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Food Combining Simplified
An easy to understand article on the principles of food combining.
This article summarizes some food combining principles from chapter 26 of Shelton's book The Science and Fine Art of Food and Nutrition. Shelton advocated strict vegetarianism (also known as dietary vegan) as well as eating foods in their natural raw state.
It is important to note that food combining has nothing to do with protein combining which was an amusing bit of panic prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s when some people thought that the vegetarian has to eat foods in certain proportions in order to get a proper protein balance. This misconception persisted partly because of a misinterpretation of Frances Lappe Moore's idea that one has to combine foods in order to get the same protein balance that meat provides. Some people thought she meant the vegetarian has to combine foods so as to get the right balance of proteins which of course assumes that meat has the right balance of proteins for humans. This notion is complete nonsense as evidenced by clinical studies as well as by the historically healthy existence of vegetarians throughout history. Meat does not provide the 'right' combination of proteins, nor is it at all desirable to food combine to simulate that protein profile (which of course varies anyway depending upon the source).
Food combining has to do with eating certain foods together so as to optimize the digestive process. Eating a large variety of foods at one sitting forces the digestive system to try to accommodate for the different types of nutrients. As a result certain foods don't get digested well, experience fermentation and can cause discomfort or even ailments.
For instance, it is unwise to eat heavy proteins (acidic) and heavy carbohydrates (alkaline) together. Beans are an interesting example, since many people experience great discomfort after eating them. Beans are about 25% protein and 50% carbohydrate, providing an awkward combination for the digestive system since the conditions required for digestion of acidic nutrients are quite different from those of alkaline substances. While it is possible to 'help out' with digestive enzymes, it is best to minimize consumption of foods and food combinations that are difficult.
Below we provide some rules derived from Shelton's chapter.
For details, rationale and evidence of the above see Shelton's book.
The chart below gets into some specifics regarding which foods should and should not be eaten together.
(for full details see Chapter 26 The Science and Fine Art of Food and Nutrition by H. Shelton)
Eat NonStarchy and Green Vegetables with either |
||
Proteins | Or | Starches |
nuts seeds olives tofu lentil sprouts garbanzo sprouts |
DO NOT COMBINE Proteins with Starches |
peanuts coconuts chestnuts wild rice grains starchy vegetables legumes |
Eat Subacid Fruits (All fruits not Sweet or Acid) with either |
||
Acid Fruits | Or | Sweet Fruits |
citrus pineapples strawberries pomegranates sour tasting fruits |
DO NOT COMBINE Acid Fruits with Sweet Fruits |
bananas persimmons sweet grapes dried fruits |
DO
NOT COMBINE vegetables, proteins or starches with fruits |
Except nuts with citrus lettuce and celery with fruit |
Miscellaneous notes |
tomatoes | eat with green and non-starchy vegetables and protein |
avocadoes | best with salad | |
melons | eat alone |
The Science and Fine Art of Food and Nutrition
Herbert Shelton
The second volume from Shelton's work The Hygienic System.
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