Food combining
Posted by edd677 on Nov 14, 2009 · Member since Jul 2009 · 86 posts
Could this be an aspect of my diet I have neglected? I pretty much eat anything with anything, and find myself feeling off on some days.
http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/foodcombining.html
Also, I heard that its bad to eat beans more that a couple times a week because of enzymes or something, and I eat beans all the time, sometimes everyday. Is this bad?
My partner takes food combining pretty seriously. He eats carbs last and proteins first. Oh, and he eats dessert FIRST (not because life is short/uncertain, but because he believes that the sugars will ferment in your stomach while waiting their turn to be digested). I always tell him he's extreme...
The only food combining rules I follow are to eat fruits alone and in between meals (great afternoon or late-night snacks) and I don't combine liquids with meals. These are just "rules" I have followed based on research and personal experience.
I think it's best for you to feel your own stomach out. If you did feel off one day, think about the combining, but I wouldn't get too caught up in it because it can be complicated.
my doctor said something about having to combine proteins to get a complete protein... is this true? any suggestions on what to do if this is so? i haven't heard about the bean thing... i <3 beans!
my doctor said something about having to combine proteins to get a complete protein... is this true? any suggestions on what to do if this is so? i haven't heard about the bean thing... i <3 beans!
The only one I've heard of is rice and beans. My old nutritionists would really push this on me to get complete proteins.
Okay, so I did some researching. Soy is complete. From what I'm reading, most beans + a carb equal out. And apparently they don't have to be in the same meal... Here's one site: http://www.fitsugar.com/165298
thank u TL! u r the best <3
Food combining is a huge myth left over from the 70s. It's been debunked. You do not need to eat complete proteins every time you eat something. You just need to eat enough of the different amino acids throughout the day/week. As long as you eat a variety of foods and enough food, you are fine.
Food combining is a huge myth left over from the 70s. It's been debunked. You do not need to eat complete proteins every time you eat something. You just need to eat enough of the different amino acids throughout the day/week. As long as you eat a variety of foods and enough food, you are fine.
This is correct, but what the OP was talking about was not food combining as in combining proteins, it was as in combining different types of food based on their digestability/rate of digestion/enzymes/etc...
I have a food combining chart on my fridge. It's pretty easy for me to do because I only eat whole foods, but it's tricky. Plus, it seems that some things (like beans/other legumes) are not really even supposed to be eaten because they combine almost 50% and 50% carb and protein which does not digest well together. I think food combining is good to do for the best assimilation of nutrients. I mostly try to eat mono-meals (meaning one food at a time when I am hungry until I am full). Fruits in the morning, greens at night, and if I feel like I need it a small amount of nuts or seeds after that.
There was a really informative podcast on Quick and Dirty Tips: The Nutrition Diva not too long ago on food combining. It basically covers what KMK stated, but the host discusses why the notion that food combining improves digestibility is a myth as well. It's only a seven or eight minute podcast, but the full transcript is available on her site as well:
http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/food-combining-myths.aspx
Excerpt from the podcast: "...There are enzymes that digest protein, enzymes that digest carbohydrates, and enzymes that digest fat. But the full array of enzymes is produced every time, no matter what you eat."
I really like that she cites her sources as well. Personally, I prefer to go back to the primary articles and get the info straight from the horse's mouth. The tendency to recount others' interpretations of research that is so rampant in the main stream media now-a-days is what leads to these myths to begin with.
why do doctors keep telling me this bullshit then? were they all taught this in school or something?
Doctors have very little nutritional training.
Thanks newshoes! I love the Quick and Dirty podcasts. It's interesting to me that that theory has been around since the 1800s. Sorry, I'm not buying a nutritional theory that says beans aren't supposed to be eaten. That's nonsense.
I believed that stuff about getting "complete protein" at every meal too. Thanks KMK and New Shoes for sharing :)
Doctors have very little nutritional training.
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I haven't had normal doctors tell me about the complete proteins, just nutritionists.. :/ but on the other hand, apparently my roommate was being told that she should be douching when that idea has been out for quite some time, so I'm not surprised.
Meh. As much as I've learned formally about nutrition, I think I learn just as much common-sensically (I know that's not a word) to debunk it.
I mean, I love beans and all, but does anyone really think they are that easy to digest? I guess I have just done a lot of different things with my diet over the last 6 years or so to realize how different things treat me and how much better my digestion can be when I eat certain ways.
You will obviously digest the things you eat, yes all enzymes are secreted (almost all foods, especially those that are optimal for human consumption like fruits and veggies, have carb, fat, and protein) to digest the macronutrients, but a lot of the tenets of food combining rely on things like how quickly something will digest.. Like, since higher water content fruit digests very quickly, it is good to eat that first so that it can clear your system before introducing new, slower digesting foods. Of course, I don't think any of this holds any weight if you are eating processed, non-whole foods, anyway.. so ::shrug::
And yes, even many "nutritionists" (whatever that means because it is certainly not any kind of certification in the US) still believe in combining proteins...
Oh, P.S., even many people who "know" about nutrition are just cronies of the USDA, anyway, and we all hate them, right?
biig factor in me not continuing on with more nutrition education, though I still think about it from time to time.
I just know that I haven't read any scientific literature that suggests food combining is even effective or necessary. Besides, the food combining stuff I've read online is not about digestion time, it's about acidity and alkalinity.
When someone shows me evidence that says the disadvantages of eating beans (due to carb-protein ratios) outweigh the benefits of eating them, I'll listen. I guess I lump food-combining theories in with raw food theories--people have websites where they spout off the benefits about enzymes and such, but really there is very little scientific backing. Or logical backing, to my mind. I guess I have yet to see the evidence, if it exists.
You're welcome, KMK! The Quick and Dirty podcasts are great... I don't subscribe to Nutrition Diva, but I check back often and listen to most of the episodes she releases. She seems to be one of the few internet commentators on nutrition who actually think through the popular claims of the day about food and health. It's refreshing to hear someone talk about primary research rather than just make outlandish overgeneralizations about what we all should be eating.
Like, since higher water content fruit digests very quickly, it is good to eat that first so that it can clear your system before introducing new, slower digesting foods. Of course, I don't think any of this holds any weight if you are eating processed, non-whole foods, anyway.. so ::shrug::
That's a really good point, hesp. I was responding more too the claims made by food combining advocates about alkalines, acidity, and enzymes rather than ideas for easier digestion. I agree that personal experience is often extremely valuable for informing choices about diet and nutrition. I think problems arise when physicians and the media end up confusing and misinforming consumers who may be vulnerable to getting caught up in the hype of the latest diet trends.
But back to your point about digestion...Sometimes, quality scientific research has not yet assessed whether eating some types of foods initially makes things easier to digest than eating other foods. For example, I find that munching on ginger during meals seems to help with digestion. Has there been scientific research to confirm that claim? Dono...maybe it's just a placebo-like effect, but if it's working for me I see no harm in continuing to chow on my pickled ginger. :P
I have started having crazy gas problems... like so bad i can hardly sit in my seat for my 3 hour classes at school... does this happen to any of you?
I have started having crazy gas problems... like so bad i can hardly sit in my seat for my 3 hour classes at school... does this happen to any of you?
Thats not good, sounds like some enzymes or something are out of whack. Maybe time for a cleanse.
I agree, KissMeKate. It either has to help me personally (e.g. I feel good physically or morally from doing it) or there has to be some serious scientific research for me to buy into a lot of the food fads of today.
amymylove: you should keep a food diary to see what you've been eating to cause these gas problems. Include water in the log to, because sometimes it can contribute to gassiness.
Theres nothing wrong with trying something and seeing if it works for you, everybody is different and just because science says one thing does not mean it will work/wont work for everyone. As long as your not taking any risks of course.
Theres nothing wrong with trying something and seeing if it works for you, everybody is different and just because science says one thing does not mean it will work/wont work for everyone. As long as your not taking any risks of course.
Well, of course. I'm a pragmatist first and foremost, but the same principle holds true. If NOT combining is not making you sick, and there's no significant scientific evidence to prove that it's necessary... well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! I'm all for people finding what works with them and their system, but I think it's really sad how there seems to be so much peer pressure around this or that dietary trend. It makes me feel really ill at ease to see the sort of ripple effect, where as soon as one person adopts some new stricture, there's this wave of people who subsequently feel like they're doing it wrong if they don't immediately follow suit. It's like some scary kind of guilt/competition fest. I'm not trying to lay the blame on anyone, or say that things like raw foods/food combining/macrobiotics/whatever are bad - I just think that it's important for people to take things with a grain of salt.
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