A little known secret to lose weight and improve your digestive health is to eat foods in the right combination with other foods. It's a technique called Food Combining.
In a nutshell, at any one meal, don't combine proteins and carbohydrates/starches. You can eat vegetables with either proteins or carbohydrates. You should eat fruit alone without any other type of food.
The reason is the enzymes used to digest proteins and starches require opposite digestive pH levels to break them down. If you eat them at the same time, it slows digestion because it can only work on one or the other. Meanwhile, the other food sits and ferments waiting its turn to be digested. When food ferments, it gives off gases. This is what leads to the gas and bloating you feel after a poorly combined meal.
So this means, no sandwich with meat, no hamburger on a bun with fries, no cereal and milk, no peanut butter sandwiches, no meat and potatoes. But don't feel your life has ended.
Here are some great ideas for meal planning:
Breakfast
--Begin with a bowl of fruit or have this for a mid-morning snack.
--At least 30 minutes later, have a muffin or an egg & meat omelet
Lunch
--Have a salad with a roll or crackers or the salad with chicken added.
Dinner
--Meat, poultry or fish with a fresh vegetable and a salad
--Pasta, potatoes, or rice with a fresh vegetable and a salad.
Here are a few other fine points to food combining.
--Do not drink milk with meat, but other dairy items are okay.
--Beans are considered a starch/protein and don't combine well with meat, poultry or fish, but are okay with dairy products and vegetables.
--Try to eat only one protein in a meal. Eggs are an exception and can combine with other proteins.
In addition to the foods you eat, water taken with a squeeze of fresh lemon about 30 minutes before your meal can kick your digestive juices into gear.
However, do not drink large amounts of water right before you eat as this will dilute the digestive enzymes in your saliva and slow your digestion right from the start.
Also keep your water at or near room temperature. Extreme hot or cold water inhibits the gastric juices and shocks your system.
You will find when you adhere to these rules, not only will you drop a few pounds, but gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation will be greatly relieved. I encourage you to give this a try for just 2 - 3 days and see how you feel.
