Food Combining: A Simple Way for Better Digestive Health

Get it together and combine your foods for easier digestion and better health. Incorporating food combining principles eases digestive symptoms, enhances absorption of nutrients, and provides a lift to our entire system. Say no to bloating, gas and discomfort! Get into food combining for better health.


It’s not just what you eat, but how and when you eat that can either improve or sabotage digestion and your health. This has long been appreciated by eastern cultures and their traditional systems of health, but has been lost in our modern lives. Food combining focuses on the chemistry of foods and our digestive environment. Foods are chemicals On a fundamental level, foods are chemicals and their digestion can be thought of as a big chemical experiment. Compare our digestive tract to a test tube. Various chemical combinations produce reactions ranging from sedative, inert, or explosive. Foods react in the same way, digesting easily or creating a nightmare. Different foods need different environments It is well known that the digestion of concentrated proteins such as meats and animal products requires certain enzymes which need an acidic environment in order to function. This must be maintained for several hours in order for effective digestion to take place. Carbohydrates and starches such as bread, rice or potatoes need alkaline juices in order for their specific enzymes to be effective. Some don’t mix So what happens when these two food groups are combined? Both acid and alkaline juices are secreted and counteract each other leaving a neutral, watery solution in which neither can be digested. The resulting putrefaction and fermentation provide a breeding ground for unhealthy bacteria. This causes bloating and gas, reduces nutrient absorption, and eventually causes disease. This means that meat and potatoes, spaghetti bolognaise, burger and fries, or a sweet starchy dessert fall under this unhealthy category. So what can we do? Different foods digest at different rates Some foods are digested more easily than others. Most fruits need only a couple of hours to digest, while concentrated proteins and fats need much longer. Combining such foods or following a slow-digesting food with one that is digested more quickly causes a real mess. What happens on the highway if a brand new Porsche gets stuck behind an old truck? This is what happens in our digestive tracts. The faster-digesting food gets stuck and ferments causing bloating, gas and discomfort. Basic food groups In order to know what works together we need to know what is what. The following food groups are the basics of food combining. Proteins: Meats, eggs, dairy products, nuts and seeds Fats: Olives, oils, butter, avocados Starches: Breads, pasta, rice, potatoes, and legumes such as lentils and peas Sugars: Refined sugar, honey, jams, syrups, sweet fruits (bananas, dried fruit) Vegetables: Leafy greens, broccoli and cabbage, low-starch root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips Acids: Vinegars, pickled goods, grapefruits, orange juice Melons: Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew What works Below are a few combinations that work well together. For the complete picture see our food combining chart. One easy tip is that green vegetables go with almost anything except fruits and sugars. Good Protein and vegetables Fats and vegetables Starches and fats (in moderation) Bad Protein and starch Fruit and starch Fruit and protein Protein and fats Tips Melons are best eaten alone as they are digested very quickly. It’s best not to follow your main meal with fruit or a sugary, starchy dessert. The best food combining is mono foods- eating your fill of one food at a time. This is how our ancestors and all other animals eat. Incorporate food combining principles into your diet and feel the benefits. No need to change what you eat, just when you eat and what you eat it with. Food combining is a simple step to better health! Related articles: Food Combining Chart, Why Eat Healthly?, You Are What You Eat