Why am I not losing weight? Right Food Combinations: The Hidden Secret to Health and Weight

Some people (both men and women) who come to me for dietary advice are generally overweight, complain of heartburn, gas and flatulence after meals. The main reason is that they are not doing the right food combining. This is a little known fact about eating right.

A meal maybe nutritious but may still result in weight gain and cause indigestion. Ask yourself why? Because the combination of foods in a meal may not be right. It disturbs the digestive enzymes and absorption of various nutrients. As a result, the food stays in the digestive system for a longer time, putrefies, ferments and causes gas and discomfort. Some gets converted to fat and causes weight gain.

This can be sorted out to a great extent by eating meals having the right food combinations. When you combine foods, different digestive enzymes are required for different foods. For example protein foods need acid enzymes while carbs need alkaline. So enzymes will neutralize each other if the two are combined and inhibit digestion. Also some foods (proteins and fats) digest slowly so they hinder the absorption of foods that digest fast (carbs) and cause them to putrefy. The undigested food gets converted to fat and causes weight gain.

Tips on suitable food combinations:

· Don’t combine proteins with carbs: As much as possible try and avoid combining proteins with carbohydrates in one meal. It might make you gassy, bloated and low on energy.

Examples of protein foods – meat , fish, poultry, eggs,nuts, dairy, soya.

Examples of Carbohydrate foods- whole grain quinoa, buckwheat, oats, flour, bread, pasta, rice, sugars and sweets, starch vegetables like potatoes, yam, peas, corn, water chestnut.

Examples of unsuitable food combinations: Chicken and chapatti, paneer and rice, bread and eggs.

· Eat Non starch vegetables: Like salads, leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, bok choy, cabbage, celery, lettuce, green beans, garlic, onions, turnips, sprouts, cucumber will digest well both in acidic and alkaline environment so they will go well with both proteins or carbs and even with oil and butter.

Example of Suitable combinations- fish with stir fried veggies, roasted chicken with green salads.

· Don’t combine fruits with a meal: Fruits digest the fastest- Always eaten separately, 40-60 minutes before or after meals. Most preferred in the morning. If combined with a meal, they get trapped and cannot be digested completely and they rot.

· Other suitable food combinations:

• Pulses have high content of carbs- so they can be combined with grains.

• Fermented dairy products- like yogurt combine well with fruits, seeds, nuts, non-starchy veggies.

· Some more tips:

• Eat dessert atleast one hour after dinner

• Use less fat in cooking as it slows down digestion

• Throughout the day drink plenty of water but not with food.

• Have herbal teas with meals

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Right Food Combinations : The Hidden Secret to Health and Weight loss