Eating for Surf: Food Combining – Part 2

Eating for Surf

In our last blog, we introduced the concept of Trophology, or food combining. You can read that last blog here. The basic concept states that when foods are eaten in certain combinations, there can be tremendous health benefits based on how well you digest your food. The easier it is to digest your food, the more energy and nutrients you can gain from that food.

Lets talk about what this would actually look like. We’ve discussed the way trophology breaks down food into various groups. Here’s a quick recap:

The 5 major food groups of Trophology:

• Proteins (Red Meat, White Meat, Dairy, Nuts/Seeds)
• Carbohydrates (breads, rice, cereal, wheat, grains and pasta)
• Fruits (acidic and sub-acidic fruits, sweet fruits, melons)
• Vegetables (starchy and non-starchy vegetables)
• Fats (saturated and unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids)

Having an understanding of food in these groupings goes a long way into making healthy choices about what foods to combine. Here are some simple rules to begin with:

Never combine proteins and carbohydrates in the same meal

Western diets are full of these combinations (meat and potatoes, burgers and fries, etc.), but they are really bad for us. When we eat these together, the digestive juices that our bodies produce will cancel each other out and leave undigested food. This extends the digestion time and drains the body of energy, which is why people often get that ‘food coma’ after Christmas dinner.

Eat only one kind of protein per meal

Your body needs different digestive environments to digest different kinds of protein. Try to avoid eating meals like steak and eggs or meat and cheese. However, similar types of meat are ok, like beef and lamb or fish and shrimp.

Good fats can be eaten with protein, vegetables or carbs

Unsaturated fats, like olive oil or coconut oil, eaten with other foods, can help your body absorb nutrients and can also keep you regular.

Eat leafy greens and other non-starchy vegetables in all meals

Non-starchy vegetables are great for digestion and fat-burning, and help fill you up as well

Wait a while to eat dessert

Sugar slows down the digestive process and takes longer to absorb. Eating sweets right after a meal can severely slow digestion.

Keep sweet fruits and acidic fruits separate

Acidic fruits (Lemons, Grapefruits, Pineapples) and Sub-Acidic Fruits (Apricots, Mangos, Papaya, Peaches) can be mixed, but avoid mixing either with sweet fruits (bananas, dates, raisins), as this can cause an uncomfortable imbalance in digestion.

Eat fruits alone

If eaten alone, fruits can aid as a cleanser for the digestive tract. Enjoying an extra serving of fresh fruit after a few days of poor food choices can leave you with more energy and less intestinal discomfort.

These are just a few of the main ideas behind food combining. Some of these ideas can be easy to get behind, while some can be as foreign as a new language.

It can be quite a challenge at first, to change your diet with the goal of losing weight and gaining more energy. We all know the stories of many people who have tried dieting, only to fail miserably. Heck, many of us have lived those stories. But instead of focusing on limiting what we eat, let’s change the way that we eat our foods.

If you’re interested in learning more about trophology, I recommend getting a copy of The Tao Of Health, Sex, and Longevity, by Daniel Reid. It covers quite a few topics.