Food Combining: The Ugly Truth About Another Fad Diet that Claims to Transform Your Body

I've been hearing a lot about food combining lately, and I fear that too many of you will get caught up in the fad-diet, so let's clear this up before things get out of hand.

The food combining diet is basically a set of rules that suggest we eat some foods together and some foods separately. Sounds cool, right? Not so much. Keep reading to see what the rules are.

1. Only eat fruit on an empty stomach.

2. Don't combine starches with proteins.

3. Don't combine different types of proteins.

4. Only consume dairy on an empty stomach, especially milk.

5. Don't combine starches with acidic foods.

6. Sugar should only be eaten alone.

7. Protein should not be mixed with fat.

8. Fruits and vegetables should be eaten separately.

Okay, so the theory behind food combining goes something like this: Let's say I eat a cheesestick, and I have a cracker or two with it. According to the food combining theory, food enters our digestive tract in a single-file-line. So the cheese contains fat, which digests slower than the cracker (carbohydrate), and this supposedly creates a traffic jam, if you will, in our intestines. This 'traffic jam' can lead to digestive complications, disease and even 'toxic build-up' in the digestive tract.

It all sounds okay at face value, but the truth is, whoever came up with the set of rules for food combining 1: Needs an anatomy lesson, 2: Did not give our bodies enough credit for the bada**es they are, and 3: Created the ultimate gateway-diet.

BTW, I'm coining the term 'gateway diet:'

Gateway Diet- n. a restrictive and complicated diet that leads to disordered eating.

You heard it here first, folks.

Let's break down exactly how the digestive system works.

1. Food enters the mouth, where digestion begins.

2. Salivary glands release saliva and an enzyme called amylase, which breaks down starches.

3. As you chew your food, the saliva and amylase work together to form a ball of chewed food called a bolus.

4. The bolus is swallowed which leads it through the esophagus, and all the way down to your stomach.

5. In your stomach, enzymes lipase and pepsin work together to break down the fats and proteins in our food. Gastric juices are also released by the lining of your stomach to maintain the pH of you stomach, which is very acidic.

6. About 3 hours later, the food is now a liquid called chyme.

7. The chyme is release by the stomach, into the small intestine. It's in the small intestine where the nutrients in our food are absorbed into the blood stream.

8. The remaining fiber, water and waste is then transferred into the large intestine, or colon.

9. The remaining products of our food are formed into stool, and then released into the rectum, where nerves signal our bodies to expel the waste.

10. The entire process is complete within ~30-40 hours.

Now that you know how the digestive system works, we can discuss why food combining is not a method for weight loss. We can also bust a few food combining myths while we're at it ;)

Myth #1: Combined Foods will Rot in Your Digestive Tract

We now know that foods do not 'rot' in our stomachs or intestines. Thanks to our bodies natural release of enzymes and gastric juices, our foods begin to digest the second they touch our tongue. Foods generally spend about 3 hours in our stomachs, and a total of 30-40 hours in our digestive system before being expelled.

Myth #2: Eating Certain Foods Separately Can Lead to Quicker Digestion, Which Yields Quicker Weight Loss

I for one, never enjoyed diarrhea. That's what this claim is suggesting; that rapid digestion is good for the soul. The reality is, slower digesting foods = longer satiety, which means less overall consumption and a happy gut. Also, quick digesting foods like carbohydrates cause a spike in insulin, and then a crash. This can leave you feeling tired and lethargic. This is why dietitians actually recommend combining a protein with carbohydrate, especially if you're diabetic.

Myth #3: Eating a Carbohydrate with a Fat and a Protein Will Lead to Digestive Complications

The truth is most foods contain 2 or more macronutrients, even in the whole form. For example, a legume contains both carbohydrate and protein. Dairy contains carbohydrate, fat and protein. Nuts contain both fat and protein. Grains contain carbohydrate and protein. The list goes on and the combination of macronutrients is inevitable. Healthy digestion does not have to do with the way you combine your foods. It has to do with the enzymes released, the amount of fiber you consume, the amount of exercise you perform daily, and the amount of water you drink.

Once again diet culture has caught your attention with the promise of weight-loss and body transformation through a fraudulent theory that lacks scientific evidence of success.