Many people have heard about the idea of ​​product compatibility, but few people have resorted to it in practice. It seems difficult, requiring willpower, which is sorely lacking. In fact, such a system does not require great moral costs, because it does not involve a hunger strike or any restrictions, but the observance of certain rules. The theory of separate nutrition for the purpose of losing weight, popular in the early 19th century, still finds its supporters. There are also many opponents who expose the very idea and its founder.
What is separate food. Basic principles

The system of separate nutrition is based on the theory of Herbert Shelton, which he outlined in the book The Right Food Combination. The book was published in 1928 and immediately gained popularity among Hollywood stars, mostly his patients.

Separate nutrition is based on the idea of ​​food compatibility, which is the same for all people. Shelton believed that the enzymes produced by the stomach to digest different types of food are different. So, the enzymes needed to break down carbohydrates will not be able to process proteins and vice versa. If you eat one type of food at a time, this will greatly facilitate the process of digestion and assimilation.

If preference is given to traditional food, in which different ingredients are mixed, then the stomach begins to secrete several enzymes at once. As a result, some foods are broken down faster, others slower, which leads to their long stay in the stomach. This, in turn, entails the processes of fermentation, decay, causes intoxication of the body, metabolic processes are disturbed. As a result - overweight, slagging, poor health.

According to Shelton and his followers, separate food groups should not be combined with each other, they should be consumed only after the previous food is digested and assimilated. Following the system of separate nutrition, it is necessary to abandon tea and coffee, store-bought juices, products containing preservatives, since the ingredients have already been mixed here.

Food groups requiring the production of different enzymes

Separate nutrition for weight loss has the main rule: never eat proteins with carbohydrates at the same time. In order for proteins to be digested, an acidic environment is needed; for the breakdown of carbohydrates, an alkaline environment is needed. If a eat proteins together with carbohydrates, alkaline and acidic enzymes will be simultaneously released for absorption, neutralizing each other. As a result, the digestion process will noticeably slow down, not all food will be processed in the stomach.

Products requiring an acidic environment (protein food):

all types of meat;
eggs of any bird;
Fish and seafood;
milk and milk products (including cheeses);
mushrooms and nuts.
Starch is considered one of the most common carbohydrates. Starchy vegetables include potatoes, green peas, pumpkin, zucchini, cabbage, carrots, and beets. Little starch is found in green vegetables: cucumbers, celery and others. Carbohydrates in the form of sugar are found in honey, sweet fruits and dried fruits. This group of products will require an alkaline environment. In addition, it is necessary for the processing of cereals and flour products, bananas, chocolate and sweets, and other sweets. Beer also belongs to carbohydrates, so its combination with fish and meat is unacceptable.

Fats are vegetable oils, fatty meats and fish, nuts and seeds. Semi-acid fruits - sweet apples, pears, apricots and peaches, plums, many berries.

Unacceptable combinations with separate meals

Based on data on the composition of foods that require different enzymes for digestion, Shelton deduced combinations that should not be taken together:

Protein + protein (especially saturated). You can not combine, for example, meat and fish, add eggs or nuts to them. All this contains a protein that is qualitatively different from each other. To digest such dishes, a considerable amount of gastric juice is needed; they will be processed and pass through the digestive tract for a very long time. This causes discomfort: gas formation, bloating, disturbances in the work of the intestines.
Proteins + fats (including vegetable). Fat envelops the stomach, preventing gastric juices from forming in sufficient quantities to process and digest protein. As a result, the food is digested longer, some of it remains unprocessed at all.
Proteins + acids. Sour fruits should not be eaten with protein foods: meat, eggs, cottage cheese. The acid that is secreted by the stomach is enough to make them. Fruits only slow down the process, cause increased acidity, heartburn. You can not eat sour fruits immediately after protein: protein it is digested mainly in the stomach, so it stays there for 4-6 hours, while the absorption of fruits and berries occurs in the intestines, they are in the stomach for only half an hour. Being here longer, they begin to wander, all useful properties decay.
Carbohydrates + acids. Digestion of carbohydrates requires an alkaline environment, while excessive acidity leads to the destruction of the enzyme ptyalin, which is necessary for the breakdown of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates + carbohydrates. Food rich in carbohydrates slows down the digestion process and slows down the metabolism. Excess carbohydrates are stored in the body as fat. That is why you should not eat mashed potatoes with bread.
Carbohydrates + sugar. Sweet foods don't go well with anything. If a уж хочется побаловать себя куском торта или любимыми конфетами, сделать это лучше отдельно от остального, в качестве самостоятельного приема пищи, а не как дополнение к нему в виде десерта. It is better to eat sweets before lunch, so that this does not affect weight loss.
Milk should not be consumed with anything, only as an independent drink that replaces a meal. In general, Sheldon believed that a person can do without milk. This is a kids product. Each animal has a special composition of milk (completely different properties of cow, goat, breast milk). It is practically not processed by the body, so there is little benefit from it.
Melon is very useful, contains many vitamins and minerals, cleanses the body. But you need to eat it strictly separately. If a употребить ее совместно с любой другой пищей, она не принесет пользы.

Sample menu for 1 day
Breakfast
Scrambled eggs with greens (protein version)
Porridge boiled in water (carbohydrate option)

Dinner
Boiled chicken breast or steamed fish (protein version)
Baked (boiled) potatoes or pasta (carb option)

Dinner
Cottage cheese or kefir (yogurt without additives)
Salad of fresh vegetables or fruits (carbohydrate option)

Advantages of separate power supply

Many diets are based on the rejection of some products, restrictions, which often causes malfunctions in the body, which does not receive the necessary substances in full. For the same reason, it is difficult for diets to cope with excess weight, since after stress the body stores substances for the future in case of another shortage. Separate use is not is a diet in the conventional sense, it is rather a proper nutrition system that can be followed all the time. In addition to losing weight, adherents of the system consider the advantages of separate nutrition:

Normalization of metabolism. Improper functioning of the digestive organs often causes overweight. The establishment of metabolic processes leads to the fact that food does not stay in the body longer than usual, all unnecessary substances leave it in a timely manner, without being deposited in the form of fat.
Improvement of the cardiovascular system. Since the processes of decay and fermentation completely stop in the body with separate nutrition, the decay products, the main cause of atherosclerotic vascular lesions, do not enter the bloodstream. With this approach, almost all cholesterol is removed, and the new one no longer accumulates.
Diverse menu. You can use almost everything. The main thing is to stick to compatibility. When following the principles of separate nutrition, there is no feeling of hunger, since the goal is not to limit, but to improve digestion and assimilation of food. It is noted, however, that the portion should not exceed 300-400 g at a time.
Separate nutrition does not involve eating food at regular intervals. It is important to wait for a slight feeling of hunger, then start eating. For some, two times is enough. If a на следующий день захотелось есть три раза, не нужно подавлять голод. Sooner or later, the body will choose its own mode

Arguments of supporters and opponents of separate nutrition

Proponents of separate nutrition base their assumptions not on any research, but on the belief that initially a person, like other mammals, consumed food unchanged (that is, only meat or only vegetables). Over time, people have learned to mix different ingredients to improve the taste.

Opponents argue that a system of separate nutrition is basically impossible, because there are practically no products containing only protein or only carbohydrates (except sugar and egg protein). They also debunk the basic idea of ​​“food rotting in the stomach”, from which, according to Shelton, health problems and excess weight arise.

Doctors (S. Baxter, E. Chedia, L. Vasilevskaya and others) proved that, in addition to gastric enzymes, enzymes are involved in the processing pancreas. In addition, R. Minvaleev, a physiologist and candidate of biological sciences, notes that only preliminary processing of food occurs in the stomach, it is split and completely absorbed in the duodenum. All possible enzymes are produced here, regardless of which type follows the digestive tract (only protein, only carbohydrate, acidic or mixed).

Much that a person consumes together really requires the production of various enzymes, but they do not interfere with each other, but complement and help break down indigestible substances. This leads to the fact that the food is quickly processed, and its remains leave the body without harming it. Opponents of the separate power supply system cite the following arguments:

Meat protein will be digested worse if not consumed with carbohydrates (bread or vegetables), which activate the production of pancreatic enzymes necessary for protein processing in the intestines.
Acidic fruits help absorb iron, so they are often eaten