Combining protein and starchy carbs

[spaight]

Hi, 

 

I'm on Day 27 and have much less joint pain (YAY!) but remain digestively and energetically challenged. 

 

I saw a new naturopathic doctor this morning because I am considering food allergy/sensitivity blood testing (and she is helping with mid-life hormonal challenges). 

 

She advised never combining protein with a starchy carb like sweet potatoes, because it is bad for digestion and is inflammatory. She didn't get too much into the science behind this, I think her clinic comes from more of an Eastern/ayurvedic mindset. 

 

This has rocked my world and thrown me a little off balance. I love my sweet potatoes and am an athlete so need me some carbs on a regular basis. She suggested having one meal that is carb-centric, like fruit, followed by sweet potatoes and other veggies. That feels...wrong...to me. 

 

She also suggested timing meals differently - she said if I am combining foods properly, I should be very hungry every three hours. I'm not loving where that's going - I've started really liking waiting 4-5 hours in between meals. 

 

Could you please comment on all of this? I know you're probably going to say "doctor > Whole30" but I'd love to get your take on the nutritional/digestive science behind combining proteins with starchy vegetables. 

 

Thank you! 

[missmary]

Could you please comment on all of this? I know you're probably going to say "doctor > Whole30" but I'd love to get your take on the nutritional/digestive science behind combining proteins with starchy vegetables. 

 

nope. We wouldn't say doctor>whole30 in this case.

 

There are lots of ideas about nutrition, and it doesn't always work to combine them. If you are currently trying the whole30, our recommendations (based on research) are to follow the meal planning template three times per day, including starchy veggies together with a protein at least once each day, and definitely 100% not including one meal that is all fruit. Combining the rules of the whole30 with somebody elses recommendations is a compromise. Save those recommendations for a future experiment if you are so inclined.

[ladyshanny]

There is no Whole30 protocol or guidance on food combining.  The only thing that Whole30 says is to have 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies and 1-2 thumbs (or the like) of good fats at every meal.

 

You will always find studies or proponents of every eating style from food combining to fasting to veggie/vegan to raw to protein only.  Everyone believes that what they are doing is best and they will find studies to back them up and use experiential data (usually cherry picked for best case scenarios) to put some weight behind their words.

 

Whole30 is not a lot different.  The studies and research and experiential data that the Hartwigs have collected over the years vettes their beliefs.  (I don't mean that to sound how it might, I am fully behind and believe in this approach, my wording may be wrong here) Where the Whole30 differs though is that it is only 30 days.  30 days of doing as they say and then assessing how you feel, how your body performs, how it fits in with your life.  This is an experiment of YOU.  So if you like eating every 4-5 hours using template recommendations and you feel that it frees up more time not spent thinking about food and your energy is fine and you are noticing improvements over all different sectors of your life then great!  If you feel that you want to experiment with food combining outside of a Whole30 or you trust this person and are willing to give her ideas a shot then go for it, outside of Whole30.  

 

Note that although we say doctor's orders trump Whole30, there's a limit to that.  If your doctor tells you that you have to eat whole wheat bread at every meal we would probably tell you to respectfully decline that "advice" because you aren't going to be gravely injured if you choose not to do that for 30 days.  The "doctor's orders" is more major-health-prescription-related so that no harm comes to you in light of ongoing or new illnesses.

[MeadowLily]

The beauty of a Whole 30...it teaches you to start listening to your own body and mind.  Fruit eaten alone in the morning is nightmare fuel for a diabetic or anyone with blood sugar problems.

 

I don't eat starchy vegetables alone either.   You can follow the template and not be worried about food combining rules.  They really are in conflict/contrast to the Whole 30 rules and recommendations for template compliance.

[spaight]

This is all extremely helpful, thank you. I'll stay the course, and decide over the next 3 days (!!!) how to proceed after Whole30.

 

I was thinking of doing a Whole45 or Whole60. But since my energy and digestion aren't great, it may make sense to experiment with her recommendations for a brief period before deciding what feels better for me. 

 

The beauty of a Whole 30...it teaches you to start listening to your own body and mind.  

[ladyshanny]

 But since my energy and digestion aren't great, it may make sense to experiment with her recommendations for a brief period before deciding what feels better for me. 

Since you still have three days of committment to Whole30, would you like to post a few typical days of food (include portion size), fluids, sleep, activity and stress?  There might be an easy fix that stands out.

 

Digestion wise some of the common offenders that we see are: nuts/nut butters, not enough veggies, too many raw veggies, cruciferous veggies (cabbage, brocoli, cauli), coconut products, onions/garlic, nightshades

 

Energy wise the most common offender is simply not eating enough to support your context.  Missing pre and post workout food, eating too light overall, skipping breakfast etc.  There are little tweaks that you can make with timing too, one of the most common recommendations is moving starchy veggies to the later part of the day (think evening meal) to assist with sleep.  Fruits alone or larabars and the like will also mess with blood sugar and ultimately energy.

 

Not saying any of these fit though so feel free to post a run down and we can take a look if you want.  

[spaight]

Sure, I'd love that, thanks! Going back through this myself, I think I can see some of the issues. It's been a very atypical week with less activity than usual due to a neck problem, so, that alone might be contributing to my lower energy level. I strongly suspect that I haven't been getting enough carbs and in some cases, fat, with meals. And I did better last week when I backed off on the nuts and fruit. 

 

Tuesday - first day back at work after a vacation, and son's first day at school, VERY stressful day. 

Meal 1

Slept late and had to go to chiropractor for neck problem so meal 1 was VERY late, almost 10am. 

Frittata with 3 eggs, onion, summer squash, kale, tomato slices and a nectarine

Coffee with coconut milk 

Meal 2

Lunch too was grabbed from the fridge in a hurry so would have liked it to have more veggie substance and an avocado. 

It Starts with Food book chicken curry (more than a palm), cooked in coconut oil, including greens, peapods, carrots. 

Coconut Larabar (dates, nuts, coconut) (I don't usually do this, but was still hungry and it was what I had at work.) 

Meal 3

Dinner was late, so I snacked on a small handful of macadamia nuts 90 minutes before dinner which I'm sure did NOT help my digestion. 

Grass-fed burger (more than a palm) with mocha spice rub topped with paleo bacon 

Couple cups of baby spinach

Asparagus 

Half an orange 

 

Wednesday -  very long day, but not as stressful 

Meal 1

Omelette (3 eggs? First restaurant meal since starting Whole30) with chard (a good sized pile), sweet potatoes (a cup, maybe?) and (over half) avocado 

Watermelon (about 1 cup)

Coffee with coconut milk 

Meal 2

Large chicken breast (more than a palm) 

Mixed veggies in EVOO with a little coconut butter on top 

Mixed melon and a small plum 

Meal 3

Pork carnitas (More than a palm) 

Broccoli (> 1 cup) 

Asparagus (>1 cup) 

Salsa

Coconut LaraBar (yeah...I know...I swear I wasn't doing this before this week.) 

 

Friday

Meal 1

Fritatta with 3 eggs, summer squash, kale, onion, tomato

Meal 2

Blueberries

Mixed salad greens (>2 cups) 

Pork carnitas (more than a palm) 

Pickles

Black olives (8) 

Meal3 

Haven't eaten yet. It's in the oven. Seriously HANGRY. 

 

So, uh, yeah, it hasn't been the greatest week. Derp. 

 

I like the idea of having some carbs late in the day, and have spaghetti squash in tonight's meal 3. And I'm starting to leave the higher FODMAP things that you mentioned like onions, garlic...low FODMAP is probably another experiment I need to run after Whole30. 

[spaight]

That should be Wednesday - Thursday - Friday. 

Brain not working. Eating NOW. 

[ladyshanny]

Hmmmm. First, spaghetti squash is considered a summer squash and not a starchy veggie. Think winter squashes, carrots, parsnip, beet, potatoes, turnips, rutabaga etc.

The nuts are a pretty big contributor to digestive distress and for me personally, mac nuts are the WORST.....maybe because I can't stop eating them once I start?

Your meals look alright for the most part. Add some fat, for sure and get rid of those Larabars, they are only approved in the event of an emergency.....like being stuck on tarmac for 7 hours. I really can't see anything else huge that I would suggest you change. Try to eat an hour within waking, try the starchy veggies in the evening meal, try nixxing the nuts and larabars.

Stress plays an enormous role in digestion and energy. Besides making some slight alterations to your meals, getting rid of stress or learning how to better manage it is going to be HUGE.

[spaight]

Thanks so much. It's so wonderful having you to help with this.   I had no idea spaghetti squash was a summer squash, I am learning so much. Love it. 

 

I ate this morning within 30 minutes of waking and it helped SO much. My energy's been better today. I also have some peri-menopausal PMS-ish stuff going on right now so I bet that's been messing with me. I am definitely nixing the nuts - my new doctor said to soak them overnight if I eat them at all - and the Larabars (unless I am out on a long bike ride.) Another doctor-suggested tweak I've made that may be helping - eating fruit with meal 1 and meal 2 and at the BEGINNING of the meal on an empty stomach instead of at the END of the meal as I have been doing. Apparently that's supposed to be better for digestion, the fruit is less likely to sit in your gut and ferment. Blech. 

 

Anyway, thanks again for ALL of your help. You are terrific. I truly appreciate it. 

 

I've been doing a lot of different things to try to reduce my stress. Therapy, and even reduced my work hours. I agree, continuing things to work on that IS huge. I am still way too stressed out much of the time. Magnesium supplement (Calm, unsweetened type) helps with that but makes me feel zonked out sometimes. 

[SpinSpin]

Back when I was following Nourishing Traditions (WARP) I soaked all the nuts my family ate. I bought raw nuts, soaked them overnight or at least 8 hours in salt water-- think ocean saltiness -- and then dried them for 12 hours in the oven on the lowest setting. It doesn't work with roasted nuts though. 

 

If we are having nuts in the house, I still do this as it really helped us. I also pre-portion the nuts so that they are not just FWOB. We don't always have nuts -- in fact, I don't remember the last time I bought any, but when we have them, this is the way I prepare them.