Food Combining Through the Day: A Few Tips

[Guest guest]

Hi Caron,

 

That's one large toddler!!

 

Regarding intervals, yes, you are correct, it varies as to the MINIMUM time

between. But what we are seeking is rest in the digestive system ... little

microfasts when the digestive system is doing nothing at all.

 

So in general, and working backward from the end of the day:

 

1. High-fat ends the day. For example, avocado in the last meal of the day

only. Why? By far the longest digestive and post-digestive processing

requirements; must travel through the lymphatic system after the digestive

system.

 

2. High-fat with greens and/or acid fruits (e.g., citrus). Why? Greens add

fiber, which motivates the digestive tract into elevated peristalsis, to

move the fatty material along a bit more quickly. Acids in acid fruits act

as emulsifiers ... break down larger fat molecules into smaller ones,

thereby adding a bit to the digestive process. But again, these apply only

if you are combining.

 

3. Fruit meal before high-fat meal, perhaps an hour or so before. For

example, eat a meal of oranges or tangerines (or whatever is in season)

awhile before that evening salad. Then wait, to that the fruit can process

through your stomach and into your small intestine. Consider this " Dinner,

Part 1 " . Then eat " Dinner, Part 2 " , the salad.

 

4. Rest of day, high-water before low-water, then sweet before acid.

 

There are problems with giving specific " times between " . For example:

 

A. Varies widely by food type, and also be complexity and quality of

combinations chosen.

 

B. Varies widely with present health. The healthier, the more digestive

capacity, therefore the smaller the interval. BUT, the healthier, the better

the fuel (blood sugar) management, therefore the greater ease waiting longer

between meals.

 

In other words, you grow into some of this, over time.

 

Hope this is helpful!

Elchanan

 

 

_____

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Caron

Sunday, June 24, 2007 8:36 AM

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] food combining

 

 

 

- Elchanan Try Raw Food post #29656. Or

just

 

<http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/foodcombining.html>

http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/foodcombining.html

 

Thanks for posting that again, Elchanan.

 

My next question (apart from " what on earth are some of those things

pictured?? " ) is, how long would one need to wait after eating a particular

type of food, before eating one that isn't recommended to combine with the

first food? I realise certain types of foods are digested at different

rates, but is there a general guideline to follow?

 

I ask this because I like things simple - I'd rather eat a meal of one type

of fruit, then wait X minutes (or hours) before eating a different type of

food, if I wasn't eating the same food all day. Also because the boy gets a

bit nutty about eating at times, and I want to make sure he's not creating a

bomb in his belly by eating different foods too close together.

 

on a side note - since he's not eating meat with veges anymore, his belly no

longer bulges after a meal (unless he gets into something he shouldn't have,

or has tinned fruit at mum's place). Mum was measuring him for some pants

she's making tonight, and said he's lost 3 inches from his waist, and

started trying to tell me I'm starving him (after seeing him eat almost as

much as a baby elephant consumes, during the course of the day), but the

previous measurement was taken over a bulging tummy after dinner one night.

That's a pretty huge difference on a toddler though, whose " resting " waist

measurement is around 20 inches.

 

Caron

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

-

Elchanan

>That's one large toddler!!

 

he is? He's about 38 inches tall (3ft2?), and looks in proportion, though

he's MUCH skinnier than every other toddler I know, even ones younger than

he is. Not that comparisons are much use, I'm skinnier than most of the

people in this town, and I'm obese. He did put on fat around his hips when

he was eating meat, but now he's got rid of that, and is building muscle -

he does a LOT of running and jumping, so his legs are far more developed

than his arms, which are mostly bone. He has very broad shoulders too, and

has never had that look that babies and toddlers seem to get where their

head is nearly as wide as their shoulders. He is going on 3, so not a baby

toddler - he was much smaller about 6 months ago.

 

>1. High-fat ends the day. For example, avocado in the last meal of the day

only. Why? By far the longest digestive and post-digestive processing

requirements; must travel through the lymphatic system after the digestive

system.

 

This is what I've been doing, aside from his last breastfeed before bed, is

one avocado for dinner. Which, according to mum (and him), is worse than

child abuse! ( " he's HUNGRY! you need to feed him more than that! what about

an apple? " and " *fake crying* wah wah wah " ) She fed him his avocado for

breakfast yesterday, and his belly wasn't quite right all day.

 

>2. High-fat with greens and/or acid fruits (e.g., citrus). Why? Greens add

fiber, which motivates the digestive tract into elevated peristalsis, to

move the fatty material along a bit more quickly. Acids in acid fruits act

as emulsifiers ... break down larger fat molecules into smaller ones,

thereby adding a bit to the digestive process. But again, these apply only

if you are combining.

 

He's not overly big on salad, though will sometimes eat a bit of lettuce if

it's lying around. Will try to get him interested over time.

 

>3. Fruit meal before high-fat meal, perhaps an hour or so before. For

example, eat a meal of oranges or tangerines (or whatever is in season)

awhile before that evening salad. Then wait, to that the fruit can process

through your stomach and into your small intestine. Consider this " Dinner,

Part 1 " . Then eat " Dinner, Part 2 " , the salad.

 

This makes sense, and pretty much what he does, except with bananas and

apples - eats them all day, then will stop around 5pm, then ask for dinner

around 5:30.

 

>4. Rest of day, high-water before low-water, then sweet before acid.

 

So, for example, melon for breakfast, then bananas, then apples, then

avocado for breakfast? Not that we can get melon at the moment, but I read

that it digests the fastest..

 

>There are problems with giving specific " times between " . For example:

A. Varies widely by food type, and also be complexity and quality of

combinations chosen.

 

Yep, that makes sense.

 

>B. Varies widely with present health. The healthier, the more digestive

capacity, therefore the smaller the interval. BUT, the healthier, the better

the fuel (blood sugar) management, therefore the greater ease waiting longer

between meals.

 

This also makes sense, and the whole concept sheds a lot of light on why

we've had so many problems so far, all my life anyway.

 

>In other words, you grow into some of this, over time.

 

I know it's all dynamic, both learning and health. It's nice, though, to

know that my instinct (or his) was correct in a small way. My mantra is, or

should be " listen to myself! "

 

Very helpful, as usual - thanks, Elchanan!

 

Caron

[Guest guest]

Hi Caron, and you're welcome.

 

Here is something to consider: his innate responses (note that I'm not using

" instinct " ) is likely to be more accurate than his ... pay close attention

to the children who are young enough that they still have access to some of

their innate awareness ... most adults don't.

 

No avocado for breakfast ... high-fat foods only last meal of the day, I

suggest. This is because they spend much time in the stomach and generally

take much longer than fruits to digest and assimilate. So we don't want

anything behind them in the digestive tube. Ergo, if you eat them early,

then you need to wait quite a few hours before eating next ... especially

since you are not yet in the most excellent of health.

 

Size sounds fine, sorry, I must have misread something earlier.

 

Is the avocado the entire dinner? Does he eat any greens along the way?

 

Yes, melons generally digest faster than any other whole foods ... very high

water content, sweet fruits, very low acid content (except for some

cantaloupes and relatives).

 

Best,

Elchanan

 

_____

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Caron

Sunday, June 24, 2007 4:13 PM

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Food Combining Through the Day: A Few Tips

 

 

 

- Elchanan That's one large toddler!!

 

he is? He's about 38 inches tall (3ft2?), and looks in proportion, though

he's MUCH skinnier than every other toddler I know, even ones younger than

he is. Not that comparisons are much use, I'm skinnier than most of the

people in this town, and I'm obese. He did put on fat around his hips when

he was eating meat, but now he's got rid of that, and is building muscle -

he does a LOT of running and jumping, so his legs are far more developed

than his arms, which are mostly bone. He has very broad shoulders too, and

has never had that look that babies and toddlers seem to get where their

head is nearly as wide as their shoulders. He is going on 3, so not a baby

toddler - he was much smaller about 6 months ago.

 

1. High-fat ends the day. For example, avocado in the last meal of the day

only. Why? By far the longest digestive and post-digestive processing

requirements; must travel through the lymphatic system after the digestive

system.

 

This is what I've been doing, aside from his last breastfeed before bed, is

one avocado for dinner. Which, according to mum (and him), is worse than

child abuse! ( " he's HUNGRY! you need to feed him more than that! what

about an apple? " and " *fake crying* wah wah wah " ) She fed him his avocado

for breakfast yesterday, and his belly wasn't quite right all day.

 

2. High-fat with greens and/or acid fruits (e.g., citrus). Why? Greens

add fiber, which motivates the digestive tract into elevated peristalsis, to

move the fatty material along a bit more quickly. Acids in acid fruits act

as emulsifiers ... break down larger fat molecules into smaller ones,

thereby adding a bit to the digestive process. But again, these apply only

if you are combining.

 

He's not overly big on salad, though will sometimes eat a bit of lettuce if

it's lying around. Will try to get him interested over time.

 

3. Fruit meal before high-fat meal, perhaps an hour or so before. For

example, eat a meal of oranges or tangerines (or whatever is in season)

awhile before that evening salad. Then wait, to that the fruit can process

through your stomach and into your small intestine. Consider this " Dinner,

Part 1 " . Then eat " Dinner, Part 2 " , the salad.

 

This makes sense, and pretty much what he does, except with bananas and

apples - eats them all day, then will stop around 5pm, then ask for dinner

around 5:30.

 

4. Rest of day, high-water before low-water, then sweet before acid.

 

So, for example, melon for breakfast, then bananas, then apples, then

avocado for breakfast? Not that we can get melon at the moment, but I read

that it digests the fastest..

 

There are problems with giving specific " times between " . For example: A.

Varies widely by food type, and also be complexity and quality of

combinations chosen.

 

Yep, that makes sense.

 

B. Varies widely with present health. The healthier, the more digestive

capacity, therefore the smaller the interval. BUT, the healthier, the

better the fuel (blood sugar) management, therefore the greater ease waiting

longer between meals.

 

This also makes sense, and the whole concept sheds a lot of light on why

we've had so many problems so far, all my life anyway.

 

In other words, you grow into some of this, over time.

 

I know it's all dynamic, both learning and health. It's nice, though, to

know that my instinct (or his) was correct in a small way. My mantra is, or

should be " listen to myself! "

 

Very helpful, as usual - thanks, Elchanan!

 

Caron