Winter Food Combinations for Good Digestion

The more I learn about food, the more I respect the wisdom and culture of my parents. As a child, my Mom taught me that a meal was a not a meal without a salad. Her salads began with a base of romaine lettuce, followed by large cuts of raw carrots, purple cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms and cooked bacon bits or diced chicken and hard-boiled egg – and yes, I do mean hard, with the grey yolk and striking odor. Mom, please smile if you are reading this.

To coat the colorful medley, she generously poured Wish Bone Italian dressing over everything for a shiny final touch.

My mother’s insistence upon eating a salad with every meal came from her innate craving for raw vegetables. She used to tell me how she could taste the sweetness in raw broccoli. She also emphasized that eating a salad would help ensure that I had enough roughage in my system. Translation: I would have good bowel movements from eating salads. Somehow the moment I left her home, that lesson, like so many others, went in one ear and out the other.

Today, with my culinary journeys being so closely aligned with health, wellness and nutrition, I find myself face-to-face, once again, with my Mom’s wisdom on salads for optimal digestion and elimination. Funny how wise parents are.

Hydrotherapists that offer colon cleansing treatment tell how keeping the digestive system in optimal function keeps the total body clear, free of infections and in great condition. Infinity Health and Wellness Center in Philadelphia, found that in 2002 the American Medical Association reported that 400 million dollars were spent on laxatives by the American public. Chronic bowel disorders, polyps in the colon and cancers of the colon, liver, stomach and pancreas are among the major chronic diseases that take the lives of millions of Americans each year.

Keeping the digestive system healthy requires more than salad but eating the raw vegetables in salads is a step in the right direction. First, let’s consider what our digestive organs are and what they collectively do. The digestive system includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine. The colon, a key member of the group, is located in the last five and half to six feet of the digestive tract. The liver, pancreas, gallbladder and salivary glands are complementary organs that work with the digestive system to filter out the unnecessary, and often toxic, substances we put in our bodies. These organs combined ensure that we digest, absorb and metabolize the nutrients in our foods.

So how can we make theirjobs easier? Consider combining foods for optimal digestion. Thus, we avoid the build up of unassimilated and undigested matter that becomes harmful as it floats throughout our bodies.

How do we know what foods to eat together? Alder Brooke Healing Arts of Eugene, Oregon offers a colorful visual guide on how to combine foods for digestive ease. Four basic guidelines and explanations she offers are:

Eat carbohydrates and proteins separately. Why? Carbohydrates and proteins, she says, need the most energy of all foods to digest and require different enzymes to break them down. This means that roasted chicken and mashed potatoes eaten together may be difficult to digest. But if chicken and potatoes are what’s for dinner -- here comes Mom’s salad lesson again -- eating a mixed raw vegetable salad with the protein and carbohydrate helps the digestive organs process the complex combination.

Raw vegetables contain important enzymes that help break down concentrated proteins, like chicken, and complex carbohydrates, like potatoes. It is not surprising that the incredibly filling common Latin America and Caribbean meals involving some type of meat with rice and beans, is usually served with a salad of raw cabbage, onionsand tomatoes dressed in vinegar. The salad helps speed up and ease the digestion of the heavy meal.

Eat fruits by themselves. Eat fruits before other foods or alone. Fruits have the highest water content and are quickly digested. Eating fruit before a meal helps clean and prepare the digestive tract for nutrient absorption according to Alder Brooke.

Starchy carbohydrates should be eaten with steamed vegetables and/or raw salad. Raw and to some degree steamed vegetables are high in water, enzymes and fiber content which makes starchy carbohydrates digest more easily.

Drink water, juices and teas separate from food as they interrupt the work of digestive enzymes.

Although hearty meat and potato stews may appeal to our needs for warm comfort and cozy naps this time of year, winter vegetables can keep your digestive tract in top condition. Eating the right combination of foods for the season will also aid your immune system in avoiding colds and flus. Consider the following meal ideas to keep your digestive system in shape:

• Spinach, celery leaves, purple cabbage, pumpkin seeds, and almonds dressed in fig vinegar
• Swiss chard and mushroom stuffed red potatoes
• Roasted Haddock or other white fish over hearty sauteed mixed winter greens (i.e. collards, turnip greens, Swiss chard, spinach, chicory leaves, radicchio)

Here’s to taking advantage of the winter to keep the body in top condition for the warm months to come!

Helpful Websites for Digestive Health

Infinity Health and Wellness, Philadelphia, PA www.infinityhealthwellness.com

Alder Brooke Healing Arts, Eugene, OR http://www.alderbrooke.com/chart.php