Digestive Enzymes And Food Combining

Back in the early 1900's , a doctor named Willam Hays developed an eating plan that he called food combining. The basic idea of food combining is to learn which foods can be digested together , and which combinations can't be digested together.
Our body makes different enzymes for digesting the different categories of food, and they also spend different amounts of time during the digestive process.
As an example, most fresh fruits have completely digested within an hour or two, while carbohydrate foods take several hours, and have their own digestive enzyme, which starts with the saliva we excrete when chewing these foods. (This is a main reason why we should take our time and thoroughly chew the food that we are eating.)
Protein foods, especially dairy protein, take the longest amount of time to digest, plus they need a heavy acid to help with digestion. Since starchy carbohydrate foods, like rice or potatoes, need an alkaline digestive enzyme, when we eat both together, the acid and the alkaline cancel each other out, and neither food can be properly digested.
Also, when foods like fruit, which only have a short digestive period, are combined with proteins, or heavy carbs, then the fruit is "trapped" in the digestive system, and will usually ferment instead of properly digesting.
Fats do not need a digestive enzyme,(they are broken down with bile from the liver) and can be eaten with anything except fruit.

When I was reading about food-combining, I also found another old book, called "The Enzyme-Catalyst Diet", which also talks about similar food combining. This book was written by Carlson Wade, and came out in the 70's.
In it, he explains about the different digestive enzymes that are on the foods themselves, and how starting the meal with fresh raw fruits or even vegetables and salad, can give us enzymes that are necessary for proper digestion.

I am starting a new "experiment" , and will report back in on how it goes. For breakfast, I need something light because we go to the fitness center and exercise afterwards. So, I am having raw fruit (quick digesting)for breakfast.
When we get back home, I make a large salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and maybe some avocado, and lots of the liquid coconut oil/Braggs ACV for the dressing.
Dinner is when I have the protein meal, so it can digest all night if it needs to, and that is when my body needs protein to repair itself during the night.
I started this yesterday, and so far, I am liking how it works. I had pineapple for breakfast (along with my bulletproof coffee, of course), and pineapple is one of the strongest anti-inflammatory foods we can eat. I was starting to have arthritis pain in my knees and ankles, and I know that pineapple always helps with that; so it was the perfect choice for me for a fruit breakfast.
Already , the joints are moving better; and I feel like bad toxins are being cleaned out of my body. I can move easier, if that makes any sense.
Here is more information about Dr. Hay, and his health condition (bad heart) which almost killed him before he discovered the concept of food combining.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/hay-diet/ar-AAnRro?pfr=1

 

I have been (more or less) following this eating plan for about a week now, and overall, I like eating this way. Food combining is a totally different way of eating than any other method we are ever taught, and most information seems to follow the (SAD) standard American diet, which advises us to mix each type of food in every meal.
Because most of us grew up with this type of eating, it seems natural to have a variety of proteins, carbs, and fats with each meal. Having meat, potatoes, bread, and a few veggies, is the basis of how we think a meal should look and taste.
However, it is getting easier to simplify my meals, and I like how I am feeling.
I am eating a LOT more raw foods each day, which means a lot more enzymes, vitamins, and minerals are getting into my digestive system. While I have no intention of becoming a total raw-foodist; I do think that the more we can eat natural foods, the better it is for our body.
Carlson Wade has written quite a few books about the health benefits of eating lots of enzyme-rich foods, and there seems to be many others who promote this lifestyle.
I watched the movie called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" a few years ago, and what a raw food diet did for the author of that is totally amazing and impressive.
While I am not ready to start a green juice diet; I am going to be eating more of these foods and learning to enjoy them raw, and see if that helps my health.