Food combining

Hopewood has a long tradition with food combining. Put simply, Food combining means separating starch and protein foods – which helps to rest the digestive system. Food combining can greatly assist the body’s natural healing processes, aid digestion, boost energy levels and give a wonderful feeling of vitality.

Food combining is useful, particularly if you have been unwell or have overindulged. It simplifies your diet, and supports your digestive system, by providing a simple model for tailoring the digestive process – in essence, it aims to restore the gut. The Food combining model understands that different enzymes are triggered into action depending on the predominance of starch or protein in the food.

Arranging your food intake into certain groups will help you to digest and absorb meals more easily, enabling your body to utilize the vitamins and minerals in foods more effectively.

To assist those who find food combining valuable, Hopewood’s recipes usually indicate which are starch, protein or neutral meals.

The Food Combining Chart, carefully developed by Hopewood’s natural health experts, is a ready reference for menu planning and categorises most foods into their appropriate food groups.

A quick overview of the different food groups

Proteins
Cheese, chicken, eggs, fish, meat, nut butters, nuts, seeds (sesame, sunflower etc.), soya beans, tempeh, tofu, yoghurt.

Starches
Bananas, beetroot, biscuits/cake, bread, buckwheat, cereals/grains, corn, dry beans and pulses (lentils, kidney beans, etc), millet, potatoes, pumpkin, rice.

Fats and oils
Butter (unsalted is better!), coconut, cream, mayonnaise, oils (use cold pressed), olives.

Vegetables
All vegetables and sprouts are neutral with the exception of starchy vegetables – e.g. potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and beetroot

Sweet fruits
All dried fruits, bananas, custard apples, persimmons, sweet grapes, mangoes.

Syrups
For example honey or maple syrup, can be used minimally with starches.

Sub acid fruits
Apples, apricots, berries, cherries, fresh figs, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums.

Acid fruits
Grapefruit, kiwi fruit, lemons, mandarins, oranges, passion fruit, pineapple, strawberries, tomatoes.

Neutral fruits
Avocado, paw paw.

Melons
Cantaloupes, rockmelons, sugar melons, watermelons.