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Tag Archives: food combining
Episode 8: The Power of Raw Food with Dr. Aris Latham
Hey lady hey!
In this episode of the Staying Ageless podcast Dr. Aris Latham, the father of gourmet ethical raw foods cuisine, is joining me to discuss his “sun-fired” food philosophy, his personal health journey, and the amazing wisdom he’s gathered as a chef now that he is 72 years young.
If you are about living that #Ageless life, you won’t want to miss the wisdom in this episode. This week we continue talking about the power of raw food, and speak to an amazing living example who has eaten raw “sun-fired” foods for 44 years. Tune in to this episode to find out how to eat raw outside of a tropical environment, what are electromagnetic foods, the best timing for meals and do’s and don’t of food combining.
In this show I’m going to give you some background on some practical things we can do to live that #Ageless life, and later we’ll be chatting with our expert Dr. Aris Latham, a Chef, Sun-Fired Food Scientist and Educator.
Get you a bowl of fresh fruit, get comfy, and learn:
- Some basic principles of proper food combining
- What are electromagnetic foods and how best to incorporate them in a raw food diet
- How to effectively time your meals
- The mindset needed to stick with your chosen healthy lifestyle long term
- Why healthy rituals and routines are essential to achieve longevity
XO
Esosa E., MS, CNS, LDN
Check out Dr. Aris Latham’s Work:
He has FREE webinars each Wednesday sign up via his Instagram profile @arislife_
Principles of Proper Food Combining (Cont’d)
Dear Veggie Lovers: Below is a guest post from a new contributor, Lulu. You may want to read this article and also read my past post on the basic principles of food combining HERE. The biggest food combining mistake most of us are trained to make while eating the Standard American Diet is combining dense carbohydrates (like bread & rice) with dense proteins (beans, meat). If you are are experiencing problems with gas while eating raw foods, it may have to do with the fact that you are not combining your meals well. Learning to food combine is an essential as eating the right foods for optimal health, so don’t take it lightly. -XoXo Raw Girl
The food combining system is simple and easy to understand. Basically, food combining is based on the discovery that certain combinations of food may be digested with greater ease and efficiency than others. Correct food combination leads to an immediate improvement in health by lightening the load off the digestive organs. Better nutrition is achieved because of better digestion, better assimilation, less fermentation and less gas. So-called food allergies often disappear as a result of proper food combining. In his book Food Combining Made Easy, Dr. Herbert Shelton explains that starchy foods have to be eaten alone because starches are digested with enzymes different from those used for any other food group.
Dr. Shelton has found that combining green, leafy vegetables with every food group produces favorable results.There are several benefits of adding greens to other foods. Besides having high nutritional value, greens contain a lot of fiber. The fiber in the greens slows down the absorption of sugar from fruit. This makes drinking green smoothies, for example, possible, even for people with high sensitivity to sugar. Vegetables such as carrots, beets, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, eggplant, pumpkin, okra, peas, corn, green beans, do not combine well with fruit due to their high starch content. While these veggies are nutritious, their high starch content makes them unsuitable for use in sweet smoothies. If you do not want to mix sweet fruit into your green smoothies, you can use non-starchy vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, avocados, celery and others. You can also consider using low–glycemic index fruit such as berries (any kind), apples, cherries, plums, and grapefruit.
Any non-starchy vegetables (greens) may be combined with proteins or starch. Tomatoes should especially not be used with starches. The use of fat (avocados) with starch is considered acceptable, provided a green salad is included in the meal. Since avocados are high in fat, they tend to slow down the digestion of foods that normally require a shorter digestion time. They are only a fair combination with sub-acid and acid fruit. They are usually considered a poor combination with sweet fruit, especially dried sweet fruit.
Dr. Vivian Vetrano says that exceptions may be made in combining avocados with fresh sweet fruit, such as bananas, but that they should not be combined with dried sweet fruit, unless the fruit has been soaked overnight. The next best combination for the avocado is taking it with sub-acid or acid fruit. Avocado should never be used with nuts, which are also high in fat, nor should they be used with melons.
Melons are best eaten alone or with other melons. They are more than 90 % liquid and leave the stomach quickly if not delayed and fermented by combining with other foods. This is because the sugars in melons are in a less stable form and decompose quicker than those of other fruits. Alfalfa sprouts may be combined as a green vegetable. During the sprouting process, the carbohydrate and protein components of the sprouting seed tend to diminish, and the composition becomes more like a green vegetable instead of a legume, grain or seed.
In summary, all raw, fresh, whole, ripe fruit; chlorophyll, vitamin, and mineral-rich raw, leafy green vegetable, sprouted seeds and raw, unsalted nuts and seeds are valuable. Eat lots of them according to food-combining rules. Do not complicate them with oily dressings and your body will easily adjust and progress toward optimal health. -XoXo Lulu, signing in for Raw Girl
Making a Green Smoothie!
I am gearing up for my annual fast into the new year! Last year it was 10 days. This year I think I may do 3 days of blended foods, 7 days of liquids/juice only, and 3 days coming off of the fast with blended foods and perhaps veggie broth as well. The target start date is December 23rd, and I will start coming off the fast on January 2nd. Trying to get mentally prepared and incorporating more liquid foods into my diet. Today I made a Tropical Green Smoothie. Ingredients: 2 bananas, 1 date, 1 mango, water from 1 Young Thai Coconut, 3-4 Kale Leaves.
When making green smoothies, it is recommended to use about 60% fresh fruit and 40% green leaves. Take care not to include any starchy vegetables such as: broccoli, cabbage, carrots, beets, cauliflower, pumpkin, corn. These types of vegetables require the body to use different enzymes to break them down, and if mixed improperly can lead to fermentation and gas. Check out the video below and hopefully you’ll be inspired to concoct a green smoothie of your own! -XoXo Raw Girl
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkN59lkTFeY]
The Basic Principles of Proper Food Combining
Food combining is a huge issue affecting raw foodies, vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike. It’s just that most people don’t realize it. Before I even went completely raw, beginning to properly combine my food was the first baby step which GREATLY enhanced my health. Prior to learning about food combinations and how the body breaks down different substances I believed like everyone else that anything and everything can go together. If you can imagine it and mix it together you can eat it. This belief for most, not all, leads to one thing, and one thing only…GAS.
Yep, I said it. Flatulence, burping, fatigue after eating, upset stomach, bloating etc. all of these things are signs of gas trying to escape and our system being backed up with food or overloaded with foods that are improperly combined and create an acidic internal environment. If disease can only exist in an acidic environment, then of course, proper food combining, which allows food groups to digest properly would assist in maintaining the opposite, a healthy alkaline body.
Below is a list of some of the basics of food combining. I personally, do not fret too much about food combining when it comes to combining within fruit groups, but I do fret over the larger broader rules involving NOT mixing dense carbs and protein. As far as fruits, I do take care however not to mix citrus with other fruits much. Some people really do have stomach’s of steel and may think they do not need to follow these rules, but its most likely that they are not in tune with their bodies and therefore cannot feel the effects. Or…they just pass gas a lot and think it’s normal! We are all unique so listen to your body and do what works for you. -XoXo Raw Girl
1. Drink Liquids Alone. I know, I know, it make no sense at all right? Since we were children all of us were taught that eating and drinking were okay, but actually, not completely the case. Obviously if you are choking, please take a large gulp of water and spare your life at the expense of proper food combining. In normal eating situations, it’s actually best to wait 15 minutes after you drink something to begin eating or to drink liquids after the food you were eating is finished digesting! Why? Well imagine your tummy churning away at food, and working hard to break everything down into the smallest particles and here comes an ocean wave of water which dilutes the hydrochloric acid and flushes some of the food that hasn’t completely been broken down yet out of the stomach. Get the picture?
2. DO NOT COMBINE DENSE PROTEINS (meat, fish, eggs, dairy, avocado, dried beans, nuts, seeds) WITH DENSE CARBOHYDRATES (bread cereal, corn, crackers, grains, potatoes, pasta, yams) This one I had to put in all caps because it’s the most common food combining blunder. So many of our traditionally accepted S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) meals break this rule in a major way ie: hamburgers with french fries, or any sort of meat bread combination, rice & beans etc.
3. Fruits ALONE. This rule, when I follow it properly, definitely works wonders for remaining gas-free. You’ve got to wait enough time after eating fruit to eat something else, and it really is best not to combine food with other meals. At restaurants they love to break this rule and make you thing you’re getting an “exotic” salad with greens mixed in with fruit. Many seem enticing, but remember that these different food groups need different enzymes for the body to digest. So although upfront your kale-mango salad may be a party of flavor in your mouth, you’ll be having a pity party later when your stomach is churning.
4. Avoid Combining Acid Fruits (Citrus, pineapple, pomegranates, strawberries) with Sweet Fruits (Bananas, Dates, Figs, Prunes, Raisins) This is a rule I break from time to time, usually with bananas. I love pineapple and banana together and sometimes have mixed in strawberries and banana in a smoothie and didn’t feel any weird side effects. I was glad because I love those fruit combinations enough that I would break the rule if I had a craving. Hey–a girl’s gotta have her smoothies!
5. Melons and Watermelon Alone. Both Melon and Watermelon contain more water content than other fruits and do not take long to digest and so should be eaten alone. I have broken this rule as well though, because I have made smoothies with melon. Like I said, these are just guidelines, feel it out and do what works for you!