Food combining [Ayurveda]

Rrr

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
23
Hey,

I recently read an old post here which mentioned Ayurveda. For those who don't know, Ayurveda or Ayurvedic medicine is a system of Hindu traditional medicine native to the Indian subcontinent (from wikipedia).

Ayurveda has "guidelines" for ideal/not ideal food combinations. One combination that really caught my eye was milk and fruit.

Milk and fruit, according to Ayurveda, is a bad combination. Bananas and milk is an especially bad combination. Fruit is best, they really emphasize this, to be eaten by itself. Milk is also best to be drank by itself. You can do a quick google search for a list of recommended food combinations. There are exceptions to many rules. For example, milk with dates is okay. Fruit with some other fruit is also okay.

"Poor combining can produce indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction and gas formation and, if prolonged, can lead to toxemia and disease."

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions about this, because it's basically just the opposite of what is recommended here and by Peat. Fruit with milk is essentially the core of many peaters' diet, oj and milk being the most popular combination.

I'm not an expert in either field, peating or Ayurveda, so I don't really know what to think.
 

pboy

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
1,681
Re: Food combining

I used to be interested in that, a lot of American and even modern indian ayurvedic practioners are kind of just giving a modern interpretation. Ive read a lot of passages from old texts, and many many articles, videos, and other things having to do with real Ayurveda, and have experimented in a way that the original writers of the vedas have done. Isolated, meditation mind, bhang, whole focus is on understanding mechanics of life. There is for sure something to do with food combining but its not always what they say, and some of the stuff comes across as contradictory. Really the only thing that matters is that acids affect the digestion of other things. Acids alone are harsh. So its equally bad to put lemon juice on a rice dish, tho modern 'ayurvedic practioners' (what a joke, they are nothing compared to the gurus of old...like really, its actually a joke) will recommend things like this, and/or using ACV and other stuff. Acidic things like fruit should ideally be eaten alone, hour before or so other things. Unless its a non acidic fruit like figs or melons. Everything else goes. The real food combining has to do with getting all the nutrients in a balanced way from the components of your meal, and being tonified liquid to solid/solutes wise.

Milk and OJ ideally shouldn't be together, it might not affect overall digestion but it confuses the body, or irritates it. Acidic things want to be rushed out basically whereas other things want to be in a rythmn. OJ, wait 30 mins to an hour, then whatever else is fine. I also think too much insoluble fiber can also be irritating and want to be rushed out, anything that's bitter or astringent or harsh in some way. I see things like that, herbs spices and all, even something like a whole grain or dark vegetables...as more a medicinal affect, not a nourishing thing. Putting them on or with meals just means you get less efficient results from both sides, less medicinal, and also less nourishing from the food aspects. Its actually really easy to tell if you have a sensitive palate and are used to turning food into a liquid before you swallow it, swishing things around in your mouth to sense it. Spices, tannic things, and others literally ruin the palate and way the whole saliva flow works...so it kind of ruins a meal
 
OP
R

Rrr

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
23
Re: Food combining

@pboy

Thanks for the reply.

Do you agree with Ayurveda about bananas and milk? Should I avoid eating them together?
 

pboy

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
1,681
Re: Food combining

its kinda pushing it but bananas might be soft enough...just gauge it by feel
 
OP
R

Rrr

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
23
Re: Food combining

So you don't their combination is "toxic forming" like many Ayurveda websites are saying?
 

mt_dreams

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2013
Messages
620
Re: Food combining

The one takeaway I took from doing food combining for a couple of years was to eat quick digesting food first before slow digesting food within any given meal. I haven't had heartburn or any acidic burbs since doing this. I also usually keep liquids to 1 cup max while eating

Re fruit & milk, my memory from my food combining days seems to be opposite of Rrr & pboys. I had the most digestion discomfort when I ate high alkaline fruits like papaya or watermelon with cheese, so maybe cheese is different than milk. Same thing with regards to bananas, then again I don't do well with potatoes & milk either, so it might be a starch issue. I don't think the stomach desires to get acidic fruit out of the stomach faster for health reasons, rather the stomach doesn't have to do as much digesting with acidic fruit, thus the digestion time is often much quicker.
 

DaveFoster

Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2015
Messages
5,027
Location
Portland, Oregon
JRMoney15 said:
+1. If you have a broken digestive system and inflamed gut, then yes, food combining causes problems.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom