improperly combined foods produces alcohol in the digestive
tract. Surprisingly, this naturally-produced by-product of a digestive system gone
awry has the same affect on the body as drinking alchoholic beverages and has
the same potential for damaging the liver. So it is that one need not consume
alchohol to enjoy the health risks associated with alcohol consumption.In order to avoid potential health problems that result from poor diet and poor food
combining, it is clear that we must amend our eating habits. Wreckless eating habits
cannot produce optimum health, but prudent dietary consideration will. The health
benefits associated with proper diet and proper food combining are well known
and include the following:1) Eat a diet of primarily living foods, avoiding processed, cooked, and
animal-based products
2) Do not mix a protein and a starch. For example, baked potato and nuts
is not compatable.
3) Do not mix two different proteins in the same meal, since the stomach
cannot effectively digest more than one protein at a time. Eating two kinds of
beans or two kinds of nuts together, however, is acceptable. Ideally, one
concentrated food should be eaten per meal.
4) Two starches can be eaten at the same meal without causing fermentation
in the stomach.
5) Beans and rice is an acceptable combination, though ideally they are
best eaten separately.
6) Fruits and vegetables should not be eaten at the same meal.
7) Ideally, fruits should be eaten on an empty stomach. However, they can
be eaten at least three hours after a properly combined meal without animal
products, four hours after a properly combined meal with animal products
or eight hours after an improperly combined meal.
8) Melons should be eaten alone or in combination with each other.
9) Fruit with greens is an acceptable combination, since greens are not
considered vegetables.
