Our digestive systems are complex, they can multitask, and digestion happens in other areas besides the stomach – in fact, most of it takes place in the small intestine. When matched for energy intake the ‘food combining’ diet did not bring any additional loss in weight and body fat in both studies (see Golay et al., 2000 and Damayanti et al., 2013).Īnother major flaw is the misunderstanding of basic biochemistry and physiology of human digestion. a balanced diet using body weight as the outcome measure. To my knowledge, only two studies has examined the benefits of ‘food combining’ vs. There isn’t any evidence to show such assertions. The suggested benefits of ‘food combining’ is that it assists in digestion, weight loss, greater energy, better skin, and enhanced absorption of nutrients.īut does ‘food combining’ really work? At the base level it sounds good, however it is only backed by anecdotal evidence. If laws aren’t followed proponents of the diet claim you will suffer digestive issues due to partially undigested food that “rots” or “putrefies” causing bloating, constipation, gas or diarrhoea.

Other rules include not consuming fat with protein, and only consuming fruits/dairy on an empty stomach. The theory is based on proteins (meat, poultry, fish, eggs) requiring an acidic environment for denaturation, whereas starchy carbohydrates (rice, pasta, bread, potato) need an alkaline environment. Combining carbs, fat and protein in each meal is commonly referred to using the term ‘food combining’, with the theory being that if you skip certain foods at various times it will allow for efficient digestion, decrease disease risk and toxin build-up.

Are carbs digested in the stomach