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Weekly Newsletter Archive >
Digestive Strategies
Digestive Strategies
Aug 20, 2009
Did you know? There are some strategies you can try that may seem a bit “unusual” that can jumpstart your digestive health? Here are two different protocols you may consider trying. Keep in mind that these practices work for some people and are ineffective for others. Neither is harmful, so if you choose, you can try one or both and see if you find any improvement. The only way to find out what is right for you is to experiment: try it, pay close attention to your body’s response, keep track in your journal and assess the changes.
If you are experiencing many health issues and digestive problems, you might want to consider trying either a food combining plan or food sequencing. The idea behind them is that by eating meals combined in a particular way you enhance digestion and decrease stress on your body systems. It is based on the amount of time it takes for your body to digest certain foods. For example fruits are digested most quickly – within an hour. Animal proteins take the longest – up to 6 hours to digest. Carbohydrate foods like whole grains and starchy vegetables take 2-3 hours to digest. So let’s begin by looking at the basic rules for a food combining plan:
The premise is this: Different foods require different digestive enzymes – some acid and some alkaline. When acid and alkaline mix they neutralize each other slowing digestion. For example proteins require an acidic environment and carbohydrates (starches and fruits) require a more alkaline environment. Any quick digesting foods – such as fruit – must wait until the slowest digesting foods leave the stomach before they can be digested and exit – a process which can sometimes take 6-8 hours. During this time they undergo decomposition and fermentation producing gas and possibly indigestion. Neutral foods are non starchy vegetables of all kinds and water.
Many people have found basic food combining done for a period of time improves digestive function and speeds up digestion. Very simply, here are some basic guidelines (taken from “The Mysterious Cause of Illness” by John Matsen:
It’s suggested that you consume a cup of warm water with the juice of ½ a lemon squeezed in as well as a pinch of cayenne pepper upon arising to stimulate your digestive juices. Then eat fruit first thing in the morning all by itself and eat nothing else for at least an hour. Eating lightly early in the day is recommended as it is thought that the digestive juices can then be used to detoxify the body.
Never eat starchy carbs (grains and starchy vegetables) and proteins at the same meal. A carbohydrate meal (whole grains and vegetables, both starchy and non-starchy) may be eaten for lunch when it will be burned as energy/fuel and a protein meal (fish, chicken, turkey and non-starchy vegetables or a salad) for dinner when it will be used to build muscle and tissue. You may always eat non-starchy vegetables with protein. Always consume the protein part of the meal first and then the vegetables or salad. Only eat one type of protein at a meal. In other words no “surf and turf!” No sweets of any kind, including fruit, should be eaten directly after a protein meal. If protein is difficult for you to digest, you might try taking an “acid” before a protein meal to aid digestion such as a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 4 oz. of water. Chew all food close to a liquid state before swallowing (good advice regardless).
Food combining may also help if your have a problem with irritation of the ileocecal valve as well. In that case, try avoiding “scratchy” fiber – granola, raw vegetables, wheat bran. Soak grains and steam or otherwise cook vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, celery, etc. that may cause a problem. Of course fermented and/or sprouted grains, seeds and vegetables have been predigested and should pose no problem.
Water is the most neutral food and you can have it at anytime EXCEPT while actually eating your meal. The goal is to interfere with the production of digestive juices as little as possible.
The next protocol is called Food Sequencing. The basic premise of this practice is to “layer” your meal by eating all of each food by itself and then moving on to the next food, rather than taking a bite of this and then a bite of that. Therefore, the concept says if you eat five different foods at a meal and eat each in the correct sequence, there will be five different digestive processes occurring simultaneously, each layer having the different enzymes according to the needs of that particular food. The thinking is if you take a mouthful of each different food, your stomach releases both acid and alkaline digestive enzymes and they cancel each other out. It’s called “strata digestion” – a concept that’s been around for over 50 years.
To try sequencing the basic rules are: Eat the quickest digesting, most watery food first and chew foods close to liquid consistency before swallowing; eat with 100% attention on the taste of the food. Basically you begin with fruits/vegetables and progress to carbohydrates, seeds/nuts, dairy and animal proteins last. Of course eating fewer different foods at each meal is believed to optimize digestion by simplifying it. Here’s a short list of digestion times of foods:
Water – leaves immediately when stomach is empty and goes into intestines.
Juices – 15-20 minutes
Fruits – 20-40 minutes
Raw vegetables (salads, leafy greens, etc.) – 30-40 minutes
Cooked vegetables – 40-50 minutes
Starchy vegetables (squashes, yams, potatoes) 60 minutes
Grains – 90 minutes
Legumes, Beans – 90 minutes
Seeds – 2 hours
Nuts – 2-1/2-3 hours
Dairy – anywhere from 90 minutes to 5 hours
Animal protein:
Whole egg – 45 minutes
Fish – 30 – 60 minutes
Chicken – 1-1/2 -2 hours
Turkey – 2-2-1/4 hours
Beef, lamb – 3-4 hours
Pork – 4-1/2 – 5 hours
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As you can see, there are different schools of thought and different ways you can vary your meals if you find you’re having digestive problems. Many of these protocols have been around for years, but today the first course of action many times is to prescribe an antacid or other medication. My suggestion is to always exhaust natural methods and supplements first before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs. I also encourage you to be mindful – pay close attention to the foods you use to fuel your body and how they affect you. You are the expert on you! And the ultimate responsibility for your health lies with you as well.
As always I wish you overflowing, abundant health, joy and peace and I call you BLESSED! Ann
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