What is Food Combining?
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Food combining. If you have frequent bloating after meals, feel sluggish after you eat, or deal with any gut issues then this one is for you. Food combining is something that I believe isn’t talked about enough in the health and wellness space. When I bring the topic up with clients, it’s always the first time that they have heard about it. I first heard about the concept of food combining from the book The Body Ecology Diet by Donna gates.
Food combining is basically an eating concept that focuses on when it’s best to eat certain foods and what foods work well together to optimize digestion and prevent digestive issues. Every food group requires different digestive enzymes to break it down and the digestive process happens at different rates for different foods. For example, fruit digests rather rapidly- anywhere between 15-45 minutes. Whereas something like animal protein can take anywhere from 2-10 hours to full digest. Because these two groups of foods digest at such a different rate, it’s best to eat them separately. One of the basics of food combining is to eat fruit alone, first thing in the morning. You can eat fruit later in the day after you have had other foods, but make sure to wait at least 3 hours after the last time you ate anything. Fruit is okay to add on top of leafy greens in a salad or to blend in a smoothie, just as long as you leave out animal protein and starches. Say on your dinner plate you had roasted vegetables, steak, fruit salad, and potatoes. In theory you would think that your plate is really healthy and that you’re doing all “the right things”. If you have issues with your digestion, this meal probably isn’t the best. What can happen is that since animal protein and starches both require a lot of energy to digest, the fruit will digest quickly in your stomach and then sit on top of the other foods while they take a longer time. The fruit will then start to ferment in your stomach which causes bloating, stomach pain, gas, and indigestion.
Here are a few simple rules to follow when food combining:
Greens and non-starchy vegetables can go with anything. This means you can mix them with animal protein, fats, fruit, and starches.
Proteins can be eaten with any vegetable or fat, but should not be eaten with fruits or starches.
Starches, like protein, are fine to eat with vegetables and fats, but should be eaten separately from fruit and animal protein.
Fruit is best eaten alone, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. All the fiber from the fruit is so good for your digestion and will help to make you regular as well. Fruits also have such a wide array of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants, etc so they’re amazing for your body. Fruit is okay to have on a salad of leafy greens and other vegetables, but really shouldn’t be eaten with animal protein or starches. If you do have fruit later in the day after you’ve already eaten, just make sure it’s at least 3 hours after your latest meal and at least 45-60 minutes before you eat anything else.
I hope these simple guidelines of food combining help your digestive system and overall health and energy. It’s these little changes we turn into a lifestyle that make all the difference.
With love,
Ashley
