Food combining
Encyclopedia
Food combining is a term for a nutritional approach that advocates specific combinations of foods as central to good health and weight loss (such as not mixing carbohydrate
-rich foods and protein
-rich foods in the same meal). One randomized controlled trial
study of the efficacy of food-combining for weight loss has been reported in the peer-reviewed
medical literature and found no evidence that it was effective. The Hay diet is one type of food combining diet.
Eating habits are often part of a culture and differ among societies, particularly in developed nations where food and leisure time are in abundance. For instance, it is common for French to abstain from drinking nonalcoholic fluids during a meal, saving their water until the end, after dessert. The ritualized nature of a multi-course English (British) meal in Great Britain is another example. Some societies may typically consume sweets before or during a meal rather than at the end as a dessert. In Japan, the order of food and drink or soup consumption is often ritualized. These cultural habits may have evolved to maximize the nutritional benefit of food through improved digestion rather than the more modern food combining objective of weight loss. Alternatively these nutritional impacts of eating culture may be secondary to the social evolutionary component.
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
-rich foods and protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
-rich foods in the same meal). One randomized controlled trial
Randomized controlled trial
A randomized controlled trial is a type of scientific experiment - a form of clinical trial - most commonly used in testing the safety and efficacy or effectiveness of healthcare services or health technologies A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a type of scientific experiment - a form of...
study of the efficacy of food-combining for weight loss has been reported in the peer-reviewed
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
medical literature and found no evidence that it was effective. The Hay diet is one type of food combining diet.
Eating habits are often part of a culture and differ among societies, particularly in developed nations where food and leisure time are in abundance. For instance, it is common for French to abstain from drinking nonalcoholic fluids during a meal, saving their water until the end, after dessert. The ritualized nature of a multi-course English (British) meal in Great Britain is another example. Some societies may typically consume sweets before or during a meal rather than at the end as a dessert. In Japan, the order of food and drink or soup consumption is often ritualized. These cultural habits may have evolved to maximize the nutritional benefit of food through improved digestion rather than the more modern food combining objective of weight loss. Alternatively these nutritional impacts of eating culture may be secondary to the social evolutionary component.