by Nathalie Gibbins
Imagine a diet where you don't have to count calories, give up certain foods or go hungry ... Too good to be true? No, it's food combining - and it could help you lose weight forever.
You can expect to improve your digestion, send your energy levels soaring and chase away a host of common health woes, including allergies, headaches, bloating and IBS. Diets don't get much better than this! It's based on the theory that certain food groups don't digest well with others, so should be eaten at separate times. All you need to do is plan your meal around two simple rules.
RULE #1 - Don't mix protein with starch
"Different foods need different conditions in order to be digested," says Kathryn Marsden nutritionist. "Protein needs an acidic environment, whereas starch needs an alkaline one. By eating the two together, your stomach won't be able to break down either food, so neither can be properly digested." The result, is that half-digested food passed from your stomach to your small intestine, where it isn't in the correctly broken-down form for vitamins, minerals, and other vital nutrients to be absorbed. In addition, the length of time it takes to digest proteins, and starches is different. "Most animal-based proteins take around eight hours to be broken-down, whereas starches move more speedily through your system, requiring three to four hours. Eat them together and your whole digestive system slows down. This mean you're left with food hanging around in the gut, which goes off - just like it does in the fresh air - causing acidity, bloating, burning, and gas,"
RULE #2 - Eat fruit on an empty stomach
If you think you're being good by eating fruit for dessert, think again. "Fruit passes quickly through the digestive tract, in arounf half an hour. When fruit is delayed in the stomach because it's accompanied by other foods, not only is much of its goodness lots, but the rest of the meal spoils. The acids in fruits interfere with the production of the stomach acids and disturb the alkaline medium needed by starch-digesting enzymes. But when eaten on its own, fruit passes quickly to the small intestine, ready for its crucial nutrients t be absorbed," says Marsden. So try to eat fruit on an empty stomach - as a mid-morning snack, for example - and leave an hour before eating other foods.
TIP
Don't be afraid to increase portion sizes to compensate for not mixing proteins with starches. For example, don't just skip the potatoes with steak - replace with extra vegetables or salad.
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