I have learnt from my childhood that when you eat, you should ideally not eat meat together with starches, or tomatoes together with sour cream. But I only learnt recently in more detail why it's not recommended to eat certain foods together and what issues could they cause with your digestion. Below I will share what I have learnt- this is definitely not an exhaustive list, but gives a good start.
Some of the recommendations are easier to follow than the others. Most of all it's important for you to take notice how you feel after eating. If you feel bloated, if you feel constipated, if you experience pain- one of the things is to consider are you combining the right foods together for good digestion.
While it's great if you can avoid improper food combinations altogether, reducing their frequency is already beneficial.
1. Eat fruits by themselves
Since fruit digests quick, it's recommended to eat it alone or cook it in small amounts when cooked with other foods
2. Eat dairy alone or combine with grains
It's best not to mix dairy with other animal proteins
Cheese- works with grains and vegetables. Does not work with eggs, milk, fruit, beans, yogurt, hot drinks
Milk- best enjoyed alone. You can make rice pudding, oatmeal, eat it with almonds or dates. Does not work with bananas, melons, cherries, sour fruits, eggs, yoghurt, meat, fish, starches
Yoghurt- works with grains and vegetables. Does not work with fruit, milk, cheese, eggs, meat, fish, nightshades and hot drinks
3. Eggs- works with non starchy vegetables and grains. Does not work with milk, yoghurt, cheese, fruit, beans, potatoes, fish, meat
4. Grains- works with vegetables, beans, eggs, nuts, seeds, cheese, yoghurt, meat. Does not work with fruit
5. Vegetables- works with grains, beans, cheese, yoghurt, fish, meat, nuts, seeds, eggs. Does not work with fruit and milk
Nightshades (eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cayenne beppers)- work with other vegetables, fish, nuts, seeds, grains, beans, meat. Does not work with fruit (especially melon), cucumber, milk, cheese, yoghurt.
Here are a two examples why you should not eat specific foods together.
Bananas and milk eaten together
Bananas are heating while milk is cooling to the body. Also bananas become sour when they break down. You can just imagine if your digestion system needs to work with sour food and milk at the same time. When you eat bananas and milk together, you interfere with the digestive fire and can disrupt the balance of your microflora in your gut, which results in the creation of toxins. This combination can also cause rashes, hives, allergies, colds, coughs.
Cheese and nightshades
Nightshades themselves contain a complex array of compounds, once eaten, lead to potentially dramatic cascade of chemical reactions in your body. All nightshades are believed to be somewhat difficult to digest. If you mix nightshades with cheese, which is oily and heavy, and also difficult to digest, you could really put strain on your digestion system.
Proper food combining supports body's innate intelligence. When you embrace the wisdom of food combining, you help to cultivate an awareness around how your dietary choices affect you.
If you are looking to gain more knowledge around healthy eating, need support around your health goals, don't hesitate to contact me for health and nutrition coaching at info@katrinpeo.com. Learn more about my health and nutrition coaching services under Services.