Learning how to properly food combine is incredibly important, especially if you are trying to get rid of bloating and to improve your digestion. As soon as I started to properly combine foods, my irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) disappeared and that is what got me hooked (I also believe raw living foods helped me get rid of IBS, because there are more enzymes present in un-cooked food which helps support your gut, and helps to achieve healthy flora).
If you are combining too many different foods at once, then slower digesting foods may get in the way of faster digesting foods and can cause problems with fermentation which leads to gas and bloating. Eating two foods that have different, or opposite digestive needs, the digestive juices become confused because they are trying to meet the requirements and adjust to the pH of those foods at the same time (which is nearly impossible).
The nourishment our bodies receive is determined by what we digest and assimilate, not simply by what we eat. Certain combinations of foods may be digested much easier and allow us to assimilate the nutrients faster, than other food combinations. Learning how to properly combine your food will help improve your health by removing digestive distress. It is even noted by many individuals who start combining their food properly that their “food allergies” disappear. Fermentation is also an issue with combining the wrong foods; properly combining your foods relieves this fermentation which then relieves indigestion and heart burn.
Below is a quick guide to help you learn how to properly combine your fruit and vegetables and return yourself to a state of health and wellness:
Water & Liquids:
Drink 15-20 minutes before a meal, or drink 1-2 hours after eating a meal
Melons: (e.g., watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, santa claus melon, etc.)Â
Best eaten alone, do not combine well with other foods (digest very quickly – if you eat melon, be sure to eat it in the morning on an empty stomach). Melons are more than 90% liquid, and leave the stomach quickly if they are not backed up and fermented by combining with other foods, or slower-digesting foods eaten later in the day.
Sweet Fruit: (e.g., bananas, dates, papaya, all dried fruit, figs, jackfruit, mamey sapote, longan, mangosteen, persimmon, sapote)
Combine well with most sub-acid fruits and low-starch vegetables (particularly cucumber, celery and light leafy greens; I would not combine sweet fruit with anything more than these low-starch vegetables). Do not combine well with acid fruit, fats, or high starch vegetables.
Sub-Acid Fruit: (e.g., apples, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherimoya, cherries, grapes, loquat, lychee, mango, nectarine, peach, pear, plum)
Combine well with sweet fruit, acid fruit and low-starch vegetables. Do not combine with more than one other fruit at a time (for example, don’t eat sub-acid fruit with sweet fruit AND acid fruit, just eat sub-acid fruit with sweet fruit, or sub-acid fruit with acid fruit; e.g., eat a pear with papaya, or eat a pear with an orange, but don’t eat a pear with a papaya with an orange, because the papaya and orange will ferment)
Acid Fruit: (e.g., cranberries, grapefruit, kiwi, strawberries, kumquat, lemons, limes, oranges, pineapple, pomegranate, tangerine, tomato)
Acid fruits combine well with sub-acid fruit and low-starch vegetables (as well as some higher starch vegetables; this mainly applies to tomatoes), as well as fatty fruits, nuts and seeds. Do not combine acid fruit with sweet fruit!
Fatty Fruit, Nuts & Seeds: (e.g., avocado, durian, olives, all tree nuts like pistachios, walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews, and seeds like hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds)
Combine well with low-starch vegetables and high-starch vegetables as well as acid fruit. Do not eat more than one fat at a time. For example, don’t eat avocado and nuts, since these proteins digest at different rates. Fats combine very well with simple leafy green salads!
High Starch Vegetables: (e.g., carrots, beets, peas, winter squashes (acorn, butternut), water chestnuts, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, plantains, broccoli, cauliflower)
These vegetables can be eaten with fats, and low-starch vegetables, however I wouldn’t suggest eating them with more than one fat at a time. For example, I would not eat an avocado, nuts and a potato, but avocado and potato are fine.
Low Starch Vegetables: (e.g., sprouts, leafy greens, hearty greens (kale, collards), herbs, bok choy, celery, radishes, sea vegetables, mushrooms, cabbage, jicama, asparagus, okra, cucumbers, green beans and wax beans, fennel, peppers, zucchini, green onions, eggplant, celery, onions, leeks)
These vegetables combine very well with all of the previously mentioned fruit and vegetables. Always remember that the simpler the meal, the simpler the digestion. Keep your meals under 6 ingredients to allow the body to digest the foods properly and assimilate all the available nutrients.
I have heard that we really should not consume any time of oil. What are your thoughts on this? For example, what happens when the body is trying to digest lettuce and olive oil from a salad?
Oil and salad is fine together.
hi,
i just read somehwere that you shouldnt mix milk and fruits.(for eg in milk chiaseeds and oats bowl, its not advisable to top it with fruits) can i use almond milk and add the fruits to it?
Yes, almond milk will be fine.
I've been eating raw for 5 months now and cleared up a lot of issues as well as losing weight…My favorite meal in the morning is an avocado with mango, pomegranate seeds, chopped red onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime and sprinkling of himalayan salt. I seem to do well with it, but trying to figure out if that combo is a good combo or not. I do eat it a lot, as the satiety and the taste is just outstanding. Thanks for all the good work you do in informing people!
Hey Kate – that's awesome! Congrats on the journey. I've found that including probiotics and enzymes in my diet, even if still consuming raw, has helped me eat combinations of things that I wouldn't otherwise be allowed. That all sounds fine what you are combining. I find that mango and avocado is an alright combination.
Thank you! I just started probiotics. Good idea to take enzymes- I automatically assumed I am eating raw, so I get enzymes through my food, but I guess my body needs a little help. 🙂
Love your page, and looking forward to reading more!
(I have no more: joint pain, lost all my weight, no more vertigo and loss of balance from Lyme's secondary infections…so I am ecstatic- now my insomnia needs to resolve and I'll be all set!)
Where would dragon fruit be? Sub acid maybe?
I believe sub acid yes!
This research was made with raw foods?
What if food is cooked? The same combos aply?
Same combinations apply if cooked.
Can I eat dried fruits (soaked goji berry/raisin/dates) with nuts? And what to put in soaked/sprouted (still cooked) oatmeal? Would dried fruit be okay or too much of a sweet fruit? I also read a few websites saying banana can pair with nuts? I used to make a banana almond milk smoothie and have some dates & gojis with it but now I am unsure. Been trying to combine better because my digestion has been having issues. Thank you, you are very kind for answering so many people!!
Dried fruit and nuts aren't the best combination. You can put banana's into your oatmeal, and other fruit like raisins. I feel like oatmeal combines well with everything. I wouldn't combine banana's with fat. Any kind of sweet fruit with fats won't be the best.