Food Combination

Everyone of us know that while eating Mentos and drinking cola can result in people regurgitating the foamy result. The figure below shows a Diet Coca-cola bottle, shortly after Mentos were dropped into it.

A second common diet myth we have normally heard is eating durian while drinking alcohol can make people to be nausea, increase the heartbeat of that person and it can be lethal. The above two examples are totally due to bad combination of food.

We always eat foods without knowing the effect of the food to our body. It is well known that many illneses are due to deficiencies of certain essential food factors-vitamins and minerals. These deficeincies produce degeneration of certain tissues, and this degeneration results in loss of resistance. Infections then invade us and produce disease. However, it is possible to eat large quantities of nutritious foods and get no benefit at all from them if we eat other foods at the same time that interfere with the proper digestion of vitamin and mineral bearing foods. When we eat what we eat has a lot to do with how much good we get from it.

We all at one time or anohter, have tried, read about or heard about food combining. Food combination was introduced in 1911 by Dr.William Howard Hay. Proper food combinations are important for proper digestion, utilization, and assimilation of the nutrients in our diet. Poor food combinations while can cause toxicity in the body because certain food groups do not digest well together. Combining foods improperly also led to indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction, poor nutrient absorption, and gas formation.

Below are some of the examples of healthy food combination and unhealthy food combination.

Healthy Food Combination:

1. Spinach with orange - Vitamin C in orange can enhance the iron absorption in spinach (Hallberg L et al, 1989).

2. Sardines with cod liver oil- Vitamin D in cod liver oil is good for optimal calcium absorption (Office of Dietary Supplement, 2008).

3. Oil with Vitamin A (carrot), vitamin E (nuts), Vitamin K (Green vegetables) food- these are fat soluble vitamins that dissolve in oil and absorb by body (Kiran B.Misra, 2008).

4. Meat and leafy green vegetables (Matthew S, 2005).

Unhealthy Food Combination:

1. Durian with alcohol - causes ill effect (C.W.Ogle and Y.F.Teh, 1969).

2. Tea and iron rich food (spinach, meat)- tannin in tea inhibit iron absorption (Cathy Wong, 2007).

3. Coffee and calcium rich food (tofu, sesame seeds)- coffee leads to excretion of calcium in the urine (Kathleen Goodwin, 2006).

4. Banana with milk- this combination can change the intestinal flora, produce toxins and cause sinus congestion, cold cough, and allergies (Dr. C Davis, 2007).

5. Acid fruits (orange, pineapple) with sweet fruits (banana,papaya)- these fruits cannot digest well together (Vasant Lad et al, 1997).

6. Coke with mentos

7. Crab and Persimmons