That's Fit

Food Combining For Weight Loss?

Jonny Bowden — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST

AFP, Getty Images A reader wrote in recently to ask me about food combining. She had heard it was a really healthy way to eat, and also that it could be very useful for weight loss. Food combining is the theory that certain foods should always be eaten together for better digestion, others should never be eaten together for the same reason, and fruit should always be eaten alone. "Is there anything to this?" she asked me. And the answer is.... Not so much. The whole food combining concept has been around since the 19th century when it first showed up as a basic premise of the movement known as "natural hygiene". The most recent diet book to make use of it was "Fit For Life" in the 1980's, (which continues to sell well, by the way) but the concept still comes around periodically like a bad penny, and is way past its sell-by date. One of the main ideas of Natural Hygeine (food combining) is that starches and proteins should never be eaten together because they require different digestive environments (acid vs alkaline). According to believers, eating these foods at the same time you stresses your digestive system, causing the carbs (starches) to ferment and the proteins to basically rot. Unfortunately it's utter nonsense. "Such pronouncements were debunked more than 70 years ago in both scientific and popular literature", writes Stephen Barrett, MD (who is incidentally a doctor whose views I almost never agree with but who happened to get it right this time). While there are indeed enzymes that are specific to protein digestion, fat digestion and carbohydrate digestion respectively, all of these enzymes are produced every time you eat and work just peachily together. That said, let's recognize that some people have done well on these diets, perhaps because they make people more conscious of what they're eating, perhaps because some of the combinations advocated are less "heavy" than typical American steak and potatoes meals so people feel better eating them. Still, it's basically voodoo nutrition. There may be some people with sensitive stomachs and very slow digestive times that might feel less bloated when eating fruit alone, but it's a completely individual thing and certainly not necessary for everyone. For most people it's the quality- and the amount- of the food they eat at any meal that counts, not the "combination". As for weight loss? There's absolutely no evidence at all that "combining" foods according to the principles of Natural Hygiene does anything for your waistline. But combining foods so as to minimize their impact on your blood sugar is a whole different story. A restaurant portion of high-glycemic food like pasta will send your blood sugar (and your fat-storing hormone, insulin, soaring along with it). You can blunt that effect by using a smaller portion of the pasta and mixing it with some fat, protein and fiber (like olive oil, chicken and vegetables). That's a very different kind of "food combining", but one that makes a lot of sense. Dr. Jonny Bowden, AKA the "Rogue Nutritionist", tells truth to power. Read more cutting edge info on weight loss, diet, nutrition and health on his website, or follow him on twitter. Related Stories Top 10 Deceptively Unhealthy Foods Healthy Foods Men Will Eat 20 Healthy Foods for Less Than $1

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