Food Combining

Food combining is aimed at improving digestion. The goal is to allow for the complete digestion of the foods you eat. The theory behind food combination is that all foods are digested by the body at different speeds, and by eating foods that are digested at similar speeds together, you reduce the stress on your digestive system. 

As an example, fruit is digested quickly, whereas protein is digested slowly. Eating these at the same time causes the fruit to stay in your digestive tract longer than necessary, causing potential problems like gas.

Here are some of the basic rules to follow:

• Fruit is best eaten alone on an empty stomach at least 30 minutes before or 3 hours after other meals. 
• Excellent food combinations include high-starch with non-starch vegetables, high-protein with non-starch vegetables, or healthy oils with any type of vegetable.
• Poor food combinations include high-protein with high-starch, high-protein with fruit, or high-starch with fruit.
• Non-starch vegetables include (but are not limited to): asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, garlic, kale, lettuce, onions, spinach, and zuchinni.

You should try to aim to have 50 to 60% of your diet consist of high-water-content, fresh foods like fruits and vegetables. These foods will proide quick energy, vital water, fibre and minerals to assist the body in cleansing and detoxification. The remaining 40% of you diet should be comprised of the more concentrated foods like seeds, whole grains, beans, nuts, lentils, fish and lean meats.