Basic Food Combining, Part 8

Classification of Foods

Proteins	Starches	Fats
nuts & seeds	potatoes	avocados
peanuts	sweet potatoes	vegetable oils
lentils	fresh lima beans	butter
soybeans	globe artichokes	cream
dried beans	chestnuts	margarine
dried peas	yams	lard
garbanzo bean       sprouts	winter squash
lentil sprouts	pumpkins
sunflower sprouts	coconuts
milk	cereals & grains
cheese	sprouted grains
eggs	mature, starchy corn
flesh foods	carrots
	beets
	parsnips
Acid Fruits	Sub-acid Fruits	Sweet Fruits
orange	mango	banana
grapefruit	cherry	date
pineapple	apple	persimmon
strawberry	peach	sapote
kiwi	plum	fresh fig
tomato	apricot	Thompson grapes
kumquat	berries	Muscat grapes
lemon	most grapes	papaya
lime	pear	dried fruits
pomegranate	nectarine	raisin
Low and Non-starchy Vegetables
celery	lettuce	watermelons
fresh, sweet corn	spinach	honeydew
fresh, sweet peas	cucumber	muskmelon
Brussels sprouts	cauliflower	cantaloupe
Chinese cabbage	cabbage	cassava
broccoli	collards	crenshaw
sweet pepper	bok choy	Christmas melon
summer squash	kohirabi	Persian melon
eggplant	turnips	Canary melon
alfalfa sprouts	kale
green peas	asparagus
garlic	onions

Reminder: Flesh food and dairy products are not recommended as healthful food items.  They are, however, included for those who continue to eat them.  Their digestibility will be enhanced by the application of “food combining” principles.  Also, garlic and onions are best avoided, or used sparingly, as they irritate the digestive tract.  Avocados may be combined with sub-acid fruits or with green vegetables.  Melons should be eaten alone.

Allow sufficient time between meals to digest the previous meal.  After fruit meals, allow 2-3 hours; after starch meals, allow 4 hours; and after protein meals, allow 6 hours.  Your digestive system works best when it’s given a rest between meals.  The idea of eating “one meal all day long” is not a good one.  Avoid the “snack” habit and your meals will prove to be more satisfying.  Remember, “food combining” represents only one factor of a healthy lifestyle.  Include it into your daily meals, continually striving for improvement.  A serene atmosphere is of primary importance for good digestion.  Lastly, health is the objective, and simplicity is the key. 

Acknowledgement: Dennis Nelson's "Food Combining Simplified" and Dr. Herbert Shelton's "Food Combining Made Easy"

Basic Food Combining, Part 7

There’s a difference between eating fruit as an entire meal, compared to eating it as a snack.  You may find it necessary to consume more fruits than you have been accustomed to.  Trust your appetite and eat the fruit that will be enough to satisfy you.

Another fruit selection may be taken for lunch.  Or vegetables, if so desired.  You make the choice.  When choosing vegetables, they are wholesome to eat whole and uncooked such as tomatoes, cucumbers, bell papers, celery, fresh sweet peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and various sprouted grains or beans.

Some vegetables may be preferred by lightly steaming them.  Always have some fresh uncooked vegetables with the cooked food to provide your body with nutrients and enzymes that are easily assimilated and digested.  It’s best to limit the variety of vegetables to not more than four varieties at meal.

If you want something more concentrated with your vegetables, an avocado makes a good combination.  Or you may want a starch item such as potatoes, yams, or rice.  For a healthier meal, choose brown rice, possibly organically grown.  It is best, however, to avoid overeating on concentrated foods.  Protein food, combined with a vegetable meal, is also a possible choice.  But remember to exclude tomatoes in your meal if you intend to have either a starch or protein (with the exception of those proteins noted earlier).

When preparing vegetables, it is best kept to a minimum.  Many vegetables may be washed and eaten whole without being cooked.  If a vegetable or fruit salad is preferred, avoid dicing and shredding, as these practices promote oxidation and loss of nutritive value.

Salad greens may be cut in half in a bowl, mixed with other vegetables.  Adding a “dressing” to the salad may be acceptable, but those commonly used are unhealthy.  All types of vinegars are highly toxic and should not be added to food.  Also, once vegetable oil has been separated from its original source, the body has a difficult task in digesting it as it coats the foods, preventing access by the digestive fluids.

Dinner may often be the best time to eat concentrated foods.  Since the day’s activities have been accomplished, there is more energy available to digest them.  These concentrated foods should always be accompanied by whole, uncooked vegetables, especially the green leafy varieties.

(“Classification of foods” will be addressed in Part 8 on Monday, Sept. 24, 2012 – J.P.)

Basic Food Combining, Part 6

Specific Fruit Combining.  Melons comprise an additional class of fruit, as they decompose even faster than other fruits.  For this reason, it’s been advised to eat melons separately from other fruits.

An unusual fruit, the avocado, provides us with an excellent natural source of fat.  It combines best with non-starchy vegetables, and makes a fair combination with acid fruits.  Its combination with sweet fruits is best avoided, due to the inhibiting effect of fat upon sugar.  It also makes a fair combination with starches, due to its low protein content.  It should definitely not be combined with proteins, as explained in the preceding chapter.

The tomato, although generally thought to be a vegetable is really an acid fruit.  Due to its low sugar content, it may be combined with non-starchy vegetables.  As is the case with other acids, they should not be combined with either starches or proteins, except for those foods noted earlier: nuts, seeds, avocado, and cheese.

Fruits, except melons, may be combined with either lettuce or celery, as these vegetables are neutral in digestive chemistry.  In fact, in cases of impaired digestion, they may enhance digestion of the fruits, especially the concentrated sweet varieties.

If fruit or vegetable juices are desired, they should be considered as an entire meal, or taken about 20 minutes before a meal.  Since they dilute the digestive secretions, they should not be taken with a meal.

A final thought regarding the fruit meal is that it provides us with a natural “fast foods” selection.  Simply prepared and served, they make the ideal breakfast for both children and adults.  Rather than burdening your digestive system with a difficult task, your body may use its energy for other mental and physical activities of the day.

Meal Planning.  The main objective of meal planning is to keep the meals simple, yet satisfying and enjoyable.  For some of you, changing your way of eating may be an easy one; for others, more difficult.

So let’s start with breakfast.  Though generally taken immediately upon arising, it’s unnecessary to do so.  In fact, it’s wise to wait on breakfast until hunger is present.  This may be hours into the morning.  Fruit makes the ideal food for breakfast, as it will not burden the digestive system with a heavy task.  Just choose those fruits that are appealing to your senses, opting for those in season, as their quality and taste are highest at this time.

(More tips on meal planning will be discussed on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012 – J.P.)

Basic Food Combining, Part 5

Fruit Eating.  The human anatomy and physiology are similar to those primates known as the anthropoid apes.  They thrive primarily on fruits and vegetation.  Apes are classified as “frugivores,” rather than “carnivores” (animals that kill and eat other animals) or “herbivores” (animals that feed on grasses).  Humans are also naturally “frugivorous,” as a study of our anatomy and physiology shows.  Fruits and vegetables are our natural primary foods.  By eating fruits to satisfy our need for sugar, and vegetables to satisfy our need for sodium, our desire for processed foods containing refined sugar and salt will greatly diminish.

Here is an excerpt from Dr. Shelton’s book, commenting on fruit eating:  “Fruits are among the finest and best of foods.  Nothing affords us more good eating pleasure than a rich, mellow apple, a luscious, well-ripened banana, a carefully selected buttery, creamy, smooth avocado, or the wholesome, heart-warming goodness of a sweet grape.  Real gustatory happiness is derived from the peach brought to the point of ripe perfection.  Fruits, indeed, are a taste-enchanting, treasure trove of delightful eating enjoyment.”

Fruits may be relished in their natural state – whole unseasoned, and uncooked.  They supply us with nutrients in the most easily assimilated form.  Their carbohydrates are in the form of simple sugars; their proteins are in the form of amino acids; and their fats are in the form of fatty acids.  These nutrients are ready for absorption, not requiring the energy expenditure of the digestive process.  This fact concerning fruit digestion requires that they be eaten by themselves as an entire meal.  This will allow them to be quickly sent to the small intestine where their nutrients may be readily absorbed.

However, if fruits are eaten with other foods, they will stay in the stomach until the other food is digested, and the fruit sugars will ferment.  This creates gastric disharmony, and the fruits are unjustly blamed for the problem.  The common practice of eating fruit with cereal, as in breakfast, or eating fruit as a “dessert,” are examples of haphazard fruit eating.

Let’s determine how fruits should be eaten.  Fruits may be conveniently divided into three sub-classes: acid, sub-acid, and sweet.  Determining which sub-class a particular fruit belongs is somewhat arbitrary.  (See “Classification of Foods” which we will post later – J.P.)  Combining fruits from the different sub-classes may or may not be compatible.  These at the sub-acid group may be combined with either the acid group or the sweet group.  However, acid fruits should not be combined with sweet fruits, as the acids will interfere with the sweet fruits by delaying their exit from the stomach.  Also, it’s probably best to limit the types of fruits eaten at a meal to two to three.  If the fruit has matured on the tree or vine and is fully ripened, one type of fruit may be totally satisfying.

(Specific, fruit combining will be further discussed on Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 – J.P.)