Food Combining Diet

Food combining advocates believe that foods belong in different categories according to their make-up and that by only eating specific foods together you improve your overall digestive health and avoid excessive weight gain. There are an array of food combining diets, some of the most popular being the Hays Diet, Fit for Life, and the Alkaline Diet. They generally have one cardinal rule in common; carbohydrate foods such as bread, potatoes, cereals, and pastas are never to be eaten in conjunction with protein foods such as eggs, meat, milk, and nuts. Food combiners always eat fruit by itself and they eat it at least 30 minutes before consuming any other types of foods so that they have ample time to digest it before introducing other groups.
Proponents of these types of diets feel that by food combining, they have improved their digestion and eliminated conditions such as acne and irritable bowel syndrome. Their most frequent testimonial is that by food combining, they avoid feeling heavy and tired after dining and instead feel refreshed and invigorated.
Despite testimonials from many followers, there is little scientific evidence to suggest that food combining offers any type of weight loss or digestive cure. The emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables is a nutritional highpoint for this diet, but many dieticians are concerned that people who food combine put themselves at risk of consuming too few daily calories as well as missing some important nutrients.