completely confused...

[britaniefaith]

My head is spinning after reading so much information about proper Food Combining. It seems like it is SO important to follow proper food combining rules yet why in Alissa's book does she share a food combining chart and also so many recipes for foods that are obviously NOT combined properly? same with 90% of all the recipes I am finding in Raw Food books and sites, etc. I know when you first go Raw you aren't suppose to worry about food combining and just eat whatever you want, etc but I am really serious about wanting to eat as safe and as good as I possibly can and I'd rather not wait it out, I'd like to start NOW... yet I am just so confused by one person saying one thing and someone saying something else...

Should I just not worry about food combining rules and instead just do what feels right???

[RawChicky]

I personally think the most important thing is to just not combine fruit with anything besides greens (like in a green smoothies) Other than that, don't worry about it unless it bothers you.

[Ama]

Personally, I don't worry about food combining... not yet. I've been raw for 10 months and I'm not ready for the "strictness" of it. After reading the charts it seems that I'd have to be mostly be eating mono-meals which is not for me right now. Your body will tell you if it really doesn't like something.

[lavendarJ]

I would tell you to do what feels right... I have been food combining for a very long time- way before my raw journey....I think you should just use a common sense approach at this point in the game and then if you want, you can delve a little further....

I will say this: In my opinion, so far I have noticed that there is a difference with food combining raw versus food combining on a SAD. With a SAD, I was always much more strict and followed combining principles to the letter....With raw foods, I have found that I don't have to be so strict. For example, I have eaten raw dishes like the oatmeal cookies/granola I make... that's oats, raisins, nuts, agave and cinnamon spice. Technically, this is a bad combinations of sweets, grains and proteins... In the SAD world this is not a good combination...But eating the cookies raw doesn't bother me at all... so it's definitely a individual thing...as another example, personally, I could not do a green smoothies with the mixture of fruits and dark green veggies; ideally fruits and veggies should not be combined but hey, it works for many people- this is a bad combo for me and I know that for my tummy, it would be trouble but many others on the site are able to enjoy them

Hence, although I believe in food combining with the same passion that I believe in raw living, I am learning that this raw journey is individual...It seems that embracing a raw living has made life much more simplified. So just go with the flow and listen to how your body talks to you when you eat things-

[eatyourbroccoli]

pay attention to how you feel after you eat things in different combinations

this will be your best guide

[britaniefaith]

I personally think the most important thing is to just not combine fruit with anything besides greens (like in a green smoothies) Other than that, don't worry about it unless it bothers you.

so then that would mean no dried fruits with nuts or fruit/nut bars, etc??

[garden granny]

1. FRESH FRUIT does not combine with anything else except leafy greens.
2. nuts, seeds, dried fruit - all combine together
3. dried fruits, young coconuts, and bananas combine with avocados
4. DO NOT mix avocado with nuts or seeds

These are the only 4 things I try to pay attention to in food combining. It always works for me. If I combine things wrong in the above group - I feel it with bloating/gas & discomfort. It takes awhile usually if you just started a raw food diet before your body is "clean" enough to feel the bad combinations. I hope this helps you. Just follow the above list.:)

[RowanC]

I'm pretty sure that Alissa says don't worry about food combining...
I think that's good advice.

People try too hard to complicate this, in my opinion.

[barose]

I follow some "rules" based on experience. If I eat melon with anything else, my stomach will be upset. Some of us do have to worry. ;) So I eat melon and most fruits alone... and I do mix other fruits and greens. Thats pretty much all I follow for now.

[hypnocmt]

I find that the only thing that affects me is if I eat fresh fruit with veggies. Makes gas. The veggies take awhile to get thru the digestion, whereas the fruit breaks down quickly. So if you combine them, the fruit gets stopped up by the veggies and starts to ferment, making gas.

Otherwise I am fine.

Don't sweat it. Even the "worst' food combos are beter than anything on sad.

Now that Im more than 6 mos in at 95% raw, I don't even think abut the combining much to be honest. Its pretty much a non-issue.

I pretty much eat fruits with fruits (although green smoothies are GREAT)

and veggies with veggies

and it's as easy as that!

[eatyourbroccoli]

so then that would mean no dried fruits with nuts or fruit/nut bars, etc??

only if dried fruits with nuts or fruit/nut bars upset your tum.

[RawVee]

Should I just not worry about food combining rules and instead just do what feels right???

Britanie, honey, please take this as it's meant--with love.

RELAX.

The joy of eating raw is that it is so easy, so healthy, and so uncomplicated. If you wake up and want to eat peaches all day long, so be it. If you want raw pizza for breakfast, do it. The more you obsess about your weight, food combining, etc., the less enjoyable raw will become, and that can lead to you getting too frustrated.

Your posts have been consistently filled with a lot of fears. And while I understand that you have some issues around food that you are dealing with, please take what everyone here is saying to heart. I've seen a LOT of people who are serious raw foodists tell you to not worry, to eat whatever you want, to stop worrying so much. What else can we tell you to help you feel at ease? You are feeding your body healthy, whole foods. Food combining, schmood combining. I think you're so in your *head* that you're having challenges listening to your *body*. What is so great about raw is that once you're living the raw lifestyle, your body will tell you what it wants. You just have to listen, and not let the pesky little mind elves get in the way. :)

Remember, this is a journey, but it's one that can be full of joy or full of fear, and that's your choice. Stop worrying, and start LIVING.

(((((((((((((((((Britanie)))))))))))))))))))

[dreamrawalwz]

Take it a step at a time. You just became raw and your'e VERY new at this. Please do not get offended, this is only out of caring and concern. Your posts do seem to be all about rigid "rules." Please be honest with yourself and ask if this is a form of control as well? Trust me, I understand. I do that with raw as well sometimes. I think you should focus on raw and getting healthy and let your mind and body heal. With that said, IF your body gets gassy and bloated with a fruit and nut combo or something, then dont combine those two items. However, if you feel fine eating that combination, then dont worry about it!

[Mialsse]

I'm not into "rules" concerning eating, but I am curious about this topic. Is food combining more an issue for comfort (bloating, etc), or are there actual safety issues involved as well? Again, I'm not into rules (nor do I want to be), but with all the "food combining" questions - it kind of peaked my curiosity to find out *why* ?!

[garden granny]

a little bloating & gas/discomfort is all that could happen - its no big deal, nothing to worry about, believe me, if it happens, you'll feel it, then you won't want to eat that combination any more thats all. It has to do with the way some foods digest differently than others.

[britaniefaith]

Britanie, honey, please take this as it's meant--with love.

RELAX.

The joy of eating raw is that it is so easy, so healthy, and so uncomplicated. If you wake up and want to eat peaches all day long, so be it. If you want raw pizza for breakfast, do it. The more you obsess about your weight, food combining, etc., the less enjoyable raw will become, and that can lead to you getting too frustrated.

Your posts have been consistently filled with a lot of fears. And while I understand that you have some issues around food that you are dealing with, please take what everyone here is saying to heart. I've seen a LOT of people who are serious raw foodists tell you to not worry, to eat whatever you want, to stop worrying so much. What else can we tell you to help you feel at ease? You are feeding your body healthy, whole foods. Food combining, schmood combining. I think you're so in your *head* that you're having challenges listening to your *body*. What is so great about raw is that once you're living the raw lifestyle, your body will tell you what it wants. You just have to listen, and not let the pesky little mind elves get in the way. :)

Remember, this is a journey, but it's one that can be full of joy or full of fear, and that's your choice. Stop worrying, and start LIVING.

(((((((((((((((((Britanie)))))))))))))))))))


Thank you SO much. Your right, alot of my posts are about fears and weight issues but honestly, it's more about just weight for me, I just want to be more healthy and I want to feel GOOD for once in my life and not have my whole world revolve around my health issues and I just get so confused when I hear one person saying to follow rules while eating Raw and then hear another say "eat whatever you want, whenever you want!" and it's hard to know which one to believe! but I think your right, MY BODY will tell me what it needs and in time, figure out what is good for it. I just need to give it time!

[RawGoddess13]

Fruit & dark leafy greens are indeed a great combo (someone on page one said they aren't). Greens are not considered veggies they are actually plants & weeds. That is why so many of us enjoy our daily green smoothies b/c they should not upset the stomach at all. The only combo rules I follow are for juicing, which I have been doing for over 3 yrs. Not to confuse you anymore Brit b/c I don't think you have a juicer but with juice: apples, pineapples, lemon, & limes are neutral and can be combined with all fruits & veg. Melon is always Alone, don't mix with any other type of melons even. And cabbage should be taken as a shot by itself within 30 seconds of being juiced b/c it will lose all its nutrients. I eat whatever whenever, who cares we are new. If something makes you sick take note.

[sport]

Food combining rules are not just there because of how the mix may make you feel.
It is about allowing your body the chance to absorb as much nutrients as possible from the food.
If the enzymes needed for breakdown and absorbtion do not complement each other then you will not get the best out of your meal. This is why many will tell you that mono eating is best (but a bit boring).
There is no need to get paranoid about it though.
Think of it as if your body was a car. If you put the right mix of fuel in to it then you will get more MPG but if the mix is a little off the optimum, you may reduce your milage a bit but it will not do the car any harm.

[dustandbreath]

I am learning quite a bit (thanx, sport) reading these, but I can say that I understand a bit, Brit, on what you are going through. When you see a "Don't" or "never" or "you should" it sounds like a really huge big deal. And if you start prowling around on this site you find people do and say all kinds of strange things. So I am just learning to chill a bit and say simply: I am eating good stuff, my body is changing for the healthier, and I am not going to get paranoid and worried in this new large universe of eating raw.

And if I combine something that makes me, well, a bit gassy, then I will stay away from people. Although the older you get the less you care what they think . . . lol. Using the above "fuel mix" analogy by sport, I would say: people will also tell you that putting 92 octane in your car does not do that much more for it than 89, and certainly doesn't justify the extra cost of fuel. Sometimes, although I have not even a smidgen of Sport's raw knowledge, I think that is the way with raw: all the pickiness has some value, but at the same time, if we let it control us, the added value of a few more nutrients may not be worth the worry, and may not increase our bodies' health by "that" much. This is not knocking the above wisdom. It is just a measured approach.

[belleadonna]

I'm pretty sure that Alissa says don't worry about food combining...
I think that's good advice.

People try too hard to complicate this, in my opinion.

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