Food Order & Digestion

goncalvesca1

I've been reading (well, trying to read) about food order for proper digestion lately. Most diet resources will tell you to eat lean protein first, or to have some protein along with your fruit or carbs in order to slow the digestive process and make you feel more full. But then if you read about food order and digestion, many sources say that if you eat protein first, the carbs/fruits/veggies you add to your stomach afterward have to sit there and wait for the protein to digest before they get their "turn," and they begin to rot and ferment in your stomach, causing gastrointestinal distress.

I am not looking for a quick weight loss fix here, I am looking for a long term healthy approach to eating. What is going to make me live longer and feel better, you know?

I am getting the idea that you're supposed to eat fruit on an empty stomach and allow it to digest before eating more complex foods...but I'm also concerned now about dishes that combine different macronutrients. I often make dishes that have meat and vegetables mixed together. I'll throw some lean protein into my salad along with some seeds or nuts and even dried fruit. I usually mix the different macronutrients together in the same dish. How are these things affecting my digestion? Also, is it okay to mix some things but not others? For example, peanut butter and an apple versus cottage cheese with berries. Both mix fruit with a protein source but the source is different. Is it bad to put chicken in your green salad from a digestive standpoint?

I am assuming there are at least a few rules that I could stick with most of the time to improve my digestive health without annihilating my current comfortable healthy eating habits. Like maybe I should eat my apple fifteen or twenty minutes *before* I have my salad of mixed greens with turkey, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds instead of after. Or maybe eat my greek yogurt after I have my peach instead of before. But I'm having a really hard time weeding out what information is good and what is gimmick and what is just misinformation (as we all know there are tons of diet resources on the web that are based on a couple of bad seeds of incorrect or misguided info). I'm sure it won't kill me to have a mix of steamed chicken and sauteed vegetables eaten together instead of separately, but I'm trying to find out if I should limit meals of mixed macronutrients to a few times a week or if it's okay to eat like that super regularly--for proper digestion. (Who wants foods rotting and fermenting in their stomach? I mean really?)

So, does anyone know anything about this? Do you have any good resources?

AllTehBeers

Wow that made my eyeballs spin. Honestly, I think you're making things really difficult. This would probably fall under the catagory of meal frequency. The timing of when you eat is hardly as important as what you eat. Proteins keep you fuller longer and vegetables are great for micronutrients. Other then that, don't kill yourself with overthinking.

Further reading by someone more knowledgable then I:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/529002-a-compliation-on-meal-frequency?hl=compliation+meal+frequency

VMarkV

It really doesn't matter. Just as long as you don't instantly inhale food after not eating, you should be good. Start off eating slow so that your body has time to produce bile to help emulsify your food...you also need a bit of dietary fat for bile production. Dairy quantities and various food allergies/intolerances might need to be considered too for digestion issues.

goncalvesca1

Thanks CreativeFreed...this is the kind of info I'm looking for!

I'm sorry if my post is confusing, I realize it's really wordy and that's because I wrote it right when I was thinking about this stuff instead of waiting to process some info.

I'm not new to fitness or nutrition, just new to understanding the physiological process of digestion and how it affects the way food fuels the body. The only clear fact I've been able to glean to this point is that raw fruit should always be eaten on an empty stomach so that its enzymes and nutrients can give their full effect.

I appreciate the basic approach to diet and I realize that micromanaging each bite of food that goes in my mouth is unnecessary. I'm not looking for an extreme eating plan or anything. I have read that, since different types of food require different digestion enzymes that sometimes conflict with each other's processes, one should eat fruit, veggies, carbs/starches, and then meats in that order so that proper digestion can take place for each food and your body is able to take the nutrients from the food.

I also read that if you eat fruit with other more complex foods, your body defaults to trying to digest the more complex food (like meats, which take up to three hours to go through digestion) and the fruit sits in your stomach and begins to ferment and rot as it waits for the enzymes that the stomach uses to break it down (since different enzymes are used for meats).

Is there anyone out there who knows what I am talking about and can recommend resources that will help me learn more about this kind of thing? I don't know what information is true, what is actually helpful, and what is blown out of proportion. Most of the stuff I am finding is directed toward people with digestive conditions, so they include considerations I don't personally need to make (like cooking food to mush in order to make it super digestible)...I want to learn about this process so I can make a few informed choices about the way that I eat and how I combine foods in a meal or dish.

Thanks everyone who has read this and tried to decipher it.

AllTehBeers

First, I would like to know where you have read this information.

Second, the only thing that would impair proper digestion would be a medical issue, as you've stated that you don't have. Your body is way smarter then you think and what you're talking about is micromanaging, to me, no matter how much you say it isn't. It takes a lot longer then a day for fruit to rot and ferment, which I don't think is possible in the human body. (Please link me to said study if I'm wrong.)

I don't think your body processes things in a strict order. It only sees macros and micros, not this is a fruit or a vegetable.

alanabeehave

We learned about 'proper food combing' in school and the general rule was to never mix carbs and protein for optimal digestion. Reason being is because protein takes longer to digest, carbs must wait in the stomach and a fermentation process begins causing gas, bloating and indigestion. But this is theoretical, who know if it's true?

BinaryPulsar

I have heard all this info before and I used to try and follow it, but it was so much that I found myself not eating when I needed to. I realized that there are a lot of ideas out there about digestion and food combining. Some people really believe in them and claim great health benefits from it (like in the body ecology diet book), but it doesn't mean these ideas are based in science. And I realized that how I feel is the real indicator of what my body needs. So, if eating foods together does not cause me problems, it's fine. If it does, then I pay attention to that. And it's always normal to have moments of indigestion. Following too many strict rules could lead to a delay in eating enough and that could lead to digestion problems. So, feel free to learn more and do what you feel is best for yourself (maybe read some books on it if you are interested in it). But, at this time I do not recommend worrying about it too much. I always try to check and double check everything to see if it has any science behind it. A really good resource that you would like is Michael Gregor of NutrtionFacts (dot) org. He has videos on almost every nutritional topic and he backs it all up with the best scientific studies. I still don't follow everything he says because he recommends lower protein than what I know my body needs. I listen to the science and I trust my own body. :flowerforyou:

AllTehBeers

it doesn't mean these ideas are based in science. And I realized that how I feel is the real indicator of what my body needs. So, if eating foods together does not cause me problems, it's fine. If it does, then I pay attention to that.

it's always normal to have moments of indigestion. Following too many strict rules could lead to a delay in eating enough

So, feel free to learn more and do what you feel is best for yourself (maybe read some books on it if you are interested in it). But, at this time I do not recommend worrying about it too much. I always try to check and double check everything to see if it has any science behind it

These three things. Its not relevent enough to make a difference unless certain foods affect how you feel.

PhsMotivator

I don't see a flaw in the desire to accumulate more knowledge. Might I recommend two places to start your research... "Nutrient Timing" by John Ivy, Ph.D and Robert Portman, Ph.D. and "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto.

BinaryPulsar

I don't see a flaw in the desire to accumulate more knowledge. Might I recommend two places to start your research... "Nutrient Timing" by John Ivy, Ph.D and Robert Portman, Ph.D. and "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto.

I don't see any flaw in that either.

mgiselle31

This article might help you.

http://www.puristat.com/bloating/Food-Combining.aspx

EDesq

I did not read but 3 sentences of your Post but I will say this from EXPERIENCE...Food Combining WORKS! Humans are the only animals that eat "helter skelter" and we have the diseases to show for it.

brower47

This is the equation I use to determine my food order, timing, spacial placement, temperature and chewing duration in order to optimize my digestion.

BrainyBurro

how important is speed?

DaddieCat

This is the equation I use to determine my food order, timing, spacial placement, temperature and chewing duration in order to optimize my digestion.

I lul'd

brower47

how important is speed?

With cheese? Very but that's a whole different equation.

firstsip

This article might help you.

http://www.puristat.com/bloating/Food-Combining.aspx

GET BEHIND ME, BOT.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

Back when I was trying every diet someone threw my way, I did the Suzanne Somers food combining thing. I did lose 30 lbs, and honestly I had no indigestion the whole time I did it, but trying to schedule when I could eat what was just getting ridiculous. And guess what. Now that I've lost more weight, I very rarely get indigestion anyway.

This would be a great post for you to read about keeping it simple. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants