Proper Food Combining: The Missing Cornerstone to a Healthy, Beautiful Body, Anti-aging & Energy

I promised to offer more information on the amazing benefits of Proper Food Combining in my last nutrition post, The Secrets to Detoxing. Proper Food Combining is truly the missing cornerstone to healthy eating and something we'll want to understand if we're interested in achieving and maintaining a beautiful, healthy body and mind for life.  Entire books have been written upon these subjects so I must admit, attempting to write blog posts on them can feel rather daunting!  However, I suppose that's the benefit, condensing everything into the most important points so that you can save yourself the effort of sifting through reams of information and get to work applying these anti-aging, beautifying and energy enhancing secrets!  

Proper Food Combining (1,2,3) enables our bodies to process food efficiently and more effectively absorb the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.  It's based on the theory that different food groups require different digestion times and different digestive enzymes to aid in the digestive process: some acid, some alkaline.  Because of this, correct food combinations are important for proper utilization and absorption of nutrients.  The proper combining of foods leads to good digestion and ultimately better health.  Basically, the simpler the meal the better you feel.  

While the method is easy to follow, it's certainly a far departure from the Standard American Diet (SAD).  However, after just two weeks following the guidelines in the chart below, our general emotional outlook and appearance improves as toxins are cleared out of our system faster.  Cravings are eliminated- making it incredibly easy to stick to - while the immediate energy surge, effortless toning, melting away of excess body fat and glowing skin certainly serve as reinforcements against any ideas of going back to old habits!  

I am continually shocked to learn the amazing wisdom available when I challenge what I find unacceptable... in this case the gut feeling I'd had all along that staying lean and feeling good shouldn't be difficult.  The constant battle against cravings, subpar energy levels etc., all stayed in place even though I was following the advice and workout recommendations of the most respected doctors and best-selling authors!  Not that I wasn't seeing major improvements along my journey - I was.  However, until practicing proper food combining, it was all a little too effortful, requiring a level of will-power that wasn't sustainable.

Here is where I really want to delve into the science of Proper Food Combining so you can understand the "why" behind it all.  The chart (4) below offers an excellent summary for how to apply the results of all the science involved.  And, since this will turn into a book if I explain every possible poor food combination, I've provided just two examples underneath the chart; what happens when we combine protein and carbohydrates, and how to consume fruit.  Feel free to post specific questions in the comments below and I'll be happy to answer them.  

In the meantime, here's a really simplified version that won't put us all to sleep:  Basically, when we improperly combine food, the environment required to digest it is compromised, for reasons such as improper levels of acidity, the wrong or inhibited enzymes, improper levels of digestive acid etc..  The result is the body's inability to digest the food, causing it to putrify, ferment, produce gas and ultimately create a digestive, toxic nightmare.  This scenario zaps our energy and turns any preexisting nutritive benefits into an age-accelerating, weight gain producing horror.  The terrific news is, simply changing the way we eat can immediately reverse all that.  As I stressed in my last post, the best way to transition into a cleansing lifestyle is gradually, so it's ok and normal that we'll have a learning/implementation curve.  As always, we NEVER need to be perfect :-)  

 

(Click on chart to enlarge)

Examples: 

 Protein and carbohydrate concentrated foods.  Breakdown of protein requires an acid medium, therefore, digestion of protein dense animal products requires high levels of hydrochloric acid. Since digestion of carbohydrate dense foods requires exactly the opposite environment, an alkaline medium,  in order to be broken down, high carbohydrate foods that have been mixed with high protein foods will not digest but will sit there fermenting, producing indigestion, bloating and gas. Since this fermentation of carbohydrates will inhibit the digestion of the protein, even more gas, bloating and discomfort will be produced. This makes the typical American meal, composed of a large chunk of meat alongside bread and potatoes, a recipe for digestive disaster.

Fruits. Fruit digests very quickly(4) and should always be eaten alone (with the exception of pairing with greens which is fine). It's extremely cleansing and excellent to eat at breakfast, while the body is still in cleansing mode after a night of fasting.  Always eat fruit on an empty stomach at the beginning of the day.  Otherwise, the fruit will get backed up behind another slower digesting food, and will sit in the stomach putrefying, turning what was once a cleansing, beautifying cocktail of nutrition into a toxic, aging, energy drain.  I'll go into further detail in a future post on how this resulting "toxic sludge" gets permanently baked into the body's 98.6F environment- just one reason cleansing requires an ongoing lifestyle in order to remove years of toxicity from the body.

I will continue to expand upon the applications of Food Combining in my next post where I'll include a sample daily menu following these guidelines.  In the meantime, implementing my incredibly delicious Quadruple Berry Acai Smoothie followed an hour later by my energizing superfood Macaccino drink, will give your mornings a powerful start :-)

Cleansing Quadruple Berry Acai Smoothie

 

Recipe for Cleansing Quadruple Berry Acai Smoothie (Makes 2, 32oz servings)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 fresh lemon
• 10 oz fresh or frozen blackberries
• 10 oz fresh or frozen blueberries
• 10 oz fresh or frozen strawberries
• 2 frozen, unsweetened, acai packets (Pronounced ah-sah-yee, acai berries come from acai palm trees found in Central & South America. They're touted as being a superfood for anti-aging, weight loss & overall health. If you can't find Acai, substitute 1/4 cup dried Goji berries or just use fresh or frozen raspberries.)
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate concentrate, or sub a sprinkling of fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2" of fresh ginger root (a fabulous anti-inflammatory which also aids in digestion!)
• stevia to taste (I add a decent amount as I love it sweet!)

Method:

1. Place all ingredients into a Vitamix Blender.
2. Fill almost to top with water.
3. Process until thoroughly blended.
4. Pour into two 32 oz mason jars and enjoy the GLOW!!

Much Love,

XOXO

~Juliane

PS.  Don't forget to post any questions you have in the comments below.  I'm happy to do my best to answer them all.  Also, thank you so much for all the amazing emails you sent me regading StyleNectar and my new Fine Art website too!  I really appreciate the love. You all are AMAZING!

Sources:

1. How to Always be Well by Dr. William Howard Hay

2. Fit for Life by Harvey Diamond

3. Food Combining Made Easy, Herbert Shelton

4. http://lytnyc.com/pdfs/foodComboChart_03.09.11.pdf

I am not a healthcare practitioner or provider. To the extent that any information is provided through this website, it is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute or substitute for medical advice or counseling, the practice of medicine including but not limited to psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy or the provision of health care diagnosis or treatment, the creation of a physician-patient or clinical relationship, or an endorsement, a recommendation or a sponsorship of any third party, product or service by me. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements available on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

 

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Comments

[juliane]

You're welcome, Sabun. I'm so happy you are enjoying the articles and posts on StyleNectar. Let me know if you or your friend have any questions on my recipes or food combining. Have a lovely day:-)
Juliane

[sabun beras thailand]

Thank you what you share here. I will ask my friend to make as you share... Hope she will help me to do this...

[juliane porter]

You're welcome, Dina! It's my pleasure.

Frozen Acai packets can be found at Whole Foods and in the freezer section next to the berries in natural foods stores. Pronounced ah-sah-yee, acai berries come from acai palm trees found in Central and South America. They're touted as a superfood for anti-aging, weight loss & overall health. If you can't find them, no worries, I often substitute a 1/4 cup of dried Goji Berries which I also absolutely love for a little extra protein.

Entire books are written on Garlic. It's a very powerful herb generally lauded as beneficial. However, partly because it's so powerful, there are risks associated with it. Basically what helps one person may harm another. Garlics's cleansing properties, present when it's raw & crushed/finely diced, include inhibition of bacterial growth, fungus & yeast, lowering blood pressure & increasing the flow of digestive enzymes. I personally enjoy it in moderation since I eat a significantly raw diet, & therefore, don't have a lot of mucus in my body (in which case it can overly irritate the digestive tract & lining of our mucus membranes). So we each want to adjust our use according to our bodies needs and response.

Thank you so much for your excellent questions, Dina!

Have an awesome weekend :-)

XOXO

~Juliane

[Dina K.]

Thank you so much for condensing and sharing this information, helping people like me who get overwhelmed by the research.
I have two questions:
1.where can I purchase frozen acai packets?
2.Should I omit garlic from my simple hummus recipe? The chart above suggests that garlic should be used medicinally. What are your thoughts on this?