and at the end of the day maybe apples or oranges. Only in recent years have dietitians begun to pay attention to such subtleties.

Separate nutrition involves the use of foods that are compatible with each other during each meal. It can be argued that this greatly limits their choice, but this is an erroneous conclusion. With separate meals, the menu can be complete. All you need is knowledge of digestive physiology and some food combining skills.

At first this may seem difficult. But as one becomes more familiar with the rules for combining foods, a person becomes more and more accustomed to them; nutrition coordinated with them does not require any more extra efforts.

First of all, you need to understand why some products can be used in combination with each other, while others cannot. To do this, you need to know, firstly, the physiology of digestion, and secondly, the chemical composition of food. Of course, ideal a gastroenterologist or a nutritionist has knowledge, but they are also available to any other person. You need to know, for example, whether a given product contains a large amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, starch or acids (that is, the product belongs to one or another group). The ability to quickly calculate the combinations you need is important, because you can’t interrupt your meal every time and calculate the amount of nutrients. Sitting at the table, a person should feel comfortable, relax, and not worry about what he eats. It is often too late to worry.

That is why this book presents the concept of separate nutrition in the most understandable form, with comments and notes. The basic rules for dieting are easy to understand and remember. If you follow a diet, there is no need to moderate your appetite. At first, when the rules have not yet become a habit, there are moments when a person seriously thinks “Do I need this?”, But then all doubts pass. The diagrams and tables presented in this book also help to understand the idea of ​​separate meals.

The theory of separate nutrition, as mentioned above, is not new in itself. As early as 1939, the American physician Howard Hay (1866–1940) published his first book on the subject. In particular, he emphasized that the combination of protein and starchy foods has an adverse effect on digestion. His compatriot Herbert M. Shelton (1888-1987) conducted intensive scientific research on food compatibility for a whole decade (from 1940 to 1950). He achieved remarkable results and greatly expanded the scientific understanding of the processes of digestion. Shelton found that different combinations of foods affect this process differently: some pairs are excellently digested, others have a satisfactory effect, others cause discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and there are some that lead to serious problems. Shelton is rightfully considered the pioneer of separate nutrition. This is an outstanding nutritionist of the 20th century, and many of his books, written in the 20-30s, are still teaching aids.

It is curious that modern dietetics does not show much interest in the issues of separate nutrition. The medical literature continues to describe cases of dyspepsia caused by internal fermentation or toxic degradation (the breakdown of food in the gastrointestinal tract into toxic substances). Each family or local doctor is asked a lot of questions about digestive disorders, patients are waiting for advice on how to get rid of gases in the gastrointestinal tract. According to most experts, digestive disorders occur due to a decrease in the amount of enzymes produced by the pancreas and the walls of the small intestine. This means that the feeling of discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract is caused by some form of insufficiency of the digestive system, and in no case does not take into account the possibility of insufficient absorption due to improper diet.

The fact that the work of Hay and Shelton did not receive due recognition is now quite understandable. These doctors worked empirically, they judged the results of their work based on statistics. But theoretical developments are not always applicable in practice. In addition, real scientific research should be based on more convincing evidence. And Hay and Shelton considered working with real patients as scientific and practical.

Both Hay and Shelton took as a basis the book by I. P. Pavlov "The Activity of the Digestive Organs", published in 1902. In his work, Pavlov first described the physiology of the human digestive system from a scientific point of view. But time inexorably flies forward, and scientific thought does not stand still: at present, the principles of Hay and Shelton are considered unscientific. Thus, the Axis believed that starch causes fermentation in the stomach when the enzyme of the salivary gland ptyalin is destroyed under the influence of gastric juice. There are now clearer scientific concepts about how the digestive system functions. If the concept of Hay and Shelton were absolutely correct, our body could not digest any type of food, since no matter what a person eats, acids always surround the food in the stomach.

It is high time for scientists to thoroughly study the theory and practice of separate nutrition. In particular, the practice requires immediate research. Dr. Shelton, along with his patients, has developed a large number of recipes for combining products. Only a few of these recipes turned out to be wrong. Unfortunately, even good recipes were not always enough for them. described. This shortcoming is largely what led to the rejection of Shelton's work by physicians.

Five main types of nutrients
Food consists of the following elements: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, water and a number of other substances, including fiber fibers, flavors, enzymes, colorants and antioxidants. Only proteins, fats and carbohydrates are digested, since they are true food elements. The process of digestion is nothing more than the chemical breakdown of food into these three components. Whether we eat an apple, a slice of bread or meat, during digestion, food is broken down into proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Proteins are then broken down into amino acids, fats into fatty acids, and carbohydrates into simple sugars.

Even if only one type of food is consumed, all three of the above elements are simultaneously broken down through digestion. This is quite understandable, therefore, opponents of separate nutrition claim that nature itself has provided for the simultaneous digestion of nutrients.

The principle of separate nutrition is simple, but it is not the only one that plays a significant role in the process of digestion. The very idea that the simultaneous digestion of three nutrients is a natural process will be refuted further. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's approach this issue gradually.

There are two groups of carbohydrates: sugars and starches. Starches are complex chemical compounds that, due to their polymeric structure, cannot be immediately cleaved. They first break down into double sugars (disaccharides), and then into simple ones (monosaccharides). Since complex, double and simple sugars occur separately in foods, the following classification is adopted here: simple and double sugars (including lactose) are called sugars, and complex sugars are called starch. Thus, the number of nutrient groups increases to four.

The fifth group of nutrients are acids. They are found in food in free or bound (conjugated) form. (Bound acids are released only during the metabolic process). During digestion, free acids are converted into heat energy, and thus they are also considered nutrients. In food, acids are present in very small quantities, and usually when calculating calorie content of products is not taken into account.

When considering the theory of separate nutrition, we will deal with five groups of substances: proteins, fats, sugars, starches and acids. Further in the text they will be designated as B, F, C, Kr, K.

All foods contain these nutrients in certain proportions. The substance that proportionally predominates (the dominant substance) "programs" the entire digestive process. If you mix foods together, then several dominant substances will enter the digestive tract, which can lead to indigestion. The conflict between the dominant substances can cause any reaction in the body, from a slight rush of blood to the face to serious digestive problems, including internal fermentation (fermentation) or intoxication.

If you absorb only one type of food at a time, but in large quantities, then the amount of absorbed nutrients will increase, although their proportions will remain. The result will be identical to that, as if we had eaten products of several types, presented in a certain combination. Several groups of substances can be absorbed in one meal, provided that their proportions are observed. It is this provision that is key in the theory of separate nutrition.

Obviously (as mentioned above), it is necessary to have a clear idea of ​​which of the nutrients dominates in a given product. During one meal, only one substance can be dominant. Therefore, when compiling the menu, it is necessary to ensure this.

Consider a few bar charts showing the percentage of nutrients in products. In each example, the dominant substance obviously predominates.

In a steak, the dominant substance is protein. The meat contains little fat, very few carbohydrates.

Avocados are mostly fat: obviously, fat is the dominant substance.

The dominant substance in rice grains is starch. The same applies to all cereals, baked goods and pasta.

This product is dominated by sugars, and the amount of fats and proteins can be ignored.

The amount of sugar is the highest, but there is also a lot of acid, especially since fruit acid has a decisive influence on the digestion process. This is where the acid is. dominant substance.

If we were to eat a meal of steak, rice, avocado, banana, and lemon (acceptable food in the sense of a regular classic diet), five different dominant substances would