No one likes that uncomfortable, bloated feeling but do you know what causes it? Here are three combinations you will want to avoid when in order to steer clear of that bloated feeling.
1. Protein and Starch
When you combine protein and starch in the same meal they neutralize each other and the body will not be able to effectively digest either one.
Starches need an alkaline environment to digest and proteins need an acid environment, when you combine these you get a neutral environment which isn’t able to digest either. Instead rather wait two hours after eating a starch to eat a protein or three hours after eating a protein to eat a starch.
2. Don’t Consume Different Types of Proteins at the Same Meal
Don’t combine nuts and meat, meat and eggs, etc. Different types of proteins require different digestive enzymes and different digestive environments and when you combine these you mess up the ideal environment for the digestion of either type. Milk should preferably be taken alone (do not combine).
3. Don’t Combine Acid Fruit with Sweet Fruit or Other Food
Acid fruit is a quick digesting fruit that needs to be digested within an hour. When it is combined with other foods this slows down the digestion process and causes the fruit to ferment in the stomach which in turn leads to bloating. Melons such as watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew melon should always be eaten alone.
Why Food Combining?
There are a number of reasons why it is important to correctly combine your foods in order to avoid bloating and other digestive complaints. The first is the environment in which the foods are effectively digested – for example starch in an alkaline and protein in an acid environment, when you combine these foods you create a neutral environment which is unable to digest the food and so it can ferment and cause gas and bloating in the digestive tract.
The second reason for proper food combining is the amount of time it takes to digest the food. Generally fruits are quick digesting whereas proteins are slow to digest. Holding the digestion of a food back while the other digests causes fermentation, gas and bloating and can make you very uncomfortable.
Understanding how the digestive system works can be a great help in knowing what to combine and what not to combine. When we take into account the environment that foods needs in order to digest and the time it takes we can understand how the digestive system works that much more efficiently when goods are correctly combined. By incorrectly combining foods on the other hand we set ourselves up for bloating, gas and other digestive complaints.
