Food Combining

Food combining, also known as trophology, is a theory that claims that certain types of foods should be eaten only in specific combinations. As yet there is little scientific research to support the claims, but anecdotal evidence abounds regarding the improvements in digestive health experienced by those who have tried it. It is not designed to be a system of eating that promotes weight loss, rather its purpose is to help get the most benefit and nutrition from food.

Basically proponents of food combining believe that carbohydrate-rich foods (carbs) such as bread, pasta, carrots, potatoes and cereals should not be eaten in combination with protein-rich foods such as meat, eggs, dairy and nuts. Fruits are to be eaten alone, waiting 20-30 minutes before consuming anything else.

The idea behind this is that amalyse, the enzyme which converts carbohydrates to sugar, works best in an alkaline environment. Pepsin, the enzyme responsible for breaking down proteins, acidifies digestive juices. In effect the two neutralize each other, diminishing the effectiveness of digestion. This can reputedly lead to poor digestion, drowsiness after eating, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

My own experience with this is that foods do break down rather quickly and easily if combined as recommended by trophologists. However this often leads me to feel hungry again fairly quickly. In some cases I don't ever feel full. I feel that although this can perhaps be a good way to digest your food more completely, it might not be practical for every day eating. Most people hate feeling hungry and it can lead to snacking at inappropriate times.

This theory is also a bit at odds with some of the concepts discussed in the South Beach Diet, which is in part based on the idea that carbs need to be consumed with a sufficient amount of fat in order to slow the process of converting carbs to sugars. (This keeps spikes in blood sugar from happening and thereby reduces the amount of carbs converted to fat for storage in the body.)

However many people suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrone and other such ailments claim some relief of symptoms by following the food combining regimen.

If this seems like something of interest to you, I suggest reading more about it. You could try Fit for Life which is likely the most famous book on the subject or The Complete Book of Food Combining: A New Approach to the Hay Diet and Healthy Eating which is a more recent book that treats the subject slightly differently.

If you are doing more research online, key words searches could include 'food combining', 'Herbert Shelton', 'Hay Diet' or 'natural hygiene'.