food combining...

[ukahela]

you just hear such a lot about food combining, not sure what to think.. on the one hand it seems to make some sense, different foods require different digestions (time, gastric secretions etc), and some combinations FEEL really heavy.

but then again.. these food combining theories usually claim that the gastric juices secreted for protein, carbs and fats, respectively, neutralise each other - carbs requiring an alcaline digestion whereas proteins would require an acid digestion. but aren't all gastric juices acid?? and enzymes don't neutralise each other do they?

is there any sense in this food combining hype?

[DianeVegan]

Ukahela, I think that if you are getting some gastric distress then it makes sense to give it a go. Otherwise, I think it's like most other biological processes - our bodies are amazing at doing a good job with most of what we throw at them. I think it's more important to not drink when you're eating in order to not dilute digestive enzymes. Anyway, just my opinion.

[StmpyElephant]

I've read somewhere on a raw food website that you should not combine fruit and nuts and NEVER combine dried fruit and nuts. The latter I can speak from experience

[Tigerlily]

But why?

[DianeVegan]

According to food combining theory, it takes about 4 hours to digest nuts but only 1 1/2 to 3 hours to digest fresh fruit. Therefore, the theory goes that slowing down the fruit by combining with nuts will cause the fruit to ferment -leading to gas, bloating and other GI upset. (Dried fruits digest in 3-4 hours so I don't know why you would necessarily have a problem with this. I hope it wasn't too bad.)

Also, different foods need a different pH to digest more rapidly (nuts like acid and starches like alkalinity). Your stomach is acidic and your small bowel is alkalinic. Therefore, acid requiring foods do most of their breakdown in the stomach and alkaline requiring foods do most of their digestion in the small bowel. So, I guess if you eat nuts and fruit together, the nuts will slow down the passage of fruit into the small bowel. Since the fruit is not digesting yet it may start to ferment and cause gas.

What I would like to know is this: Who has done studies on this? Is it all theory? How long does it take for fruit to ferment? Any food combining experts out there, please comment.

[Tigerlily]

Interesting but all those "rules" for food combining would drive me crazy!

[DianeVegan]

I agree, Tigerlily. I think I would rather just have gas!

[ConsciousCuisine]

I think it's more important to not drink when you're eating in order to not dilute digestive enzymes.

YAY! A smart nurse, (and one married to a doctor) thinks this! That makes me soooo happy!

[herbwormwood]

According to food combining theory, it takes about 4 hours to digest nuts but only 1 1/2 to 3 hours to digest fresh fruit. Therefore, the theory goes that slowing down the fruit by combining with nuts will cause the fruit to ferment -leading to gas, bloating and other GI upset. (Dried fruits digest in 3-4 hours so I don't know why you would necessarily have a problem with this. I hope it wasn't too bad.)

Also, different foods need a different pH to digest more rapidly (nuts like acid and starches like alkalinity). Your stomach is acidic and your small bowel is alkalinic. Therefore, acid requiring foods do most of their breakdown in the stomach and alkaline requiring foods do most of their digestion in the small bowel. So, I guess if you eat nuts and fruit together, the nuts will slow down the passage of fruit into the small bowel. Since the fruit is not digesting yet it may start to ferment and cause gas.

What I would like to know is this: Who has done studies on this? Is it all theory? How long does it take for fruit to ferment? Any food combining experts out there, please comment.

Try http://www.drgillianmckeith.com/ She is really famous here in UK and believes in food combining. She is not vegan by the way.
My opinion is that a healthy balanced vegan diet should be fine for most people. I think there is something in the food combining ideas because a couple of times I did a juice in my juicer with raw beetroot, carrot, apple and a few other things and took it round to my neighbour's house and we stuffed ourselves on rice, a bean and lentil dish I had made, a salad she had made, and a few other vegan goodies, and each time (a week apart) I woke up in the middle of the night with excrutiating stomach ache. My neighbour didn't have it and suggested it was the lentils and beans causing wind. But later I realised it had been the home made juice (which we drank just before the meal).

[DianeVegan]

Thanks CC! It makes me crazy when I see people ordering big bottles of water at restaurants and drinking glass after glass. No wonder so many are diagnosed with acid reflux!

I'm sure you feel as I do about this topic - like a lone voice in the wind. Even the GI doctors don't tell their patients to avoid fluid with meals in order to aid digestion. Believe me, my husband never heard it in med school or his practice.

[DianeVegan]

Thanks for the info, Herbwormwood. I can't find any information on food-combining on the site, however. Maybe I need to become a member to do so?

[Tigerlily]

I always drink when I eat. I never had a bad problem. My mouth just gets so dry if I don't drink when I eat.

[ConsciousCuisine]

Thanks CC! It makes me crazy when I see people ordering big bottles of water at restaurants and drinking glass after glass. No wonder so many are diagnosed with acid reflux!

I'm sure you feel as I do about this topic - like a lone voice in the wind. Even the GI doctors don't tell their patients to avoid fluid with meals in order to aid digestion. Believe me, my husband never heard it in med school or his practice.

I DO feel like a lone voice in the wind! It's irritating when doctors and nutritionists argue about this or dismiss it as "hogwash", especially when it's really just simple logic, isn't it? If you break it down on a function by function basis, it makes no sense to drink non-nutritive liquids when you'd like your body to be digesting foods!

[ConsciousCuisine]

I always drink when I eat. I never had a bad problem. My mouth just gets so dry if I don't drink when I eat.

Unless you have a problem with producing/secreting saliva, your mouth should not get dry if you are chewing adequately. That being said, how many people liquify solid food in thier mouth before swallowing by chewing each mouthdul 30-60 times (and also chewing non-soilds)? *Eat what you drink and drink what you eat!*

[DianeVegan]

Tigerlily, if you are eating mostly dry foods then this does make some sense. If you are eating foods that contain water (especially raw foods) and a low sodium content then dry mouth isn't always an issue. However, I think most people are just accustomed to eating and drinking together because that is how they were raised. If it's not causing you a problem, fine. I think that some people could actually get off their high-priced reflux medications if they would just eat smaller meals and stop drinking at the same time.

[ukahela]

maybe experience is the best guide for combining... some combinations do feel bad for me, but others don't really. i haven't heard of any actual studies on the topic, only a lot of quite popular theories.

tigerlily:
eating really dry foods does dry out yer mouth (and makes digestions really heavy - for me at least..!). like lots of bread, or pasta etc. a good idea is to drink water BEFORE you eat (like half an hour) seems to make it much better. and to eat some salad or sth with each meal.

i feel very bloated if i drink with a meal. now i always drink before.

[herbwormwood]

Thanks for the info, Herbwormwood. I can't find any information on food-combining on the site, however. Maybe I need to become a member to do so?

Diane, sorry I just posted the Gillian website so you would know who she is in case you didn't already. You are right there doesn't seem to be much on her website. However as far as I know it is one of the main parts of her diet that certain foods should never be eaten together and no liquid with the meal. I have seen a lot of her tv programmes and books and they all go on about it. Maybe it wasn't such a good website to post.

[DianeVegan]

Don't be sorry, Herbwormwood. I'll just look out for her books. There's probably much more info in them.

[Haniska]

I've been more interested in this ever since I made a few green smoothies and they gave me the runs, especially ones that contain orange juice. I've been bloated lately after putting fruit on my cereal too. Also I'd like a better way to eat nuts because they tend to make me constipated.

[j&k]

Purely from a scientific perspective, food combining really holds no merit. Because of the heavy acidic environment of the stomach, fermentation does not occur in the stomach. Food combining was based on old physiologic arguments which were themselves based on an incorrect notion of human digestion. The body will adjust the timing and secretions of digestive juices to adapt to what you eat.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with trying food combining, and if you are having success with it, there is no real reason to stop it. But, it can make eating healthfully unnecessarily complicated. I find that because of food combining's complicated rules, it becomes difficult to eat all the healthy vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds that are the real key to disease prevention. If you can manage the rules and still eat well, and you enjoy it, there is no reason to stop.

There may be some small segment of the population who have major digestive issues which will be helped by food combining.

Best,
Josh

[Limey]

I think it's more important to not drink when you're eating in order to not dilute digestive enzymes.

My most fabulous doctor told me this. No drinking 30 min before or after eating and definitely not during (in my case especially). I try my hardest, but yes, was raised on eating and drinking. It's like second nature. Much easier to do when eating fruits, etc.
My friends always look at me like I'm insane and not to be believed.

Food combining would stress me out too much, but then again it would be nice to be free of stomach/digestion/reflux issues.

[DianeVegan]

Talia,

While I believe in the idea that drinking dilutes gastric secretions, I've heard that it's not true. It certainly seems to work for me.

Josh,

I totally agree with your idea that foods cannot ferment in an acidic stomach. The science behind food combining (and I don't know that there is any science behind it) has always been a bit shaky, IMO. There is one circumstance where I think food combining just might be important (if stomach pH matters), and that is for those people who take proton-pump inhibitors (such as prilosec, nexium) and antacids. My husband had reflux/heartburn for years before I met him and even though he adopted my eating habits, he was still experiencing reflux. I finally realized that he didn't have enough acid in his stomach to digest food because of his medication!! Why does no one talk about this? Stomach secretions are supposed to be acidic for a reason! (okay, my rant is over). Anyway, he went off the antacids and PPI's and is now medication free and reflux free. And no food combining necessary.

[insubordination]

Bah, I drink water whenever I'm thirsty. Surely every animal does.

[Vagetarian]

Eating: When I stick to aryvedic principles for eating I never have indegestion. I have found the food combining theories don't really apply universally for all people all the time (or at least for me). I have experimented with both food combing and aryvedic and found aryvedic principals to be much more applicable to me.

Drinking: I have experimented with this too and find that you don't need to drink during meals provided your meal is not salty and has high water content, which most healthy meals should be. However if you are eating a very salty meal, you should be drinking because you will be thirsty, a sign your body needs water.