I was thumbing through a book about stomach problems and came across some interesting dieting tips for avoiding them:

• Eat meals with proteins and vegetables at the beginning of the day (7am - 2pm)

• Eat meals with carbohydrates and vegetables at the end of the day (2pm - 7pm)

• Don't eat proteins and carbohydrates in the same meal (or at the very least, use an 80-20 rule)

• Eat fruit alone, or at least 30 minutes before a meal

At the very least, it makes me think about the way we haphazardly combine foods without thinking about it. Apparently, proteins and carbohydrates need different pH levels in the stomach to digest. So, your stomach will not properly digest a lot of carbohydrates if it is simultaneously digesting a lot of proteins and vice versa.



To wit, the author has a practical recommendation: If you go out for lunch and order, say, a chicken and pasta dish, eat the chicken and save the pasta for dinner. Oh, boy. I can see I have a life full of stomach problems ahead of me! But I'm sure some of you could make this work...