food combining

[peter]

I have been reading plenty lately about proper food combining. Two findings are striking: food combining advocates espouse, among other things, that (a) two different proteins (e.g. fish and eggs, or eggs and nuts, or cheese and eggs) should not be eaten in one meal, because supposedly two proteins cannot be digested efficiently simultaneously, and therefore, such combinations do not allow a person to derive nutriets efficiently from the foods, and (b) adding fats like butter or EFA's to protein foods retards protein digestion.

What are your thoughts on this? I always thought that fat should be added to protein meals. Also, i have heard that two proteins in one meal may enable a person to attain different amino acids.

[DN Moderator]

Ori's response:

The evidence shows that combining protein sources yields a higher amino acid score and a higher BV. As for fat and protein this is the best combination, fat and protein are also the main naturally occurring ingredients in nuts and seeds, which are the best primary fuel foods for humans.

[peter]

Simply put, plenty of fats like EFA's and butter should be added to one's protein meals, which may or may not contain a variety of protein sources, depending of course on one's tastes. Yes?

[DN Moderator]

Correct

[peter]

I received the AED book this morning, but have yet to open it, as i was out the door to work when the post-man delivered it. I look forward to reading it immensely, and perhaps, this food combining quandery is dealt with in the book. Hopefully this does not sound redundant given the nature of my earlier posts, but the more i read on proper food combining (Ivan Pavlov's work, etc.) the more i get confused. This is namely because this literature states explicitly that adding fats to protein retards hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach, meaning that protein digestion is impaired. If this is so, should one not avoid adding fats to protein-based meals? Yet, on the other hand, you have the high-fat, high-protein, low-carb camp suggesting that fat must be added in large amounts for protein to be digested properly, and for calories. Their rationale is that fat as been added to protein for thousands of years throughout history, and that not adding fat to protein results in 'rabbit starvation', also known, as diahrea, muscle loss, bone loss, lack of energy, etc. Who is right? One would assume that the scientists who study the digestive system would be correct is their advocation to avoid protein and fat meals, would they not? 

[DN Moderator]

In Ori's own words:

"There are no studies that have provided substantial evidence that a combination of protein and fat impairs digestion.  This is a fallacy.  Virtually all protein foods are naturally composed with protein and fat together.  Unlike carbs, which are metabolized in the small intestine, both fat and protein are metabolized in the stomach.  There is no confusion to this matter - protein and fat go hand in hand, and real life experience simply proves that this is how we have been inherently programmed to utilize food."

[peter]

Short and straight to the point, eliminating all confusion...thanks Ori!

P.S. sorry for what seemed like a stream of questions from me, but one thing i learned from both reading and following the WD is to engage in extensive questioning whenever slightly perplexed...to do otherwise would be un-warrior-like