Obesity and health problems are an increasing issue for many Americans. Maintaining optimal weight and health is as simple as following the rules. Yes, there are rules that help promote optimal digestion. Certain food combinations should be avoided and the order in which you eat these foods is very important. In order to keep your stomach and digestive track in top shape to help you maintain a healthy weight a combat illness – check out these simple rules and food chart.
The Rules
1. Eat fruits alone.
Fruits digest very quickly and should be consumed on an empty stomach either 30 minutes before eating or 3 hours after eating. This is because our body releases certain different enzymes to digest fruit and sugars need time to be absorbed. When you eat fruit alone, your body can more easily absorb the nutrients and fiber in it. Eating fruit after your meal or close to a meal, you may have issues with indigestion, burping, gas or other unpleasant issues. The best suggestion is to eat fruit in between meals, 3 hours after eating, but at least 30 minutes or more before your next meal. For example, if you eat breakfast at 8, eat your fruit at 11, then eat lunch after 11:30. This allows your body time to completely break down and absorb all nutrients before taking on the next load. (Note that acid fruits like citrus, cranberries and black currant can be eaten with protein fats like seeds and almonds.)
2. Avoid sugars or eat alone.
It’s hard to avoid sugar, since it’s in so much and is so addictive, so if you can’t avoid it, you’ll want to make sure to eat it alone. Sugar doesn’t combine well with any other foods. This means that having dessert right after eating isn’t ideal for your body and will often cause you issues. Wait 3 hours after you eat or 30 minutes before you eat to consume any sugar if you must do it.
3. Avoid Dairy if possible.
Cows have four stomachs. That’s four times as many as we do. As you are probably aware, cows milk is made to feed calves and often (when not purchased raw) is full of hormones. Not only can these hormones have a negative impact on our body, but our body and its single stomach cannot break down those proteins in cows milk as easily as we break down foods that we are programmed to eat. If you want to eat dairy, you should consider goat or sheep’s milk, since their anatomy is much closer to a human (having only a single stomach). If you consume dairy it must be consumed on its own 30 minutes before you eat or 3 hours after you eat. It can also be consumed with raw salads, acid fruits, seeds or nuts.
The Chart
The chart below tells you which foods can be combined with one another. As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to make sure that most of your meals consist of an animal protein and a fat. Note that foods that are not connected directly with arrows should not be consumed together.
If you’ve been having a lot of issues with digestion, these rules should help you get back on track in addition to regular chiropractic adjustments, probiotics and lots of water. The journey to proactive health is enlightening and hopefully you can keep this resource to help educate you along the way.
