Separate nutrition – diet or just a theory

There are many different opinions and disputes about whether separate nutrition is dietary and healthy. In most cases, dietary meals are used to reduce body weight, but there are people who think that this way of eating cleanses the body and stimulates the immune system.

The principle of separate nutrition is actually the intake of protein foods from foods rich in carbohydrates. Separation is based on the theory that their simultaneous consumption leads to the inactivation of the individual enzymes that break down proteins and carbohydrates, which is why nutrients are poorly absorbed. If the food is poorly absorbed, it becomes a favorable environment for the development of fermentation processes and this leads to disruption of the digestive system and accumulation of harmful substances in the body.

The protein foods are: meat, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products.
Carbohydrate foods are: bread, pasta, cereals, sugar and confectionery.

According to separate eating theory, combining foods from both groups is unacceptable.

Still, there is no scientific evidence to support this theory. That is why most health food specialists do not take it seriously. The verse that the human organism has difficulty in simultaneously consuming food from these two food groups is not scientifically substantiated. There is no evidence that the secretion of the enzymes in question for the degradation of different nutrients is caused by the composition of the food.

However, since most of the separate nutrition rules are close to modern perceptions of healthy and rational nutrition, it is considered to be relatively healthy.

These include taking large amounts of fruit and vegetables, limiting fat, etc., avoiding fried foods and more.

According to the principle of separate nutrition, some groups of foods are restricted or even excluded from the menu, and this makes this diet unbalanced leading to nutritional deficiencies. Excluding certain foods such as lentils, beans or peas, which are rich in many vitamins and minerals and are actually the best sources of plant protein, is inappropriate and even harmful.

In addition, these foods are very rich in plant fibers, which are extremely beneficial to the body.

According to the theory of separate nutrition, these foods are excluded as they contain the harmful combination of carbohydrates and proteins.

Many people who have practiced this type of diet really achieve good results in terms of weight loss. However, this is mainly due to low-energy foods, which are taken at the same time as separate meals. Another reason for this result is the sudden change in the diet itself, which always results, especially at the beginning of the change.

In case of gastrointestinal problems, sometimes segregated nutrition can have a good effect if it is practiced for some time, but it is absolutely contraindicated in children, pregnant and lactating women.

Separate nutrition is not a good and long-term alternative to healthy eating, and even less to permanently reduce overweight.