As a basic rule always eat melons alone. There's a saying in the raw food community, "Eat 'em alone or leave 'em alone." They do digest fairly quickly though, so if you eat melon, wait an hour then eat again, you should avoid the gas buildup that occurs when eating melon with other foods.
And that's really the point of food combining...avoid gas, ease digestion, make your stomach and colon very happy...and absorb as many nutrients per given meal as possible.
The problem with improper food combining is that when you eat food from two or three categories, the quickest digesting food has to wait for the longest digest food to get digested before it can leave your system. If it doesn't digest quickly enough (say a melon 15 min digesting time with a handful of nuts 4 hours digesting time) it will ferment, slowing the digestive process by hours, creating acidity in your body, which is the gateway to all disease.
The goal is to get the food through as quickly as possible and avoid acidity, leaving your body in a more alkaline state and then the body can heal, regenerate and rebuild.
Ever wonder why you are so tired all the time? If your digestive system is over-working it taxes your other systems, making everything work overtime... your body is exhausting itself trying to get nutrition from the foods you put in and if they are cooked, fatty, poorly combined...you literally wear yourself out eating.
Does this mean you can never eat foods from two different categories? Not at all... if you find you need to combine just try to limit it to this:
Acid Fruits with Sub-acid Fruit Sub-Acid Fruit and Sweet Fruit Starches with Vegetables/Greens Vegetables/Greens and Protein
RAW Food Categories and
Approximate Digestion Times
Approximate Digestion Times
| FRUITS Melons & Juices (15 - 30 Min) | FRUITS Acid (1.5 - 2 Hrs) | FRUITS Sub-Acid (1 - 1.5 Hrs) | FRUITS Sweet & Sweeteners (30 - 45 Min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cantaloupe | Apples, Sour | Apples | Agave Nectar |
| Honeydew | Cranberries | Apricots | Bananas |
| Juices | Grapefruit | Berries | Berries, Sweet |
| Watermelon | Grapes, Sour | Cherries | Cherries, Sweet |
| Wheatgrass Juice | Lemons | Dates | Grapes, Sweet |
| Legumes, Sprouted | Limes | Figs, Fresh | Honey, Raw |
| Oranges | Mangos | Molasses | |
| Pineapple | Nectarines | Pears | |
| Plums, Sour | Papaya | Persimmon | |
| Pomegranite | Peaches | Yacon Syrup | |
| Strawberries | Pears | ||
| Strawberries12345 | Tomatoes Unspr |
| Starches (2 - 3 Hrs) | Vegetables & Greens (2 - 2 Hrs) | High Protein (4+ Hrs) | Fats (3 - 4 Hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avocados | Artichokes | Blue-Green Algae | Avocados |
| Beans | Asparagus | Dried Fruit | Coconut Oil |
| Brown Rice | Beets | Legumes, Unsprouted | Flaxseed Oil |
| Carrots | Blue-Green Algae | Mature Coconut | Hemp Oil |
| Corn | Broccoli | Nuts, Raw | Olive Oil |
| Grains, Sprouted | Brussels Sprouts | Olives | Olives |
| Jicama | Cabbage | Seeds, Raw | Safflower Oil |
| Legumes, Sprouted | Cauliflower | Sesame Oil | |
| Parsnip | Celery | Sunflower Oil | |
| Potatos | Chives | ||
| Squash, Winter | Corn, Raw | ||
| Sweet Potatos | Cucumbers | ||
| Turnip | Eggplant | ||
| Young Coconut | Green Beans | ||
| Leafy Greens | |||
| Leeks | |||
| Okra | |||
| Onions | |||
| Peppers | |||
| Radishes | |||
| Sea vegetables | |||
| Squash, Summer | |||
| Zucchini |
