The main premise of food combining is that your health is affected by the chemical process of digestion and you should eat proteins and carbohydrates separately to maximize your health. It was originally called the Hay Diet and it was first developed in 1904 by New York Physician William Howard Hay.
Conditions it is Used to Treat
According to Liz Swain in "The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets," Hay originally created the Hay Diet to treat his own health conditions. Hay claimed food combining helped him effectively lower his blood pressure, treat his kidney condition, heal his dilated heart, and lose 50 lbs. in three months. Swain says that this diet is commonly used today in the treatment of weight loss, arthritis, cardiac disease, kidney disease, indigestion, constipation, asthma and allergies.
The Basics of the Theory
John Matsen, N.D., says in his book "Eating Alive" that mixing certain foods together can cause health issues because different foods require different environments for proper digestion. Hay says that carbohydrates, which consist of starchy foods and sweets, are first digested by the alkaline juices in the saliva. Protein foods, on the other hand, are first digested by the acid juices in your stomach. Mixing carbohydrates and protein together causes the alkaline and acid juices to be neutralized by each other, which greatly increases the time it takes for the food to digest, says Hay.
Why Mixing Proteins and Carbohydrates is Problematic
According to Matsen, when digestive time is extended, food starts to ferment and putrefy in your body, and this causes toxins to form. Hay adds that the wrong combination of foods will drain your vitality, cause you to gain weight, and also causes acidosis. Acidosis is the accumulation of acid in your body fluid, and it is thought to contribute to a variety of health issues.
The Solution
The solution Hay proposed is to eat proteins at one meal and carbohydrates at another, and to eat these foods at least four hours apart from each other. Matsen says this rule will help to make the digestion process simpler, quicker and more efficient and it will help to improve the health of most people. Matsen adds that proper food combining is especially important if you are consuming, sweet, refined carbohydrates, or heavy proteins, such as red meat. This means that the common practice of eating a sweet dessert after a meat dinner is especially problematic and should be avoided.
Neutral Foods and Fruits
There is a neutral category of foods that Hay said can be eaten with both protein and carbohydrates safely. Included in the neutral category are all vegetables except for potatoes and squash; all nuts, except for peanuts; and fats and oils, including butter, cream, egg yolks and olive oil. The contemporary version of the diet adds that fruits should be eaten alone, on an empty stomach and at least 30 minutes before or three hours after other foods.
References
- "The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets"; Jacqueline L. Longe (editor); 2008
- "Eating Alive"; John Matsen, N.D.; 2008
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