The five golden rules of food combining

Food combining

The five golden rules of food combining

1. Never drink with meals. Drink half an hour before a meal, and leave it as long as possible after a meal, at least two hours ideally, before drinking again. Why? Because you want the digestive juices to work perfectly, and they can’t do a proper job if you dilute them. If you have been drinking your two liters of water every day since reading part one, you should now be rehydrated, or getting there, and will be in the habit of drinking throughout the day, and not waiting until you feel thirsty. Thirst is a sign that you are already dehydrated, and you’ve left it too long. However if you do feel thirsty, on occasion, that should be your priority, whatever the period since you ate.

2. Eat concentrated protein at separate meals from concentrated starch. Why? Because a potato needs different digestive enzymes from a plate of nuts, and if you mix them up neither item will be thoroughly digested. When you consume concentrated proteins, combine with a big salad and do the same when you consume concentrated carbs. Just don’t mix the two together. This habit is easy to get into and you will feel so much lighter and more alert after eating.

3. Eat fruit separately, and certainly never as dessert. You can get away with a simple fresh fruit starter if you leave 20 or 30 minutes before eating the main course. Why? Because fruit digests much more quickly than fats, proteins and starches, and if you mix them none of it will be thoroughly utilized.

4. Eat the sweet fruits (e.g. bananas, dates, figs, ripe mangoes) separately from the acid fruits, e.g. most of the berries, and all of the citrus fruits. The ones in the middle, the sub acid fruits (apples, pears, peaches and the like) can be mixed with either the sweet fruits or the acid ones.

5. Eat melons on their own. They digest more quickly than anything else.