Sunday, January 11, 2015

Food Combinations -- What to Eat When



Dr. George Goodheart (1918 - 2008) was a chiropractor who founded applied kinesiology.

In 1964, Dr. Goodheart discovered a correlation between muscles reacting in a strong or weak way when his patients came in contact with certain foods, nutrients or chemicals, regardless of their age or gender.

For example, when he asked a patient to hold a chemical-based sugar substitute in one hand and extend the opposite arm at a right angle to the body, no matter how hard the patient tried to hold the opposite arm in position, the muscles would become inexplicably weak.

This discovery, whereby the body inherently knows what serves its needs and what is harmful, became known as "Applied Kinesiology."

The International College of Applied Kinesiology was founded in 1975 to provide information and instruction on Dr. Goodheart's research to health care professionals. Dr. Goodheart served as chairman of the Research Committee for 32 years.

The following information was formulated from Dr. Goodheart's research.

When we eat what we eat is directly related to how much benefit we receive from it.

Inadequate absorption of food causes degeneration of tissue -- a combination of high protein and high starches inhibits the absorption of nutritional factors of foods and creates an unnecessary burden on the entire digestive system. Consequently, consuming large quantities of nutritious foods will yield little or no benefit if other foods consumed at the same time interfere with the proper digestion of vitamins and minerals of the nutritious foods.

Carbohydrates are digested mostly in the small intestine -- proteins are digested mostly in the stomach. Thus, it becomes problematic when combining carbohydrates and proteins.

For example, consuming a food rich in calcium (such as cheese) that reaches the small intestine when an alkaline digestive process is present, then very little of the calcium will be available. The calcium will have a chemical reaction with the alkali making it unable to be absorbable, thereby passing through and out of the body unused. No matter how much cheese is consumed, a calcium deficiency will occur because the calcium is not absorbed. However, if foods rich in calcium reach the small intestine when an acid condition is present, much of the calcium will be utilized.

When we consume carbohydrates (sugars and starches) the small intestine becomes alkaline, creating a condition whereby essential factors in other foods yield no benefit. Plus, the carbohydrates may also interfere with the digestion of certain proteins in the stomach area, thereby potentially causing partially digested protein foods to become toxic.

Conversely, fats leave the stomach largely unchanged and upon entering the small intestine cause the gall bladder to empty bile into the small intestine. The bile emulsifies the fat and releases fatty acid, thereby neutralizing alkaline secretions in the small intestine.

What to Eat When -- If consuming mostly carbohydrates, do not eat fats and if consuming mostly fats, do not eat carbohydrates. Do not combine high fats (butter, cream, bacon fat) with high starches (bread, potatoes, sweets, cereal, pasta) at any one meal. If consuming bacon and eggs for breakfast, do not include toast or cereal.

What to Eat When -- Do not combine carbohydrates and acids. Do not consume high starches and sugars with acids (orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar, etc.). When you consume orange juice with cereal it causes stomach acid but when combined with high protein (bacon and eggs) the digestive tract works fine.

What to Eat When -- Do not combine high proteins (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) with high starches (potatoes, cereal, breads, sweets) at the same meal. According to a study at the Mayo Clinic, sugars inhibit the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, thereby interfering with the digesting of proteins which require this acid for proper digestion.

Do not fear eating too much protein, unless you have no control over your appetite or have a medical condition that dictates otherwise. Any excess protein above your body's requirement for growth or tissue repair will be utilized as energy and body heat.

Dr. Goodheart's Rules (listed below) for good health involve eating enough of the essential foods and eating them in the right combinations:

1) Eat all kinds of meats, fish, eggs, leafy vegetables, citrus fruits as the safest way to avoid deficiencies.

2) Do not combine pure fats with high starches in any one meal.

3) Do not combine acids with high starches in any one meal.

4) Do not combine high proteins with high starches in any one meal.

5) Eat fats freely with proteins and acid solutions.

6) Be sure to get enough of each essential nutritional element as follows:

  • Meat, fish, fowl, eggs -- one serving of each or two servings of one per day with butter or other fat
  • Milk, buttermilk or cheese -- two glasses of raw organic milk or buttermilk, or two and one-half ounces of cheese per day (or one glass of milk or buttermilk plus an ounce or more or cheese)
  • Raw, low-starch fruits, and raw green and yellow vegetables -- two servings per day or one large salad bowl per day
  • One or two tablespoonfuls of a plain cod liver oil, or its equivalent in other fish liver oils, or their concentrates in capsules -- but if you use capsules, then be sure to take plenty butter fats and cream -- your liver must have fats, if it is going to make bile for you
  • If you are a carbohydrate eater, supplement with yeast or other equivalent Vitamin B Complex -- other natural fats and oils may also be necessary as the fact remains that natural fats and oils are absolutely necessary in ample quantities for natural, healthy metabolism.

I am not an expert in this area -- do your own research. I suspect we all have a different physiology and requirement for proper health maintenance. But if Dr. Goodheart's research is valid, then perhaps we should pay close attention to food combinations.
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Quote for the Day -- "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," Hippocrates
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Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and where proper nutrition also requires peace of mind.
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