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Healthy Eating – More than Just Eating the Right Foods

By on April 1, 2014

By Shishir Rao –

While a lot of emphasis is placed on the nutrition we get from foods, what we don’t realize is that looking at the nutrition value label on the back of a product isn’t enough to ensure a healthy life. As far as the diet goes, we also need to take into consideration a second, perhaps more important, aspect, that of how the body will react to the diet. This reaction by the body (be it acceptance or rejection, complete or partial) to a certain food is one of the major factors, along with the food’s nutritional content, that needs to be taken into account when trying to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

As a result of this, we have a list of guidelines that go by the name of food combination rules, which helps our body synthesize food to its optimum potential, thus bringing about many positive effects on the body including, but not limited to, weight loss, increased immunity, higher energy levels and lesser susceptibility to medical conditions rising out of deficiencies of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals.

Essentially, what these food combining rules do is to tell you what foods ought to be eaten together and which combinations should be avoided depending on factors such as the pH level required to digest a certain food, the reactions of nutrients with each other and on the body, and capacity of the body to digest specific foods. Following these rules can help you start off on a smart diet plan, which will go a long way in improving your health and eventually your entire lifestyle.

Common food combination rules:

  1. Mixing different kind of proteins is often considered ill-advised since they have a tendency to react against each other (there are 22 different types of amino acids, 8 of which are found in the human body naturally). However, it is also essential that you consume as many different types of amino acids as possible, though the correct way of achieving this is by eating protein-rich foods in different meals. Thus, eggs, fish, lean meats, red meats, pulses, etc. should be consumed often, but should not be eaten at the same time.
  2. Besides mixing proteins, it is also advisable not to mix proteins with fats since both these nutrients take a long time to digest, which may in some cases even lead to slight discomfort. Furthermore, protein and starch should not be mixed since the former requires an acidic environment to digest, while the latter needs an alkaline one.
  3. Avoid eating starchy foods and acidic foods at the same time since starch needs a mildly alkaline solution to be properly digested. For example, avoid eating potatoes with citric juices. Oily foods are also acidic in nature, which is why it is often recommended that starchy foods not be deep fried in oil.
  4. In the fruit section, you should try to avoid mixing acidic fruits with sweet fruits, besides also keeping in mind that fruits are best eaten without other carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
  5. Non-starchy vegetables are a group that offers us a respite in this section, since the enzymes they contain ensure that very little burden is placed on the digestive system, meaning that they can be eaten with any other food group.

References:

The 10 Rules of the Food Combining Diet

8 Rules of Food Combining to Lose Weight Effectively

ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT FOOD COMBINING

Food Combining for Health and Weight Loss

Food Synergy: 8 Healthy Food Pairings That Are Even Better Together

 

Shishir Rao is a web writer who writes on a variety of topics ranging from health to technology. He uses the web as his preferred tool of information dissemination owing to its reach and easy to confirm credibility.

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Healthy Eating – More than Just Eating the Right Foods