Food Combining for Health Cookbook: Better health and weight loss with the Hay Diet. Jean Joice

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Notes on Foods and Equipment for the Hay Kitchen

      The Importance of Fruit in Food Combining

      Dr Hay listed foods in the following order of importance:

       Fruits

       Raw salad foods and leafy greens

       Root vegetables

       Grains

       Proteins

      He maintained that all the elements for top-level health can be supplied by fruits, greens, roots and milk, and that large quantities of protein and cereal foods can overburden the metabolism.

      He recommended that as far as possible fruit should be eaten raw, provided it is fully ripe. In this way it is both cleansing and alkaline-forming, yielding its full complement of vitamins and minerals. Cooked fruit is not recommended; heat destroys vitamin C and the sugar with which it is so often prepared makes it very acid-forming.

      Some versions of food combining recommend that fruit should be eaten alone and not following a starch or protein meal. Their argument is that the digestion of fruit, which is fast when eaten on its own, is retarded by the slower digesting proteins or starches, resulting in fermentation.

      Dr Hay always said that provided the fruit was properly combined with the meal, i.e. acid fruit with proteins and sweet fruit with starches, there would be no such fermentation. Furthermore such a prohibition greatly lessens the enjoyment of a meal for most people and does nothing to encourage a lifelong adherence to this way of eating.

      Dr Max Bircher-Benner, of Muesli fame, also advocated eating raw food, including fruit, at the beginning of a meal to improve digestion.

      Ideally fruit should be eaten at every meal; to limit fruit to between meals may well reduce the amount eaten overall, especially the amount of citrus fruit eaten and this, in correct combination, does more than any other type of fruit to increase the vital alkaline reserve of the body. (The only fruit that should be eaten alone is melon, which does not digest well with any other food, however on its own it makes a delicious breakfast.) In-between-meal fruit snacks are not always practical for many people and can cause digestive problems if eaten too near to a meal with which they are not compatible. Moreover, they break the fifth Hay rule (that an interval of not less than four hours should be allowed between meals of different character).

      In conversation with Doris Grant many years ago, Dr Hay insisted that he had invented no new diet but had adapted one founded on ancient physiological laws long forgotten. All he did was to present these dietary laws in a form that would be practical for a twentieth-century lifestyle. He also felt that unless the diet was as practical as possible, eliminating unnecessary or unimportant rules, people would not stick to it or might become over-preoccupied with their food and health.

      Doris herself has now been following Dr Hay’s precepts for over 65 years. During this time she has received countless letters from food-combining enthusiasts confirming the great improvement in health and energy that this system brings about.

      Recent UK Government guidelines confirm the protective role of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet. In countries where their consumption is high, e.g. Italy and Greece, the incidence of coronary heart disease and some cancers is markedly lower than those in the UK. Moreover, a recent study of 11,348 adults in the US reported in the journal Epidemiology by Dr James Estrom found that men with an intake of 300–400 mg per day of vitamin C had 45 per cent lower heart disease rates than men with an intake of less than 50 mg. There was also some evidence that vitamin C reduced cancer rates. To consume the high levels of the vitamin shown in the low-risk group would mean eating fresh fruit and vegetables five times a day.

      Milk and Milk Products

      Milk, a complete protein, should be regarded as a food, not a drink, and used sparingly by adults. In humans (adults especially) it can cause allergies, digestive disorders and persistent catarrh.

      Raw, untreated milk is an alkaline food but becomes acid-forming when subjected to heat as in pasteurization or sterilization. It is best combined with fruit or salads and should only be used in small quantities with starches and cereals. It should never be taken with a meal containing meat.

      Yoghurt, being easier to digest, is a better alternative for adults, particularly the elderly.

      In all recipes where the use of cheese is indicated a vegetarian cheese can be substituted.

      Cream, diluted, is an excellent alternative to milk, and because it is a fat it is neutral (see Table of Compatible Foods) and can be used as a milk substitute in starch recipes. Simply water down cream to the desired flavour (it really does taste like milk) and use as you would milk for your day-to-day requirements – over cereals, in starch sauces, rice or macaroni puddings, etc. There is no need to worry about increased fat or cholesterol in the diet – the cream is so watered down by volume that you are taking no more fat content than if you were drinking milk. Even where undiluted cream is used, and it is almost a necessity in the Hay diet, it is less concentrated than other fats and little is needed.

      Eggs

      Whole fresh eggs are a wonderful protein food, but the whites are very acid-forming. Used occasionally, in the same way as meat or fish for protein meals, they are perfectly acceptable. Egg yolks, however, are high in fat and thus a ‘neutral’ food, and can therefore be combined with all meals.

      What about Calcium?

      There is a good deal of concern these days about the ever-increasing incidence of osteoporosis – the bone-thinning condition that is appearing in younger and younger Caucasian women, not only those past the menopause. Although milk is a good source of calcium, the mineral essential for building strong bones and teeth, it is not always well absorbed (though this problem should improve when foods are properly combined). Many other foods are also good sources, however:

       Cheese and yoghurt

       All greens, especially broccoli

       Nuts and seeds, particularly almonds and sesame seeds

       Sea vegetables

       Fresh fish, also canned salmon and sardines

       Wholegrains

      Vegetables and Salads

      These should form the most important part of the Hay diet. All saladings and green and root vegetables are alkali-forming and, with the exception of potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes, can be combined with all recipes. Whenever possible buy organically grown vegetables, saladings and fruit. All fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed; in the case of apples and pears, unless organically grown, it is best to peel them. This also applies to mushrooms, unless you are very sure of their origin.

      In order to avoid unnecessary repetition in the recipe sections that follow, here is a list of many of these salad ingredients and/or vegetables:

      Asparagus

      Aubergines (Eggplant)

      Avocados

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