Food Combining and Sequencing

Digestive health is a topic very near and dear to most people.  I think in today's society it's very hard to find anyone who doesn't suffer from gas, bloating, constipation or heart burn.  Even our children are facing these issues on a daily basis.  Instead of reaching for that bottle on antacids or the over the counter fiber laxative, look to how you are combining your foods and the sequence you eat them in.

Food groups are digested in our body at different rates, some even require different digestive juices.  Starches require alkaline while protein requires digestive juices that are acidic.  Point being that when we combine some food groups our bodies are put into overdrive trying to digest multiple foods at multiple speeds.  This is the reason we get tired after Thanksgiving dinner.  It is also why we suffer from gas pains, constipation, acid reflux and indigestion.

Our digestive tract is one lane.  The first thing you eat goes into your intestines first.  The second thing you eat can't pass by the first and so on.  Fruits are water-rich and are digested the fastest at around 30 minutes.  Animal proteins can take up to 4 hours to digest.  If you eat the protein first, it's going to sit in your stomach for hours while it's digesting.  When you add fruit on top of that it will sit in your stomach and ferment from the sugar.  This leads to a sort of traffic jam in your gut and results in gas and bloating.  Here are some basic principles to follow when combining foods:

1)  Eat Raw Fruit alone
2) Do not combine Starchy Carbohydrates with Animal Protein
3) Water rich Vegetables can be eaten with anything
4) Healthy Fats go with everything
5) Do not combine High Sugar Foods with other foods

Here are a few BAD combinations:

Steak/Baked potato
Burger on a bun/Fries
Chicken/Rice
Meat toppings/pizza crust

I know this goes against our meat and potatoes mentality but I have been following this for about a week and a half and I have seen a tremendous improvement in my digestive system.  Here are a few tips for Food Sequencing:

1) Eat Raw Foods (rich in enzymes) such as salads and vegetables first.  Their enzymes will help digest the next foods that you will consume.
2) Eat Complex Carbohydrates and Fiber-rich Foods next.  Things like sweet potatoes.  They digest faster than protein and fat so we want them to hit the digestive system first.
3) Eat Protein and Fats last.  These take the longest to digest and we don't want them at the front of the line holding up all the other food.

Something so simple as eating foods in the right order can save you so much discomfort.  Everyone has BM's and passes gas...it's normal.  But when it controls your life on a daily basis it's time to do something about it. 

Please post your questions or comments.