Combination Of Foods To Lose Weight

Advocates of food combining, which restricts the types of foods that may be eaten together, say this is a good way to lose weight. Critics say these diets are based on bad science and any weight loss resulting from them is the result of eating fewer calories. They also warn that excessive restrictions may jeopardize nutrition.

Combining Foods

The idea behind food combining is that different types of foods are digested differently, using different enzymes and in different amounts of time. For that reason, it is argued, certain foods shouldn't be eaten at the same time. Delaying digestion of foods causes them to ferment and putrefy in the body, it is suggested. Don't eat acidic foods, such as tomatoes, oranges and grapefruit, at the same meal as either carbohydrates or proteins. Similarly, carbohydrates and proteins shouldn't be eaten at the same time. Don't eat proteins with fats or starches with sugars. Eat melons by themselves. Also, milk is best taken alone or not at all. Desserts are taboo.

Suggested Menus

With all these restrictions, you might be left wondering, "What can I eat?" Suggested breakfasts are two or three sweet or acidic fruits. Lunch might be a large raw vegetable salad with seeds and nuts. Alternatively, you might eat a vegetable salad, a cooked green vegetable and a starch. Dinner could be a protein, two non-starchy vegetables and a vegetable salad. Clearly, the menu is heavy on fruits and vegetables, and low on proteins, fats and sugars.

Benefits of Combining Foods

In many ways, food combining diets promote healthy eating. The emphasis on fruits and vegetables would be applauded by nutrition experts. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans says you should increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. The Mayo Clinic puts fruits and vegetables at the bottom of its healthy weight pyramid because they are supposed to make up the lion's share of your diet. Similarly, the food combining diets' spurning of sweets would earn kudos from nutritionists. Sweets are at the tip top of the Mayo Clinic's healthy weight pyramid.

Criticism of Diet

Many food scientists dispute the science behind food combining. The human body is able to digest different types of food at the same time, says Ed Blonz, a California nutritional scientist. Also, food cannot ferment in the acidic environment of the stomach, he said. If people lose weight on the diet, it is because they make healthier food choices and eat fewer calories, not because they eat different foods separately, according to Health Services at Columbia University in New York. In addition, food combining may result in inadequate consumption of carbohydrates, protein and dairy products, as well as unsaturated fats, according to USDA standards.