Food combining notes (More ... classifying fruits)

[Guest guest]

rawfood [ <rawfood >

rawfood ]

On Behalf Of Tiffany Beckwith

Friday, August 18, 2006 7:20 AM

Re: [Raw Food] Food combining notes (WAS: how long do you have to wait

after raw

veggies?)

 

Thanks Elchanan! Those are some great tips.

 

Where does a tomato fit in...perhaps in the middle of the day since it is a

fruit, but it is not

sweet liek a fruit?

 

Thanks,

Tiff

________________

Hi again, great question!!

 

I eat tomato with greens, as do many, and also with high-fat fruit such as

avocado. I find that

the acid in the tomato blends nicely with the fat in the avocado, they " go down

well together " .

 

And as you might imagine, there is some " content " behind this. So here are a few

more thoughts

on food combining. (Quasi-obligatory reminder: all food combining is a

compromise with

Nature's design.)

 

Fruits may be perceived in 6 groups:

 

- melons -- actually a subset of sweet fruits, but melons are best eaten alone

AND prior to

eating anything else on a given day. Why? High water content combined with very

low protein

content means they digest faster than just about anything. So putting melons in

line behind

other foods traps them, resulting in fermentation and related gas and

discomfort. Note here that

high water content is the first distinguishing factor, THEN sweetness/acidity.

 

- sweet fruits -- banananananas, dates, figs, apricots, persimmons, many

tropicals. Best eaten

before other foods (but after melons) during the course of the day. Combine well

with greens,

and reasonably well with subacid fruits -- and remember only to eat the ripest

fruits you can

find!

 

- subacid fruits -- Fruits with cores (apples, pears), pits (mangos, peaches,

nectarines,

plums), also most grapes. These fruits are still high in alkaline-forming

substances, but they

also contain more acid-forming substances, as well. Combine well with greens and

with EITHER

sweet OR acid fruits, but not both at the same time.

 

- acid fruits -- Citrus, berries, kiwi, tomatoes, tamarind, etc. When eaten

ripe, these fruits

are, for the most part, alkaline-forming in the body. However, they are also

high in acids

noticeable in the mouth. The body responds differently to these foods than it

does, say, to

melons or sweet fruits. For example, production of ptyalin, the starch-digesting

enzyme found in

saliva, is somewhat inhibited when acid fruits are eaten. Hence, not a good

combination with

bananas and other sweet fruits. Can combine with greens and with subacid fruits.

 

- veggie-fruits -- Cucumber, zucchini, squash -- all those foods that are fruits

from the

perspective of botany and vegetables from the perspective of the culinary arts.

Combine best

with greens and with acid or subacid fruits. For example, instead of a dressing,

just cut up a

bunch of mango or strawberry or orange and sprinkle that throughout a salad.

 

- high-fat fruits -- Avocado, to some extent durian and a few others. Combine

well with greens,

and with acid fruits. The acid helps to emulsify, or break down, complex fats

into simpler

components, a nice (though unnecessary) precursor to digestion. Squeeze some

orange juice, throw

in the pulp (retain the whole food), and gently mix some diced avocado into the

juice. Let this

sit for awhile. A nice salad dressing, if you wish. Similarly, blend up a peeled

orange and

about 1/2 tsp hemp seeds. The point here is that mixing acid fruits with

high-fat fruits works

well, as long as a particular combination tastes good to you.

 

In this context, and to address the original question --- tomatoes fall here!

 

Quasi-obligatory reminder: I'm not advocating consumption of large quantities of

overt fats,

such as avocado or seeds. Just offering some suggestions people might find

enjoyable.

 

Best to all,

Elchanan

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank Elchanan again!

I am going to print that and put it on my fridge. It certainly helps me put

fruit in perspective!

 

Tiffany

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

> Hi again, great question!!

>

> I eat tomato with greens, as do many, and also with high-fat fruit such as

avocado. I

find that

> the acid in the tomato blends nicely with the fat in the avocado, they " go

down well

together " .

>

> And as you might imagine, there is some " content " behind this. So here are a

few more

thoughts

> on food combining. (Quasi-obligatory reminder: all food combining is a

compromise

with

> Nature's design.)

>

> Fruits may be perceived in 6 groups:

>

> - melons -- actually a subset of sweet fruits, but melons are best eaten alone

AND prior

to

> eating anything else on a given day. Why? High water content combined with

very low

protein

> content means they digest faster than just about anything. So putting melons

in line

behind

> other foods traps them, resulting in fermentation and related gas and

discomfort. Note

here that

> high water content is the first distinguishing factor, THEN sweetness/acidity.

>

> - sweet fruits -- banananananas, dates, figs, apricots, persimmons, many

tropicals. Best

eaten

> before other foods (but after melons) during the course of the day. Combine

well with

greens,

> and reasonably well with subacid fruits -- and remember only to eat the ripest

fruits

you can

> find!

>

> - subacid fruits -- Fruits with cores (apples, pears), pits (mangos, peaches,

nectarines,

> plums), also most grapes. These fruits are still high in alkaline-forming

substances, but

they

> also contain more acid-forming substances, as well. Combine well with greens

and with

EITHER

> sweet OR acid fruits, but not both at the same time.

>

> - acid fruits -- Citrus, berries, kiwi, tomatoes, tamarind, etc. When eaten

ripe, these

fruits

> are, for the most part, alkaline-forming in the body. However, they are also

high in

acids

> noticeable in the mouth. The body responds differently to these foods than it

does, say,

to

> melons or sweet fruits. For example, production of ptyalin, the

starch-digesting enzyme

found in

> saliva, is somewhat inhibited when acid fruits are eaten. Hence, not a good

combination

with

> bananas and other sweet fruits. Can combine with greens and with subacid

fruits.

>

> - veggie-fruits -- Cucumber, zucchini, squash -- all those foods that are

fruits from the

> perspective of botany and vegetables from the perspective of the culinary

arts. Combine

best

> with greens and with acid or subacid fruits. For example, instead of a

dressing, just cut

up a

> bunch of mango or strawberry or orange and sprinkle that throughout a salad.

>

> - high-fat fruits -- Avocado, to some extent durian and a few others. Combine

well with

greens,

> and with acid fruits. The acid helps to emulsify, or break down, complex fats

into

simpler

> components, a nice (though unnecessary) precursor to digestion. Squeeze some

orange

juice, throw

> in the pulp (retain the whole food), and gently mix some diced avocado into

the juice.

Let this

> sit for awhile. A nice salad dressing, if you wish. Similarly, blend up a

peeled orange and

> about 1/2 tsp hemp seeds. The point here is that mixing acid fruits with

high-fat fruits

works

> well, as long as a particular combination tastes good to you.

>

> In this context, and to address the original question --- tomatoes fall here!

>

> Quasi-obligatory reminder: I'm not advocating consumption of large quantities

of overt

fats,

> such as avocado or seeds. Just offering some suggestions people might find

enjoyable.

>

> Best to all,

> Elchanan

>

Thanks for all this great info! I have a concern that was brought up by someone

else

recently on this list as an example to a question on a list that person was

sumarily

dismissed from for asking it -- what about all the sugar in fruit? That concerns

me.

 

I've been seeing naturopaths for years and they all seem to say " no sugar " ,

including no

fruit, including no starches and no grains. I saw a naturopathic physician who

co-authored

some diet books with another NH back in the 70s/80s, and he pretty much wanted

me to

eat raw veggies, very little fruit. My acupuncurist has been on a " NO SUGAR "

campaign

ever since I've known her. She recommends it to everyone, but is also big into

NH, raw,

etc. I am a bit concerned with indulging in so much sugar, especially in light

of recent

research correlating high sugar intake with diabetes, candidiasis, rheumatoid

arthritis, and

cancer. Any explanations?

 

Thanks!

Melanie