I used to be pretty careful about food combining. For the past several months though I've been less so. It started when I read on this forum that people were combining fruits against the guidelines. Like bananas (sweet fruit) and oranges (sour fruit). The guidelines say DON'T. I decided to try it, first in a smoothie and loved it to death. Wow. Then one day I had both in front of me, ate significant numbers of each and had no problems later.

Just this morning, I had no ripe fruit. So I asked the lady in the kitchen for some fruit. She gave me half a cantaloupe, about 100 grams of pineapple, a citrus about the size of a tangerine and at least as acidic, and about half an apple. I spied the cherry tomatoes and the kimchi but decided that that would be pushing it too far. Everything tasted great but I did expect to have some bloating or at the very least some discomfort. Nope. Nothing.

That said, I have experienced bloating from bad food combining. I think it was kimchi and bananas one time!!

So what's up with all these food combining rules anyway?



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

My experience:

-For those that eat mono (like myself) this is obviously not an issue. The purpose behind ANY food combining regime is to maximize the bodies ability to digest and utilize the HIGHEST forms of food - by allowing it to concentrate on either the most easily digestible combinations - or to maximize it by allowing it to concentrate on one thing at a time. It is my observations / research that the body puts out very specific enzymes for specific kinds of foods. Mixing foods (period....but also in the wrong ways) deactivates and renders these enzymes less effective.....and the net result is undigested food......decomposition...fermentation and waste in the ailimentary canal.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Sounds good to me. I have eaten simpler (though often not mono) since arriving here at this temple. But this morning I had one tomato and didn't feel like eating it! I wouldn't want to ask for a bunch of any one fruit. Just eat what I get and be okay with it. I later on got some apples, some pears, some melons, and some tomatoes. So, yeah, I can simplify the next several meals.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

davidzanemason Wrote:
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> My experience:
>
> -It is my observations / research
> that the body puts out very specific enzymes for
> specific kinds of foods. Mixing foods
> (period....but also in the wrong ways) deactivates
> and renders these enzymes less effective.....and
> the net result is undigested
> food......decomposition...fermentation and waste
> in the ailimentary canal.
>
> -David Z. Mason


I would think, then, that our, ahem, humanure, would be even less offensive from mono-meals, than from multi-meals. Please comment on this, since I wonder how else a person could detect their level of nutrient absorption, (other than having symptoms of indigestion).


Actually, having sweetly-scented humanure is one reason I want to be raw: I know it indicates my level of health.

I would agree!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I have found that the rules can be bent a little when it comes to fruits and especially smoothies. Also, if you have strong digestion you may not notice any ill effects. I can't do the dried fruit nut thing though, just doesn't work for me.

Cecilia

For Your Free Raw Food Starter Guide E-book Go To:
[www.rawglow.com]

Let your inner glow shine!

[ the body puts out very specific enzymes for specific kinds of foods. Mixing foods (period....but also in the wrong ways) deactivates and renders these enzymes less effective.....and the net result is undigested food]

Well, yes, if you are considering the enzymes required to break down fats, proteins, specific types of sugars, and starches.

But banana vs mango would result in the same enzymes being excreted.

[decomposition]

We HOPE this happens when we eat. Otherwise we get nothing out of our food. Our bodies can use only the molecules in the foods, not the foods.

[fermentation ]

We HOPE this happens, too. This is from bacteria breaking down the soluble fibers. If we have no fermentation, we have inadequate soluble fiber intake and a host of related health issues.

[and waste in the ailimentary canal]

I don't think so. How then do you account for the obesity problem? Are you suggesting that their bodies make less use of the food they eat? I think the opposite is true: they make more use of their kcals because they tend not to eat fibrous foods. There is reduced metabolizable energy in a high fiber diet so people who eat lots of unprocesssed f+v such as you and I are the ones who are actually getting less out of their food.

Also consider any type of whole food, which normally has several types of different macronutrients and not just a single one--

avocado: contains monosaccharides, amino acids, and triglycerides. Do you think your GI tract gets "confused" by this?

>
> I don't think so. How then do you account for the
> obesity problem? Are you suggesting that their
> bodies make less use of the food they eat? I think
> the opposite is true: they make more use of their
> kcals because they tend not to eat fibrous foods.
> There is reduced metabolizable energy in a high
> fiber diet so people who eat lots of unprocesssed
> f+v such as you and I are the ones who are
> actually getting less out of their food.


is this really what you believe?


to answer your avocado question, I'd say, YES, a bit, which is one reason why avacados, and nuts and seeds tend to slow detox, wheras simple fruit meals (mono) would speed it up

Cecilia Ines Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have found that the rules can be bent a little
> when it comes to fruits and especially smoothies.
> Also, if you have strong digestion you may not
> notice any ill effects. I can't do the dried fruit
> nut thing though, just doesn't work for me.
>
> Cecilia


sure, all rules can be bent to suit one's particular needs at that moment.

however, food combining rules don't 'shift' in any way once a certain level of 'health' is obtained. In fact they become more rigid in this respect. SWD eaters, for example suffer from only the worst combinations usually (pizza, burritos etc..)

Raw fooders eating a wide range of foods at every meal will suffer less 'symptoms' of inproper combining then someone eating a simplified diet for an extended period. This does not mean the outcome is NOT fermentation, waste, and wasted energy. it just means these things are 'business as usuall' whereas for simple folks.. noticable 'risky business'.

Raw fooders also have the dilema where they have the wide range of bad combinations available. because often they consume certain types of foods in large quantities (nuts/fruits) that SWD eaters would normally never have on one plate. I used to eat bananas with peanut butter as a kid and feel fantastic (again - a state of illness). But that is nothing compared to the kind of thing you find in raw gourmet foods, that have ounces of nuts/seeds/fruits/sprouted grains/stimulants/salts etc

the healtier I've become, the less tolerant I am of mixing of ANY fruits, even those within the same genus. (properly combined)

Based on what I've experienced in my own digestion, there are certain things that make it less necessary to worry about food combining. By not worrying I don't mean that these are healthy situations, but some bad food combining may not result in gastric pain or discomfort.

If your current diet include salt, spices, condiments, and other flavoring agents rather than just pure fresh produce, these can nullify the food combining rules, even with fruit. This is because these substances are digestive stimulants, and when a poorly combined set of foods is eaten within a day of eating condiments, the body seems to still be stimulated and food is accelerated through the digestive system.

Even if I haven't touch a condiment in months, if I eat a smoothie or a small fruit salad, things seem to digest OK. If I were to eat large quantity (say 5 pounds) of fruit salad, this may not digest that well because of the large quantity of food to digest and the bad combination. On the other hand, eating 5 pounds of watermelon or 5 pounds of banana, while it may be the same amount of food, digests easefully.

For me, I can't eat a large volume of apples or pears, especially if I've eaten other fruit before. One day I ate 6 oranges and 3 apples (I ate the apples all together, but I forget if I ate the oranges first or the apples first) and this gave me such a bad stomach ache that I couldn't function for an hour or so.

The fat and fruit combination is something to watch out for. Let say you eat 2 large avos for lunch. After you finish those avos, then you decide to eat 2 pounds of watermelon. I bet this is going to hurt. Really bad gas. Perhaps diarreah. Ouch.

Troy, if you want to have a personal experience of the effects of combining food, try going on a banana fast for a week. After you finish the fast, try eating a full meal of combined fruits. After having a week of easeful digestion, you will probably be able to tell the difference between a meal of only bananas versus a meal of fruit salad.

aquadecoco wrote

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I would think, then, that our, ahem, humanure, would be even less offensive from mono-meals, than from multi-meals. Please comment on this, since I wonder how else a person could detect their level of nutrient absorption, (other than having symptoms of indigestion).


Actually, having sweetly-scented humanure is one reason I want to be raw: I know it indicates my level of health.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I'm so glad you're specifically asking for a comment here.
I had the most beautiful BM last night and really wanted to tell someone about it but it didn't feel quite right to start a thread about it

Anyone who doesn't want to read the specific details,please skip the next bit.

I've been doing the high fruit/low fat trial for about 5 weeks now and I've also been experimenting with eating mono. Yesterday my body clearly showed me how it likes mono eating. In the morning I mono ate 5 oranges followed about 2 hours later by a green smoothie (water/banana/parsley/celery. In the evening I had a BM which was the most incredibly beautiful colour. Half of it was a pale orange and the other half pale green with a very clean dividing line. There was no smell normally associated with a BM to it at all. It felt so good to see two foods so perfectly digested.

I hope that answers your question

francis

Frannie Wrote:
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> I hope that answers your question
>
> francis


Wonderfully, thanks! I'm becoming convinced that mono or simple meals are very important and would probably eliminate lots of the detox symptoms or what I thought were detox symptoms, early on after starting a raw diet. I never ate elaborate meals, but am simplifying further and feel fine.