People 

usually eat different types of food at a meal. But some types of food should not be eaten together. If you
eat things together that you should not have, you will not only be unable to assimilate all the nutrients but also at
risk for some negative side-effects.

Since foods have different chemical structures, some of them, if eaten together, may result in an unfavorable
chemical reaction in your body.

For instance, soya milk and eggs

This is because soya milk can reduce the activity of protease, which is used to help the human body assimilate
protein. Eggs are, of course, very rich in protein.

persimmons and sweet potatoes either.

Sweet potatoes produce hydrochloric acid in your stomach. Hydrochloric acid can help turn persimmon into
precipitant in your body. And precipitants can become insoluble stones, which you can neither digest nor
discharge.

Believe it or not, milk and chocolate do not match either

.While milk is rich in protein and calcium, chocolate contains oxalic acid. Eaten together, calcium from milk and
oxalic acid of chocolate can combine and form insoluble calcium oxalate, which is not only indigestible but also
can cause diarrhea.

Some fruits do not go well with seafood. If you eat grapes, haw, pomegranates or persimmon with
seafood,

you may become nauseous and have a distended and painful stomach. And you may also have diarrhea. This is
because these fruits contain tannin, which, when combined with protein, can produce insoluble and indigestible
materials. It is advisable that you eat these fruits four hours after you have eaten seafood.

Milk products do not go with some vegetables like broccoli, soya beans and spinach.

Chemicals in these vegetables negatively affect assimilation of calcium from the milk products.

Here are the basic rules of food combining:

Number one: Protein and carbohydrate concentrated foods

Breakdown of protein requires an acid medium, and digestion of protein dense animal
products requires high levels of hydrochloric acid. Since digestion of carbohydrate dense
foods requires an alkaline medium in order to be broken down, high carbohydrate foods that
have been mixed with high protein foods will not digest but will sit there fermenting,
producing indigestion, bloating and gas. And since this fermentation of carbohydrates will
inhibit the digestion of the protein, more gas, bloating and discomfort will be produced. This
makes the typical American meal, composed of a large hunk of meat along with potatoes and
bread, a recipe for digestive disaster.

Dr. Hay's research found that most protein foods are best digested when accompanied by a
fresh green salad. Other concentrated protein foods like nuts and seeds combine well with
acid fruits such as oranges, pineapples blackberries, or strawberries. They also work fairly
well with sub-acid fruits such as apples, cherries, mangos, or peaches. The vitamin C in these
fruits aids digestion of the mixture.
Number two: Eating two concentrated proteins together

Each type of protein requires a specific character, strength and timing of digestive juice
secretions. This means that no two types of concentrated protein should be consumed
together at a meal. Nuts, meat, eggs, cheese, or other protein foods should not be eaten
together. And no two types of animal protein should be eaten together, a rule that may be
hard to swallow by the surf and turf crowd.

Number three: Protein and fats

Fats inhibit the secretion of gastric juices needed to digest meat, fish, dairy products, nuts,
and eggs by as much as fifty percent. When fat concentrated foods are eaten with protein
concentrated foods, the digestive breakdown of the fats is delayed until gastric juices
complete their work on the complex proteins. This means fats will remain undigested in the
stomach for a long period of time. Although some high protein foods also contain high
amounts of fat, these fats will be held in suspension awaiting breakdown without impeding
gastric action. However, free fats such as oil, butter and milk fat will coat the gastric mucosa,
inhibiting gastric juice. This is why fried chicken is so hard to digest.

Number four: Acid fruits with carbohydrates

The enzyme in saliva that begins the breakdown of starch concentrated foods in the mouth
does the important job of converting complex starch molecules into more simple sugars. In
order to work, the enzyme requires a neutral or slightly alkaline medium, the natural
condition found in the mouth. When acid foods are eaten, the action of the enzyme needed to
break down starch is halted because the medium needed has been altered. Thus acid fruits
should not be eaten at the same meal as sweet fruits or other starches. This combination is
what makes spaghetti and other dishes combining tomatoes with starch so bloating.

Number five: Acid fruits with protein

Oranges, tomatoes, lemons, pineapples and other acid fruits can be easily digested and
produce no distress when eaten away from starchy and protein foods. However, when
included in a meal that contains a protein concentrated food, the acid fruits seriously hamper
protein digestion. This is in part what makes the typical American breakfast of orange juice,
bacon, eggs and toast such a digestive nightmare

Number six: Starch and sugar

Eating starches that have been disguised as sweets is not a good way to eat starch. Although
the "treat" produces an abundance of saliva, the saliva contains none of the enzyme needed to
digest the starch because the sugar has turned the environment acidic. This is why such items
as fruit filled Danish settle on the digestive tract like a sack of bricks. The carbohydrates are
fermenting in the body, producing noxious gases.

Number seven: Consuming melons

Melons should not be consumed with any other foods. Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew,
and the more exotic melons should always be eaten away from mealtime and alone. Melons
are meant to decompose quickly in the digestive system, which is what they will do if there is
no interfering with the process.

Number eight: Consuming milk

Milk is best left to babies who traditionally consume it alone, away from other foods. Milk
does not digest in the stomach, but in the duodenum, so the presence of milk in the stomach
does not promote secretion of gastric juice. The use of acid fruits with milk does not cause
any digestive difficulty, although the benefits of the antioxidant potential of the fruits may be
lost due to the affinity they have for the protein in milk

The goal of food combining is digestive bliss

If all this seems overwhelming, especially at first, here is the bottom line. Starches, fats, and
green vegetables may be eaten together as they require either an alkaline or neutral medium
for their digestion. Similarly, protein foods, green vegetables, sugars and acid fruits may be
eaten together as they require an acid or neutral medium for their digestion. Starches and
proteins, fats and proteins, proteins and acid fruits, starch and acid fruits, and starch and
sugars should not be eaten together for those people looking to attain optimal digestion and
gastric comfort.

Meals that contain the smallest number of courses will produce better digestive results. A one
course meal is ideal. As a general rule, simple meals are more conducive to good health than
are more elaborate meals, no matter how much attention the person planning the meal has
devoted to food combining.

As the typical American meal consisting of protein, carbohydrates and fats may remain in the
stomach for up to six hours, the potential is there for several hours of digestive misery. And
remember, carbohydrates are always the last to be digested. If another meal is eaten before
the first one has completely digested, the protein is again digested first, leaving the
carbohydrates to be stored as fat. This is why weight loss is a secondary benefit to food
combining. When foods are properly combined, they are not stored in a line waiting to be
digested.

On the other hand, carbohydrates eaten without proteins remain in the stomach for about one
hour or even less. A fruit meal remains in the stomach for an even shorter period of time. The
ideal regimen of food combining would be a fruit meal for breakfast, a starch meal with a
vegetable salad or non-starchy vegetables for lunch, and a protein meal with a salad and non-
starch vegetables for dinner.