Food-combining: Bringing metabolism into balance

By Melinda J. Hewitt

JAKARTA (JP): While the concept of food-combining is relatively new to Indonesia, nutritionist, author and chief editor of popular natural health magazine Majalah Nirmala Andang Gunawan has a lot to share on the subject.

Andang's interest in food-combining started in 1994 from her determination to find a natural diet for her husband, who was suffering from liver disease and several other ailments over a period of six years.

She was introduced to food-combining and within a two-and-a- half-month period her husband lost eight kilograms. His liver problem and all other ailments, such as asthma, gastric problems and chronic fatigue, vanished and he became healthy, slim, and energetic.

Empowered by her experiments with food-combining, Andang recommended it to friends who also enjoyed similar success.

"Because I wanted to prove that food-combining was right, I decided to study nutrition ... I wanted to be responsible for what I said.

"It was a process. When I was writing my book, I was still studying and I had to study many natural health books as well as medical books.

"If I wrote a book I could not share all my knowledge. Then a friend said to me 'why not start a magazine?' I thought why not. Science is dynamic, it is in constant renewal. So I thought a magazine is the answer to follow the dynamic nature of things, it can have continuity."

Thus Majalah Nirmala was born. The magazine now enjoys a niche market with a growing following of readers who zealously digest its contents.

Andang describes food-combining as the art of eating. It is the art of combining food so that it is in harmony with the way our digestive system works, maintaining the correct Ph. balance and in sync with the cycles of digestion of our bodies.

She explains the cycles of digestion as follows. There are three cycles within a 24-hour period. For example, from 4 a.m. until noon is for elimination. 12 p.m. until 8 p.m. is for digestion, then from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m. our body concentrates on absorption or assimilation.

The goal of food-combining is to cooperate with the mechanism of digestion. If digestion is functioning well, our metabolism will function well.

"Over the past 150 years our eating habits have changed totally. Why do so many people fall sick nowadays? The change in our dietary pattern is too fast for the evolution of our own body. For thousands of years human beings only ate fruits, vegetables and seeds, then we suddenly changed ... The process was too fast, our body could not adjust."

Andang recommends that people eat a lot of vegetables and fruits and that different foods be combined according to the time required for digestion.

In brief, fruit must be eaten alone either at least 15 minutes prior to meals or by itself. Vegetables may be eaten either with protein or with starch but starch and protein cannot be eaten together.

There is a rationale behind this. Fruit remains in the stomach for between 10 minutes and half an hour. Meat eaten with vegetables requires four hours in the stomach. If starch is eaten with vegetables it needs three hours. If protein foods are eaten with starch, six or more hours are needed depending on the type of protein. If that protein contains a lot of fat it delays the process of digestion. It would remain in the stomach for six to eight hours.

Feeling hungry

When you feel hungry that does not mean your stomach is empty.

"I may, for example, have just eaten a meal of meat and rice, but after a few hours I feel hungry again. Why? Because the body has not received the required nutrients, so it sends a signal to the brain which in turn tells us we are hungry."

Andang emphasizes that the combination of foods from the various food groups is very important. It is true that our body needs the four food groups: protein, starch, vitamins and minerals, and fats, but they all cannot be digested at the same time.

There are a total of 45 types of nutrients, but those whole foods must be digested and become nutrient components. These components then transform into energy. After the process of digestion is completed, when they transform into nutrient components, then they look for a partner.

For example, iron needs vitamin C in order to be absorbed by the body. If you eat without combining foods properly then the process of digestion does not run efficiently and you receive fewer nutrients, or in some cases none at all. If we consume a lot of protein but less food rich in vitamins and minerals, it is not effective.

According to Andang, too much protein may be harmful to our health.

If there is too much protein in our body it putrefies due to the long process of digestion required. Over a period of time the accumulated food becomes toxic. Toxins enter through the small intestine into the bloodstream and accumulate in the blood vessels in a similar way to plaque.

It is just like rubbish accumulating in a drain, the blood is circulating in the body carrying the rubbish with it. Then the blood cannot flow and provide nutrients to other parts of the body. This will be manifested in allergies or flu. Sometimes our behavior is also affected and we feel stressed because not enough nutrients are reaching the brain.

Later the organ tissues which do not receive enough nutrients start to degenerate, then the cells become abnormal and this can lead to cancer.

Bad bacteria

"Doctors say disease is caused by harmful or 'bad' bacteria. Bad bacteria will not be able to live within our body if the place is healthy and clean.

"We all have both good and bad bacteria in our body but if our immune system is high then the bad bacteria become inactive or leave -- it is not their habitat. But if there is putrefying food or undigested food (in our colon), that is the ideal place for them to develop. Why don't doctors ask why does the bad bacteria predominate? Why is it multiplying? Something must be amiss. Natural health practitioners will say, "It is not the virus or the bacteria, but the soil."

While the effects of poor food-combining and poor diet in general take years to take their toll on the body and the immune system, the upside is that the effects of a well-combined and nutritionally balanced diet are quickly visible.

From Andang's experience as a nutritionist, someone who practices food-combining will feel the benefits within two weeks. Their face will look radiant, clean and clear. The whites of the eye will become very clear and clean. They will feel more energetic and will sleep well. The first benefit usually experienced is increased energy. Later we stabilize at our ideal body weight.

"Losing weight is just a side effect. If your weight should decrease it will, if it is not supposed to reduce it will not. I emphasize that the aim of food-combining is to bring the metabolism into balance."

Andang assures that food-combining does not have to dampen our social life. "If once or twice a week we are unable to eat a properly combined meal it will not ruin our total regime. When eating out, it is best to ask the waiter about the menu in detail and if necessary something can be omitted or added where needed."

There are no health risks for someone who follows food- combining according to Andang. The only thing that frequently concerns her is that people may not understand how to implement it. Therefore, in her book Kombinasi Makanan Serasi - Pola Makan untuk Langsing & Sehat (Food-combining - a diet pattern for health and slimming), she has provided a shopping guide in one chapter as well as practical and simple recipes.

She suggests, however, that anyone suffering from a serious illness should plan a diet with a nutritionist skilled in food- combining along with the patient's own physician. From her experience it is also safe for pregnant women and young children.

Eating as ritual

Cigarettes and alcohol while not "food" as such, influence digestion too because they are toxic. The chemicals and compounds can affect food absorption. The program will be less effective, for example, if someone smokes and follows food-combining.

Andang says eating has to become a ritual. Our state of mind also influences digestion and therefore we should create a happy and peaceful mood at meal times and eat together as one family.

"Eat slowly, chew slowly and peacefully. Don't speak too much and don't eat while reading. There should be concentration on eating. Don't get up straight away from the table. We should give time for our digestion, it has to work hard! And don't push the food down straight away with a lot of water. We should eat and drink calmly."

Andang feels that most people lack education in leading a healthy lifestyle and eating natural foods. Even though Indonesia has an abundant variety of fruits and vegetables, she hopes that Indonesians will be more industrious in planting vegetables. "They think that Western food or fast food is better, then they forget what we already have ... I tell them let's go back to what we have."