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MANY people have strong beliefs about food and nutrition. Some individuals expound upon these beliefs with almost religious conviction. However, nutrition is an interdisciplinary science based on how food interrelates with body functions and how the body's cells use nutrients and other chemicals. Don’t let ‘experts’
veto fish and poiOne food belief of many self-proclaimed nutrition experts pertains to "food combining" or when and how you should eat certain foods. This belief was popularized by Herbert Shelton around the middle of the 20th century and was later revived by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond in their best-selling book, "Fit for Life."
They proclaim that you should not eat foods that contain starch with foods high in protein or with foods that contain acids like tomatoes, oranges and salad dressings with vinegar because their components are digested differently. This means fish and poi are out, rice and tofu are a no-no, and yogurt and fruit break all the rules.
A deceptive scientific-sounding explanation is given saying that starch needs to be digested in an alkaline environment whereas protein is digested in an acid solution. So, the claim is carbohydrates (starch and sugar) and protein can't be digested together.
The result of combination is indigestion and virtually any other health problem you can imagine.
This explanation indicates a poor understanding of the human digestive system. Digestion breaks down large complex chemical structures like starch, protein and fat into smaller ones so nutrients can be absorbed through the wall of the intestine. The absorbed nutrients are then mixed with body fluids like blood and are transported around the body to be taken up by cells that need them.
OFTEN proponents of this food combining concept will say protein in a meal stimulates the release of stomach acid which interferes with the digestion of starch in the stomach. This statement is partially true. Protein does stimulate stomach acid, but starch is not digested in the stomach anyway. The digestion of starch begins briefly in the mouth as it mixes with enzymes in saliva. But this is quickly stopped as the mostly undigested starch enters the stomach and mixes with stomach acid and other digestive juices. Then, the starch is gradually released from the stomach into the small intestine.
It is in the small intestine that starches are rapidly digested and then absorbed into the body. In fact, even protein digestion is just started in the stomach, with the vast majority of it taking place in the small intestine. People who have had their stomachs removed can still digest protein and starch.
As the acidic contents of the stomach are slowly released into the small intestine, they are neutralized by secretions from the pancreas, making the contents of the small intestine rather neutral -- neither acid nor alkaline. In this environment, the majority of protein digestion is completed along with digestion of starch and fat.
So don't let the food combining "experts" spoil your fish and poi, steak and potato, beans and rice, pasta and marinara sauce, or your fruits and nuts for that matter. Freedom of speech extends to writing about food and nutrition, producing infomercials, or getting on the talk-circuit. Choose your nutrition experts carefully.
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Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a sports nutritionalist in the
Department of Food Service and Human Nutrition,
University of Hawaii-Manoa.Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a food and nutrition consultant
and owner of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.
She is also responsible for the nutritional analyses indicated
by an asterisks in this section.