Prevent Indigestion With Right Food Combination
One of the main reasons for indigestion is inappropriate combination of foods. Different constituents of our meal have different speed of digestion. Moreover, different types of foods need different environments for digestion. Some foods need acidic environment, whereas others need alkaline environments for digestion.
To prevent indigestion, you should always choose foods that are compatible with each other. Foods that are digested rapidly should not be combined with foods that require a long time for digestion. You should not combine foods that require acidic enzymes for digestion with foods that could be digested only with the help of alkaline enzymes.
To prevent indigestion, you should follow the following food combination rules:
Do not combine protein with starches
Most traditional meals are a combination of proteins and starches such as meat with bread, potato or pasta. However, this combination is not appropriate for healthy digestion. Starches and carbohydrates require alkaline environment for digestion, whereas, protein requires an acidic enzyme called pepsin for digestion. Besides the different nature of the digestive enzymes, protein and starches have different times for digestion. It takes about three hours to digest protein, while carbohydrates could be digested within two hours.
Do not combine carbohydrates with sour foods
Carbohydrates need ptyalin, an alkaline enzyme, for digestion. Sour foods contain acids, which neutralize the alkaline environment required for carbohydrate digestion, hindering digestion of starchy foods. To prevent indigestion, you should have sour foods, such as citrus fruits at least 15 minutes before having any carbohydrate or starchy food.
Do not combine proteins with fat
Fats could inhibit secretion of digestive enzymes needed for protein digestion.
Do not combine proteins with sour foods
Sour foods, such as citrus fruits, could cause difficulty in digestion of proteins.
Have only one protein
Different types of proteins need enzymes of different strength for digestion. In addition, different proteins have different times for digestion. It can be rather strenuous to digest more than one protein at the same time.
Do not combine milk with melon
According to Ayurveda, milk and melons should not be eaten together. Milk has a laxative property, whereas melon is diuretic. Acidic enzymes secreted for melon digestion curdles the milk. It is suggested that milk should not be taken with any sour food.
