Second: The NUTRITIONAL CONCENTRATION of the food eaten. Is it packed with health promoting vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, cofactors and coenzymes? How processed, denatured, or devitalized is the food?

Third: The DIGESTIBILITY of the food. Some foods when combined with other foods promote poor digestion. This characteristic will be discussed more fully later in Food Combing Principles. Some foods are easily digestible and can therefore be overeaten.

Fourth: The QUANTITY of the food eaten. An excess of any food item which exceeds the body's ability to digest it properly will lead to obesity, food sensitivities, heart disease as well as a host of other diseases.

Dietary excess has become a major problem in this country. We have "super-size" meals and buffets for every type of food imaginable, which encourages over eating. Eating excesses lead to a condition of DIGESTIVE OVERLOAD. Digestive overload occurs when our ability to properly digest and absorb our food is hindered because of the excess.

When we do not properly digest our food, undigested particles are then introduced into the intestines. Undigested food in the intestines is like a buffet for all the bad flora there such as bacteria, molds, fungus and even parasites. This condition of disturbed intestinal balance is referred to as "Intestinal Dysbiosis". It causes fat particles to become rancid, proteins to become putrid and carbohydrates to ferment.

Bloating, belching, and flatulence are signs of intestinal dysbiosis. Intestinal dysbiosis is a major cause of altered intestinal permeability, a condition in which partially digested food particles are absorbed into the blood stream. Altered intestinal permeability can lead to: Inflammatory joint disease, depression and other mental disorders, fibromyalgia, food allergies or sensitivities, Coeliac disease, obesity , diabetes, heart and other diseases. This digestive overload causes SYSTEMIC OVERLOAD.

The purpose of these Health Promoting Dietary Habits is to reduce stress to the digestive and other organ systems and promote health.

General Rules for Health Promoting Dietary Habits:

Eat food in as whole a state as much as possible. For example, a piece of fruit (a sugar food) is more desirable than an equivalent amount of refined sugar, such as fruit juice.

Eat organic foods whenever possible rather than conventionally raised foods.

Eat small meals whenever you are hungry .Let your appetite dictate eating times. Eat fruits and desserts separate from the meal. One hour before a meal or two hours after a meal is best. They require little digestion and will ferment in the digestive process causing gas and bloating.

Eat some raw (uncooked) food with every meal.

Vegetables.

We all know that we need to eat more vegetables, our mothers told us so when we were younger. Almost all vegetables promote health, some more than others. As a rule the more color it has, the more life-benefiting phytochemicals it contains. The darker and deeper the color, the greater the (continued on page 9)

@Center For Natural Medicine, P.A. -6/01

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