Food Compatibility Chart

Hello readers of my blog. Today I want to continue the topic of proper nutrition, started in this article.

I have also already talked about the components of proper nutrition and the importance of balancing them.

Here, I want to talk about another fact that needs to be taken into account when compiling our daily menu - the compatibility of products for proper nutrition.

Eating compatible foods will help our body fully absorb the nutrients of a particular product.

How does this happen?

All food products have a different chemical composition, which of course affects their “digestibility” in our body: • this is the time that needs to be spent on digesting a certain group of products; • these are certain enzymes that process this food.

Let me explain this in a little more detail.

There are foods that are quickly digested, and there are foods that are slowly digested. If we consume them together, then food, which should quickly leave our body, will linger longer, the digestion process is disrupted - the food is not digested, but simply rots or ferments!

For example, an apple eaten at work (as a snack) leaves the stomach within half an hour. If we “snack” an apple after potatoes and meat (it takes more than 4 hours to digest), then it remains with these “slow” products and after 30 minutes it is already completely fermented.

In addition, a particular product in the stomach requires a different environment. So meat needs an acidic environment, and potatoes are “processed” into an alkaline environment.

The large intestine is also involved in all this. In it, food is no longer “processed” by our enzymes, but by our microorganisms - bacteria.

Let's roughly divide them into good and bad.

The good ones increase our immunity, help us “absorb” vitamins, process fiber, fight bad bacteria, etc.

Bad ones are all sorts of pathogenic microorganisms that are always present in our body. But some even help - they fight our “wrong” food, help quickly process it and remove it from the body.

So - raw plant food is processed by our well-wishers - beneficial bacteria, and the more and longer we consume such food, the more of them and the stronger our immunity becomes. And when we mix food - meat with salad, then a war begins in the intestines (and the consequences are gases) of who will win.

Therefore, it is very important for us to know how to properly combine foods with proper nutrition so that digestion time, enzymes, etc. more or less coincided, and there will be no imbalance in the process of their processing, because this is the basis of a healthy lifestyle .

Of course, we don’t know what we process with what, and what is combined with what.

But there was a doctor, Herbert Shelton, who offered us his table of food compatibility for proper nutrition.

There are controversial points in this table that modern scientists criticize (we know how they feel about everything that contradicts their dogmas). Of course, we cannot determine the correctness of all combinations of products, so whether to believe or not is up to you.

And further. You can always check with your body, and it will always tell you whether you have chosen the right combination or not.

How to Use a Food Combination Chart

The highlighted color means: Green cell – compatible products. Yellow - can be combined. Red – incompatible products.

For example, let’s look at how butter and bread combine. Butter - No. 3, bread - No. 7. We look at the intersection of No. 3 with No. 7 - we see green, ideal. That is, these are compatible products.

Separate nutrition according to Shelton: what is the essence

The main concept of separate nutrition is that with its help you can not only reduce excess weight, but also improve the gastrointestinal tract and speed up metabolism. To do this, you just need to separate proteins, carbohydrates and fats, consuming them separately. For each of the groups, the body produces enzymes that help dissolve them. For example, in order for proteins to dissolve and be absorbed, an acidic environment is needed, and for carbohydrates, an alkaline environment is needed. Mixing all products, according to Shelton, leads to fermentation in the body, since they do not have time to be digested. And as a result, metabolic disorders occur. Let's take a closer look at the rules for separate meals.

Explanation of some products from the table

No. 8. Tomatoes and sour fruits These are tomatoes and fruits that have acid - currants, strawberries, pineapples, pomegranates, strawberries, limes, tangerines, grapefruits and oranges.

No. 9. Semi-acidic fruits These include - quince, grapes, gooseberries and raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, gooseberries, nectarines and peaches, pears and apples, plums and apricots

No. 10. Sweet fruits These are figs, bananas, dried fruits, mangoes, persimmons, etc.

No. 11. Non-starchy vegetables Brussels cabbage, white cabbage and cauliflower, broccoli, parsnips, celery, sorrel, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, peppers (sweet), rutabaga. Sprouts: wheat, barley, alfalfa, etc.

No. 12. Starchy vegetables Artichoke, beans, carrots, corn, peanuts* Jerusalem artichoke, peas, potatoes, pumpkin. * Peanuts, lentils, legumes and all grains combine both protein and starch.

Herbert Shelton - the basics of proper nutrition

Do not eat protein foods with starchy foods in one sitting. Traditional rice with fish, a sandwich with cheese, chicken with fried potatoes, mashed potatoes with a meat cutlet, etc. should now become a strict taboo.
One meal should include protein foods from only one group. Simply put, you cannot combine cheese and meat, chicken and eggs, eggs and cottage cheese, etc.
Fish, poultry, meat and other products enriched with protein should be exclusively lean. According to Dr. Shelton, fats and protein are very poorly compatible, therefore fatty meat, poultry or fish do not comply with the principles of separate nutrition.
You cannot combine protein foods with alcohol. This is due to the fact that alcohol can interfere with the digestion of animal protein.
Melon, watermelon and milk should not be consumed in combination with any other products. This is explained by the fact that melon and watermelon contain a large amount of natural sugar, which can “force” other eaten food to ferment in the stomach. But milk usually curdles under the influence of gastric juice. However, if the stomach is also filled with other food, then the milk will envelop it, thereby isolating it from the digestion process for quite a long time. As a result, the food will not be digested, but will rot.
If you follow a separate diet, it is advisable to completely give up sugar and confectionery products. As in the case of melon and watermelon, this is due to the fact that the abundance of sugar causes a fermentation process in the stomach. The only exception to this rule can be natural honey, since, roughly speaking, it is sugar already processed by bees.

Principles of separate nutrition and product compatibility table

1.1 The essence of the diet

To quickly assimilate a particular product, the stomach must produce the “correct” juice, saturated with the necessary enzymes for digestion. Protein foods are best digested in an acidic environment, carbohydrates in an alkaline environment. When proteins and carbohydrates are consumed simultaneously, a chemical reaction occurs in which the alkali and acid neutralize each other. This makes it difficult to absorb nutrients.

Digestion of a variety of foods requires an individual set of enzymes in the gastric juice:

Digestion medium	Product groups
Acidic	Meat, eggs, fish, seafood, legumes, citrus fruits, exotic fruits (except bananas), cheese, berries, natural juices, fruit teas, semi-dry wines, cider, stone and pome fruits
Alkaline	Bakery and flour products, cereals, starchy vegetables, bananas, dried fruits and berries (raisins, dried apricots, dates, figs), sweets and beer
Neutral	Leafy vegetables, asparagus, garlic, eggplant, cucumber, carrots, pumpkin, mushrooms, celery, avocado, jellies, spices, herbal teas, olives, fats, nuts

Based on changes in the chemical composition of gastric juice depending on the food consumed, a food compatibility table was developed, for which Shelton proposed his own classification of food:

Category	What does it apply to
Protein	All meat products (except fat), eggs, fish, yeast, cheese, olives, avocado, soy, most types of nuts and seeds
Coal-water-containing	Cereals, green peas, potatoes, chestnuts, sugar
Fats	All types of vegetable and animal fats, oil
Sour fruits and vegetables	Oranges, lemons, pineapples, grapefruits, pomegranates, plums, grapes, sour apples (seven), peaches, tomatoes, sauerkraut
Semi-acidic fruits	Sweet cherries, apples, plums, figs, blueberries, mangoes, pears, apricots
Non-starchy and green vegetables	Cabbage (almost all types except starchy ones), cucumbers, parsley, broccoli, garlic, spinach, turnips, lettuce, French endive, mustard, green corn, onions, shallots, leeks, asparagus, green peas, celery , dandelion, sorrel, eggplant, pumpkin, radish, sweet pepper, watercress, asparagus

Modern product compatibility schemes classify them much more widely, which helps to more accurately create an individual menu:

Red color - incompatible, yellow - acceptable combination, green - well compatible

Nutritional Features

The principle of separate nutrition is based on a system of food consumption in which almost all products can be used, without simultaneously consuming incompatible types.

The principle of separate nutrition is based on the correct combination of products.

These include proteins and carbohydrates, since their digestion requires different environments (acidic and alkaline). In addition, proteins and carbohydrates are digested at different rates and differ in composition.

Pros and cons of the approach

Those who support the Shelton diet argue that the ancestors of modern man were slim because they did not know about the possibility of combining different types of food.

Opponents point out that:

there are no products that do not contain proteins, fats and carbohydrates together;
It makes no difference to the body how or what to digest.

However, one cannot ignore the fact that the benefits of separate nutrition are undeniable if it is balanced. For example, like any diet, this method of losing weight involves a ban on sweets, limiting fast carbohydrates in principle and increasing the amount of vegetables and fruits.

We recommend reading about the ketone diet for weight loss. From the article you will learn about the principles of the ketone diet, a sample menu for women, and weight loss results. And here is more information about how the alkaline diet for weight loss is carried out.

Fasting from Herbert: is it worth it?

Despite the fact that Herbert developed his own weight loss menu, he was a staunch vegetarian and raw foodist. During his hospital practice, he literally conducted experiments on his patients and was also involved in “improving” his method.

Shelton was a proponent of special fasting. He believed that:

You should not drink large amounts of water during this approach to losing weight, but only drink it when desired;
no special “inputs” to the diet are needed;
The use of enemas and laxatives is prohibited.

It is impossible not to mention the fact that nutritionist Shelton has been arrested and even imprisoned more than once due to the damage caused to his patients due to the peculiar “diet” approach he prescribed.

Modern scientists have long ago agreed on the following opinion:

It is impossible to lose weight by depriving yourself of food;
temporary weight loss is fraught with introducing the body into a state of mobilization;
hunger cannot make a person healthier;
such weight loss will definitely disrupt (if not destroy) metabolism;
the wrong way out of a weekly adherence to the approach can result in death;
Deficiency of nutrients supplied from food leads to exacerbation of chronic diseases.

Unlike the menu compiled by Shelton, which can heal the body and help a person lose weight, his method of fasting turned out to be not only a complete failure, but also life-threatening.

Rules for preparing healthy nutrition recipes according to William Hay

American physician William Hay proposed his own rules for food consumption, which are as follows:

Proteins and sour fruits are not mixed with carbohydrate-containing products.
Foods high in fiber are consumed daily. These ingredients are the basis of any diet.
Preference is given to foods with minimal fat content.

Neutral types of foods (dried fruits, animal fats, herbs, cottage cheese) can occasionally be combined with carbohydrates and proteins.

The doctor did not advise consuming them in large quantities, because, in his opinion, they do not benefit the body.

Recommendations from William Hay: how to properly create a separate food menu:

breakfast - fruit with low-fat cheese or sour cream;
lunch - zucchini casserole, sweet fruits;
dinner - a piece of fish or meat with herbs or lettuce.

Important! William Hay does not recommend eating potato or pasta dishes with meat (fish) at the same time. For snacks, he advises choosing unsweetened varieties of fruit.

Herbert Shelton

The right combination of products

Translated from English by O. G. Belosheev

by: FOOD COMBINING MADE EASY / by Herbert M. Shelton

* * *

Preface

Herbert Shelton was one of the pioneers in the field of nutrition and the founder of the natural hygiene movement. At the beginning of the 20th century, he encouraged dozens of prominent people, including Mahatma Gandhi and Bernard Shaw, to adopt the principles of fasting and a diet based on the consumption of raw plant foods.

In Shelton's day, people weren't as familiar with the idea of replacing meat and fish proteins with plant-based ones, and weren't as comfortable with it as we are today.

Nowadays, plant-based diets are not only popular, but also recognized by many in the scientific community as an ideal choice for health and longevity. We're sure Shelton would be extremely happy about this change in situation. In this edition of this book, we have decided to remove advice on eating meat and fish to give you a clearer understanding of Shelton's personal preferences and recommendations.

Cynthia Holzapfel,

Editorial Manager, Book Publishing Company

Introduction

Several years ago, I was watching a television program with a group of my students at one of my friends' house. During a commercial break, a breakfast bowl was placed in front of us on the screen. Right before our eyes, the actor in the commercial filled a bowl with a popular brand of cereal, added two tablespoons of sugar, added a sliced banana and a handful of raisins, and finally poured a generous amount of milk or cream into the mixture, which was undoubtedly pasteurized. While demonstrating a breakfast recipe, the actor spouted an endless stream of words designed to convince the television audience that this combination of products was tasty and nutritious.

When he finished, one of the young members of the group said: “If I eat something like that, I always get heartburn later.” I felt it necessary to add: “You and several million other people.” None of the digestive systems known to mankind are adapted to digest such dishes.

No animal in nature would ever fill its stomach with such a chaotic mixture of foods. The fact that millions of men, women and children continue to consume such foods every day, and then take drugs to alleviate the unpleasant effects, casts doubt on the level of human intelligence.

Every year, millions of dollars are spent on antacids (acid suppressants) and other drugs that weaken

stomach pain, almost inevitable after eating such food. Some of the most popular medications, most of which contain sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), include Alka-Seltzer, D-Gel, and Pepto-Bismol, among others. In addition to these patent medicines, many people continue to use grandma's tried-and-true remedies—baking soda and magnesium hydroxide. Besides the fact that these drugs themselves are unsafe, they provide only a deceptive sense of temporary relief from indigestion.

Despite the suffering that millions of people experience every day, and the outrageous cost of drugs that merely provide relief.

, many still condemn our attempts to relieve the unfortunate from this suffering through such a simple means as eating properly formulated food combinations.

An old proverb says: “You have to taste the pudding to judge it.” Everything we say about the correct combination of products can be done independently by anyone who does not have culinary skills. Everything can be done at home by following a simple menu plan according to the rules contained in our book. The results obtained can be compared with the results of previous, disordered eating.

Recently one of my distributors received a letter from a woman in Pennsylvania to whom he had sold a copy of this book. He sent a photocopy of the letter to me. Below I give revealing excerpts from this message: “Writing enthusiastic letters is not on my long list of bad habits, and I am not writing this letter just as a fan. In it I want to give high marks, express sincere gratitude and say thank you.