Is Food Combining Scientifically Based?

Food combining is a diet in which certain foods are deliberately eaten separately, supposedly because these foods will interfere with digestion or metabolism when eaten together. However, there is no scientific evidence that supports food combining as a valid diet strategy.

Claims

• Food combining also considers different textures a reason to eat foods separately. Fruit is not allowed in the morning. Neither of these claims is scientifically based.

Cultural Occurrence

• Some cultural and alternative medical practices, such as kosher dietary laws and ayurvedic medicine, require that particular foods be consumed apart from each other. However, these do not provide a scientific basis for food combining as a weight-loss or health practice.

No Basis

• Dr. Andrew Weil notes that some may develop flatulence after eating fruit and starch, but he advises "... there really is no reason to avoid any food combination except those you find distasteful or physically unsettling."

Criticisms

• The Beverly Hills Diet, a food-combining diet from 1981 that advocated eating large amounts of fruit, was openly criticized for its potential health risks, including diarrhea and low sodium levels, resulting low blood pressure, fever, and psychological effects. Hair loss is also a possible side effect.

Cautions

• Always research any diet plan and discuss it with your doctor before starting it. Claims of a diet's success can spread simply because one website decided to copy information from another, without checking out the actual success rate and safety of the diet.