See?

While slicing up that there cantaloupe I got to thinking about Natalia Rose’s line from the The Raw Food Detox Diet about fruit:

Eat it alone or leave it alone.

Food combining rules say you should eat only eat fruit on empty stomach because when mixed with other foods, it can lead to fermentation, stomach pains and gas.  As I understand it, it has to do with the enzymes that are released to digest fruit vs. what’s released to digest other foods.

I’ve also read that mis-combining foods might slow digestion which, according to The Raw Food Detox Diet, can lead to a build up of toxins in the body and is at the root of common ailments like constipation, acne, arthritis and heartburn to name a few.

Fruit and non-starchy vegetables like greens (a la green lemonade) are an exception to this “eat fruit alone” rule per Victoria Boutenko in Green Smoothie Revolution.

The thing is, food combining can get pretty complicated pretty quickly:

(source)

Oy.

I’ve read about it some, thought about it some, played around with it some.  These days I just pretty much just eat in any combination I dang well please and get on with it –  eating whole, real food has done wonders for me despite any mis-combinations. Still, I do find food combining interesting.  If you’re intrigued or if you’re struggling with digestive trouble despite cleaning up the quality of your food, proper food combining might be something worth looking into.

The Raw Food Detox Diet was where I got my food combining primer.  Fit for Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond and The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity by Daniel Reid are a couple of other literary resources to check out if you want to know more.

I was an A+ food combiner with my melon today though!  Eating it on an empty stomach after I mowed the lawn and wanted something juicy.  Let’s not talk about the chunks of frozen banana I ate right after lunch though…  this girl has two thumbs, and they are both pointed down.

Oh well, this Food Combining Failure had fun putting together my little cantaloupe animated gif for you!  Veggie burger + banana at lunch be damned.

Now go get some melon!  It’s good.  And eat it on an empty stomach if you’re so inclined.