~The Ideal Diet & Proper Food Combining~

                       

I have had people give me strange looks when I talk about proper food combining.  It is a foreign concept to most, however it is very important as it pertains to our intestinal health, which is paramount for the optimum assimilation of nutrients.  Be honest. Do you really think about what you eat, or do you just eat to fill your hungry belly?  Have you actually thought about whether the food you eat is alive or dead?  

Well read on, and I hope this helps you to understand a little bit more about the ideal diet and the proper combining of your food.  

For this blog, I decided to take an excerpt from my thesis.                                                                                                  ~~~~~~~~

Foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients can create longer and healthier lives, although this isn’t the only criterion for judging food.   It should also be low in unhealthy fats, salt and fast-releasing sugars.  It should be high in fiber and alkaline forming foods and the most desirable sources of protein are non-animal sources.  Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils and whole grains are foods full of vitality.  Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, peas and sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants which are molecules intimately involved in the prevention of cellular damage by protecting them from unstable molecules known as free radicals.  Fruits, peppers and broccoli are rich in vitamin C and other phytonutrients.  Seeds and nuts are rich in essential fatty acids.  Both protein and complex carbohydrates can be found in beans and grains.  A diet that aims to create wellness should consist of at least half, if not all, of foods such as these with attention to variety.

A whole food diet consists of foods with the least amount of processed, adulterated, fried, or sweetened additives. The optimum diet should include far less animal fat, animal protein and processed foods, and far more vegetables, fruits and whole grains.  Protein sources can come from beans, lentils, rice, quinoa, and soy to name a few.   A diet rich in plant foods offers the best defense against disease because they are rich in antioxidant nutrients like vitamin C, beta carotene, vitamin E and cancer-fighting substances known as phytochemicals which can be found in fruits, vegetables and grains.  Over one hundred phytochemicals have been identified.  They are biologically active compounds that act as antioxidants, immune system boosters and hormone stabilizers. 

Increasing the consumption of essential fatty acids (EFA’s) has many health benefits as well.  These benefits include a reduced risk of heart disease and a reduction in triglyceride levels and blood pressure. EFA’s also assist the body in the transfer of calcium into the tissues where it is utilized by the cells, and reduces the pain from arthritis as they have a systemic anti-inflammatory effect on the body.

Another interesting point to make about the “ideal diet” is food combining.

There are many different factors that determine a person’s dietary needs and that need will change from person to person.  Some things to consider when designing a nutritional plan are food allergies, lifestyle, religious beliefs, age and physical condition.   With that said, there are five food-combining principles to keep in mind. 

1. Eat fruit by itself, with no other foods.  Fruit is a powerful detoxifier.  It has a high percentage of water and does not need much time to be digested.  It acts like an intestinal broom, keeping the intestinal walls clean and clear and it also helps to lower blood cholesterol.  If fruit is consumed after a meal, it ferments in the stomach, causing bloating and gas.  This is why it should not be eaten as a desert after a meal.  For optimum digestion and nutrient absorption, eat fruit first thing in the morning.

            2.  Proteins, in the form of animal proteins, and starch should be eaten separately since different digestive juices break down these two food sources.  The enzyme ptyalin, found in our saliva, breaks down starches beginning in the mouth, while proteins need the power of hydrochloric acid and the enzyme pepsin, found in the stomach, to properly break it down.  Ptyalin is not effectively produced in the saliva when proteins and starch are eaten together, therefore the starch is not predigested in the mouth, so when it enters the stomach and begins to ferment, it produces gas. It takes twice as long for proteins to digest in the stomach before being released into the small intestines. Starches are being held up as the stomach works to break down the protein.  When this happens, the food begins to decay and the nutrients that are meant to nourish our cells are actually destroyed in the decaying and fermenting process.   

            3. Eat protein foods alone or with vegetables.  Since there is a very high water content in vegetables they are relatively easy to digest.    The enzymes of the vegetables enhance the digestion of protein, plus vegetables can actually be broken down in either an alkaline or an acidic environment.

            4. Eat starches alone or with vegetables.  Vegetables can be digested in an alkaline environment because they don’t require their own special digestive juices. Therefore they make a well-suited match for starches because they don’t complicate the digestive process.

            5.  Do not drink with meals.   Liquids dilute the digestive juices that are needed to break down food, which hinders proper digestion, therefore drink fluids between meals.

To summarize these five steps: eat meat with a salad or steamed vegetables; eat starchy foods like potatoes and pasta (preferably whole grain pasta) with a salad or steamed vegetables; eat fruit in the morning; and if you like sandwiches, have a grilled vegetable sandwich on whole grain bread.

           While it’s very important to pay attention to the sorts of foods we eat and their proper consumption, we should also pay just as much attention to how that food was grown and prepared before it ever reaches the table. The issue of tainted meats and dairy products from hormones and antibiotics as well as food that has been genetically engineered and treated with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides has become a very big health concern.   Processed foods are also of concern because the processing takes most of the nutrients out of nutrient-rich foods, therefore the very thing your body needs, it does not get.  Synthetic vitamins and minerals are then added to make up for the loss of nutrients during processing; yet our bodies do not process these synthetic “nutrients” or recognize them as a food source.   Processed foods often contain hidden sugars, salt, harmful fats and harmful chemical additives to enhance taste and color as well.  These sugars, salts and flavor enhancers are not only unhealthy; they dull our taste buds to natural flavors.  As a result we are drawn to eat more processed foods to get the taste we want, and the vicious cycle begins.  This is another reason to eat a diet rich in organic whole foods that have not been processed or cooked.

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Just remember to eat as close to nature as possible.   If you do that, you will be eating food that contains life, as opposed to dead food that has either been over cooked, or put in a bag or box with the capacity to sit in your cupboards for 2 years or more, without spoiling!

*Interesting fact: Your stomach needs to produce a new layer of mucous every two weeks or it would digest itself.

Keep it natural!

:) Karen