What is the Hay Diet?

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Benefits of the Hay Diet

Following the simple rules of the Hay Diet can reverse chronic and degenerative conditions such as constipation, indigestion and arthritis. It can be beneficial to asthma and allergy sufferers. It can also stimulate natural weight loss, thus reducing the health risks linked to obesity, such as diabetes, gallstones and coronary heart disease. Many people, including celebrities such as Sir John Mills and Princess Diana, have benefited from following the Hay Diet.

Basic Rules of the Hay Diet

The Hay Diet, also known as ‘food combining’, consists of five basic rules:

Do not eat carbohydrates with proteins and acid fruits at the same meal.
Eat vegetables, salads and fruits as the main part of your diet.
Eat proteins, starches and fats in small quantities.
Eat only whole grain and unprocessed starches, excluding refined, processed foods such as white flour, white sugar, and margarine.
Allow an interval of at least four to four and a half hours between meals of different types.

Digestion of Protein and Starch

Not combining proteins and starches at the same meal is the main principle of the diet. Proteins are concentrated animal proteins such as meat, poultry, fish and cheese. Carbohydrates are concentrated starches such as grains, cereals, bread, potatoes, and sugars.

Digestion of Protein

Proteins need an acid medium for digestion. When animal proteins are eaten, hydrochloric acid is produced in stomach, which activates the enzyme pepsin, which splits and digests proteins. This process can only take place in a wholly acid medium. This acid medium is neutralized by the presence of a high starch or sugar with its accompanying alkalies, and the proteins are incompletely digested.

Digestion of Starch

Carbohydrates need an alkaline medium for digestion. This process begins in the mouth with the enzyme ptyalin, which starts to break down the starches before they enter the small intestine, where they are further reduced, and where main digestion takes place. The presence of meat or other acid-compelling foods, or acid fruits, upsets the alkaline medium necessary for the intestinal digestion of starches.

Problems arising from Mixing Protein and Starch

In brief, when high starches and high proteins are mixed at the same meal, there is too much acid to allow continued alkaline reduction of the starch, and too little acid to start digestion of the protein. This can result in a wide range of health problems.

Prevention is Better than Cure

Even if you are not suffering from an acute or a chronic illness, and do not need to lose weight, you could still achieve an improvement in your vitality and enjoyment of life by following this simple regime.