I've seen the commercials on the TV and looked at the isles worth of products at the drug store, so I think I'm safe in saying that what we eat and how we eat it is not agreeing with the average person. I'm not alone in saying this either, check out this story that appeared on CNN in June of this year.
Your stomach is a very specialized device which unfortunately did not come with operating instructions. We've been eating whatever we felt like with whatever else was handy, which is OK for a few people, but the rest of us are having a few problems.
Here's some things to keep in mind at meal time:
- High-protein foods, like meats, can be tough for the stomach to digest, especially if you have starch (potatoes or pasta) foods at the same time. Instead pair that meat with vegetables or a nice salad.
- Potatoes and pasta is great. Unfortunately you should not add eggs, meat, or cheese to your plate. Instead have some vegetables or fruits low in acid (no citrus!).
- You can put butter on your bread, pasta, or potatoes, just don't use margarine or butter substitutes. The human stomach was not designed to digest all those hydrogenated fats. Read my "In Defense of Butter" post.
- Consider having a big meal in courses with at least 30 minutes between the different items. This will give your stomach time to work on one thing before you toss something else down there.
- Some people, myself included, just need some digestive help in the form of papaya tablets. You can get them at your local health food store. They will relieve that bloated stomach and also work great for acid stomachs. Read more about papaya at my post here.
- If you're still suffering, you may have to separate your different food groups by up to 10 to 12 hours. Inconvenient? Perhaps, but better than taking all the medications.
There is a lot of information out on the net about which foods can be combined with other foods. This article, "Food Combining & The American Diet" has several tables of
which foods can be combined together safely as well as what order you should eat your foods in. If you suffer from stomach pains after a meal this information could make a big difference in the quality of you life.
Oh and by the way, trophology is the study of nutrition, or the study of correct food combining, depending upon where you look up the word. If you are thinking that all of this sounds good but will be too much work for you to try and pursue, I’ve one last link for you. Here you will find information on trophology and a nice chart to help you with your meal planning. You might want to print a copy and post it on the fridge.
It’s not only what we eat but how, and when, we eat it that defines our health and well-being. Remember the old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
For more insight from Robin Wright, check out her blog on Capessa.com.
