Food, we all must eat to survive. We now know that we were designed to eat predominately raw, whole, plant food. But the big question is do we eat it like most health teachers and the media tell us, everything at every meal, or is there a better way?

Does our digestive system have a standard mixture of chemicals that it dumps into our stomach regardless of what we eat? Or, will it make a specific solution for specific foods? Does it make any difference? I will attempt to answer these questions in this lesson.

The digestive system

When most people think of their digestive system they think of their stomach and the small intestines. Many would include the mouth. But did you know that your taste buds and brain are the key to successful digestion?

When you take a bite of a food substance your taste buds analyze what it is and tells your brain what you just eat. Your brain decides what solution will best digest that food and tells your various glands to secrete the correct solution. Or, at least that is what is supposed to happen.

Most of us eat a large variety of food types at each meal. What happens is that the brain gets confused. One second the taste buds tell it you eat potatoes. Before it can prepare to digest the potato it says you eat some flesh food, so it sends some acid to digest the meat. But before it can accomplish that it is told that you have some sugar desert coming down, perhaps even some fruit.

The end result is that it is very rare that your system is not challenged by the variety you eat. The result is that most of the food is not correctly digested. Too much acid is usually the result and we have problems with the acid and wonder why.

It has been proven by millions of people that if we eat a more simple diet with less variety you will digest more of it and need less. You will have less digestive problems.

We were designed to eat mono meals of one type of food at a given meal. Think of it this way. We were designed as gatherers who went from tree to tree to find what was ripe. In the beginning we did not have to worry about storing food. It was always there. So we stopped at a given tree or plant and picked enough for our meal and eat.

Mono meals work best. They are the easiest for our body to digest. Especially when you eat things like melon you should eat them alone at a melon meal, or use them as an appetizer about 30 minutes before the meal. Watermelon digests perhaps the fastest. If you eat watermelon by itself it will be out of your stomach and absorbed in about 30 minutes.

If melons are used as a desert they tend to ferment and cause all sorts of digestive problems. Most people who have problems when they eat melon see these problems disappear if they eat the melon on an empty stomach. Keep in mind that some foods take 4 or more hours to get out of the way of the melon. I like to eat melon as my breakfast.

High Starch ~ High Protein

The standard American Diet (SAD) would combine starches, high protein foods, and sweet deserts in one meal. The theory is that we need all these nutrients all the time at every meal. They ignore physiology completely.

Our bodies do not function on a just in time basis like modern factories. They function like a store with a large warehouse. Only part of the goods are on the shelves. As the stock is removed it is replaced from the warehouse. When we eat we replenish the warehouse, not the shelves, unless we have been fasting for a long time. Because of this we don't need a large variety at each meal.

High protein foods require an acid environment to be digested properly. Starches require a an alkaline environment. The two are not compatible together. The enzymes needed to digest starch are destroyed by the acid needed to digest meat.

I will talk more about protein in a future lesson but think about this. Mothers milk has 5% protein. It would stand to reason that a baby, growing rapidly, would need the highest percentage of protein. Why would an adult ever need more that 5%? Why would you ever need nearly 100% protein?

We need a certain amount of sugar (simple carbohydrate) each day. The type of sugar you get makes a huge difference to your body. The simple sugars found in fruit are the easiest to digest. Our bodies don't have to do anything to use them. That is why you feel energized after eating grapes, or an apple.

On the other hand starches are complex carbohydrates. They are made up of several sugars. The more complex they are the harder it is for the body to brake them down into the simple sugars they are made of so it can use them. That is why you sometimes feel sluggish after eating potatoes. Like you want to take a nap. It takes a lot of energy to digest the starch.

Carrots are a less complex starch. They are easier to digest. Carrot juice is easier yet to digest because the fibre has been removed.

When you eat a starch with a high protein food you create an impossible situation. Either the protein will digest partially and the starch will ferment creating gas, or the starch will digest and the protein will putrefy. Usually both will happen. Along with the limited nutritional value you will absorb the byproducts of fermentation and putrefaction. They are all toxic.

Some foods are compatible

Some foods are compatible with others and may even aid in the digestive process. For instance lettuce will aid in the digestion of protein foods. It will not interfere with the digestion of starch. All other non-starchy vegetables can be combined with either a starch or a protein with little or no problems. For that reason we recommend that you have a vegetable salad with your protein and leave off the starch. Or have a vegetable salad with your starch and leave off the meat or other protein food.

Food combining rules

Keep it simple. Mono meals especially with fruit are best. Always eat melons especially watermelon, at a separate meal or as an appetizer 20-30 minutes before the main meal. Never combine high starch and high protein foods at the same meal.

Starches can be combined with non-starchy vegetables.

Proteins can be combined with non-starchy vegetables.

Something to keep in mind

The greater the variety at a given meal the greater the likelihood that you will over eat.

You can prove this very easily. Eat your favorite fruit till you feel full, satisfied. Then pick up something else you like. Instantly you don't feel full anymore. But then you soon feel the result. Many people suffering with excess weight have lost large amounts of weight and kept it off by just limiting the variety and properly combining their foods.

I could expand on the subject of food combining but I want to keep it do-able.

Feel free to ask a question about this lesson or any other article on our site.

Charles Snyder is a Health Minister. He is the author of the book Six Months to Live. It is an adventure story based on testimonies of people who have restored their health by using the system taught on his website. http://www.arthritis-back-knee-pain-free-health-restored.com

You can contact him through that website. The article above is part of his health course Health by Design. This course is available at no cost.