And it is all about food combining – understanding the nutrients that are eaten together for optimal digestion that has its roots in Ayurvedic medicine.
But on Pinterest wellness bloggers claim these tricks and guidelines can help with bloating, overeating, and even allow you to "detoxify" your body according to Refinery 29.
They reached out to IFIC’s Ali Webster PhD and a registered dietitian for an explanation and to separate fact from fiction.
To put it simply, she said "it makes no physiologic sense that there would be harm in mixing macronutrients together, our gastrointestinal system is built for multitasking. And, most foods aren’t just made of pure "carbohydrate," "fat," or "protein," they’re a combination of macronutrients, vitamins, minerals and other components.
Food combining is an eating method that involves consuming certain macronutrients and foods together, and avoiding other mixtures. The goal is to allegedly reduce the work that your gastrointestinal tract has to do to digest your food. By only eating one food group at a time, and waiting a long time between meals, food combiners claim that you can lose weight and help your gut.
But turns out those bloggers on Pinterest are wrong.
"Contrary to what the 'food combining' advocates might think, eating different foods and macronutrients at the same time is actually much more healthful than eating them in isolation," Webster says. For example, if you ate a high-carb food alone, such as fruit, your blood sugar levels would spike after eating, then rapidly fall, which we know has negative effects on your health. "Eating a meal or snack that includes protein and fibre along with carbohydrates helps to slow glucose absorption, meaning that blood sugar levels won’t spike as high as they would if a person ate carbohydrates alone."
Once again there IS a difference between an expert and an influencer – especially on Pinterest.