Fit for Life: The truth from a registered dietitian.
The authors, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond
(Harvey acquired a Ph.D. in nutritional science from an unaccredited
school), espouse the theory of food combining. This theory
states that when foods are combined inappropriately, they become rotten
and cannot be absorbed from the intestinal tract. This toxifies the
body and makes people fat.
The Diamonds contend that people gain weight
not due to overeating and inadequate exercise, but because they eat
protein rich foods at the same time they eat starchy foods. The authors
say our digestive tracts cannot assimilate more than one of these concentrated
foods at a time, since the enzymes that digest protein nullify
the enzymes that digest carbohydrate, and visa versa.
As a result, the Diamonds claim, food cannot
be digested when they are eaten together. In the process, they add,
all the food’s nutrients are destroyed and toxic by-products are stored
in fat tissue, where they cause a bloated appearance.
The Diamonds believe that the energy wasted
on the incomplete digestion of these foods reduces the body’s ability
to eliminate the toxic residues deposited in the fat tissues
after previous meals. Their solution is to eat only one concentrated
food per meal, and to make 70% of the diet foods with a high water content
such as fruits and vegetables. The Diamonds favor fruits and vegetables
because foods high in water can wash the toxic waste from
the inside of the body, instead of clogging the body.
These theories totally disagree with our
knowledge of physiology and nutrition. The concepts of food combining
originated at the turn of the century, when people knew little about
basic physiology and nutrition.
Food combining frequently contradicts itself.
If so much of our food is not completely digested, then many of the
calories consumed would be lost in the stools and couldn’t be stored
as fat. Decreased calorie absorption causes weight loss, not weight
gain.
The theory that eating concentrated
foods together results in a loss of nutrients is ridiculous. Eating
animal and vegetable protein in the same meal causes more efficient
utilization of the vegetable protein. Likewise, the non-heme iron in
plant foods is better absorbed when consumed with meat or another source
of heme iron. And, non-heme iron is better absorbed when consumed with
fruits or vegetables high in vitamin C.
Some people did lose weight by following
the dietary advice in Fit for Life because low calorie fruits and vegetables
were emphasized. However, food combining urges people to eliminate major
food groups. Reputable nutrition experts indicate that eating a variety
of foods from the Food Guide Pyramid is necessary for adequate nutrition.
Food combining may create deficiencies
in zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and possibly protein, since the diet
limits animal protein and eliminates dairy products. The ban on dairy
foods certainly jeopardizes calcium intake, since dairy products account
for nearly 75% of the calcium in the American diet.
The following article is reprinted with permission from the author.
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