You might disagree, but hear me out on this. I think one of the best ways to improve your digestion is to follow some very simple food combining rules.

One question I get a lot is, When you eat raw foods, do you have to avoid certain combinations? The answer is yes. But then, it doesn't have to be complicated.

I will show you some very simple ways you can use food combining to your advantage, and I will also list some food combinations that are perfectly fine, although many people still shun them.

Sugar and Fat

The main combination to avoid is sugar and fat. Sugar being any type of sugar such as fruits, dates, refined sugar, or anything sweet. Fat includes oils, avocados, nuts, and any other type of fatty foods.

The reason is that fat takes a longer time to digest, while sugar tends to digest quickly. When the two are mixed together in sufficient quantities, the sugar will ferment. Say hello to gas and bloating!

So the combinations to avoid include: dates and nuts, nuts and dried fruits, adding fat to fruit smoothies (including oils, nuts, etc.), and obviously eating fruit or sweets at the end of a meal.

However, let me also say that although this is the most important rule to follow, it is not completely rigid either. A little occasional combo of fruit and fat are okay, but generally, you'll find that avoiding this combination most of the time will solve a lot of your digestive problems.

Sugar and Starch

Another very bad combo is the combination of cooked starch and sugar, so this one obviously doesn't apply to a raw food meal. Starch includes bread, potatoes, pasta, etc.

This combinations leads to a lot of gas and fermentation. Examples include: raisin bread, all pastries, all cakes, all cookies, and eating sweets after a meal!

Concentrated Foods

You can understand the philosophy and science of food combining by understanding one simple idea: it's best to eat only one type of concentrated food at a meal.

Concentrated foods include anything that's not a fresh fruit or vegetables, or anything that's high in fat. For example, bread, meat, potatoes, nuts, seeds, avocados.

The reason is that concentrated foods take more time to digest, and when they are mixed together, they tend to conflict with each other and cause digestive problems.

So the idea is in one meal to have just one type of concentrated food, and accompany that with lots of vegetables. It's also best to eat fruits alone.

Unnecessary Rules

There are several rules of food combining that are really not necessary. Once you become more fluent in the language of food combining, you'll understand why. Let me give you a few:

Melons - There's no reason not to mix melons with other fruits. You can mix melons with any other fruit you want, without any problems. Just don't mix them with concentrated foods.

Fruits - Fruits may be combined with each other without problems. There's no need to divide them in categories of their own. The only exception is the banana, which should not be mixed with very acid fruits such as oranges. The reason is that bananas contain starch and this conflicts with the acidity in certain fruits.

Tomatoes - Although we eat tomatoes as a vegetable, it is a fruit in reality so it may be combined with other fruits if desired.

Greens Don't Count - Greens such as lettuce, celery, spinach, and other green leaves, don't even count in food combining. The reason is that they combine well with anything. They combine well with fruit as well as with any other food.

Simplify Combos

So those were a few tips to help you improve your diet and get you started with some food combining concepts.

The whole idea about food combining is to simplify meals. It means that a meal with 5 ingredients will digest more easily than a meal with 10. And a meal with 2 ingredients will be easier to digest than a meal with 5.

It's more important to vary our diet from meal to meal, rather than get all that variety in one meal!

As you learn more about food combining and a simple and easy raw food diet, you'll find that it's really the best way to stay healthy with a silent digestion, and best of all, it's also so enjoyable to eat that way!