The Baby Boomer Diet

The “Battle of the Bulge” that hits Baby Boomers in midlife can be more like a minor skirmish—with these little-known secrets to weight loss and healthy digestion.

Many of us Baby Boomers have been plagued with digestive problems for decades. Even those of us who were fortunate enough to eat, digest, and absorb anything we wanted when we were younger are now most likely experiencing bloating, gas, acid indigestion, stomach pain, undigested food in our stools, diarrhea, constipation, and fatigue after meals. The billions of dollars’ worth of drugs prescribed each year for digestive problems make it clear that digestion is truly one of our most serious health problems.

Even though we are spending a lot of money on drugs to address these problems, research shows that our generation is not comfortable taking them. Fortunately for us, poor digestion can be prevented and corrected without the need for expensive drugs with negative side effects.

Today we have the advantage of solid scientific knowledge that gives us a precise understanding of how our digestive tracts function. We know about the essential enzymes that must be produced in each of our digestive organs to break down every kind of food we eat … proteins, sugars, and fats. And, if we are lacking in any of them, they are available as supplements.

Digestive enzymes taken consistently with meals will help us maintain the youthful levels that we need in order to delay aging. But there are three other important tools we have at our disposal in the Baby Boomer Diet to enhance our ability to digest food:

In Chapter 15, you will learn more about fermented foods, and in this chapter you will learn how to apply the simple rules of food combining and 80/20 that will allow your digestive tract to do its job more efficiently … without a lot of extra effort.

Food combining means to deliberately eat certain foods with other foods. Why do we do this?

• Because foods that are not compatible in the stomach digest poorly and prevent us from obtaining the nutrients in those foods. This is why we eat … to obtain nutrients to nourish the cells in our bodies so we have energy.

• Because when foods digest easily, there is less bloating and gas in the digestive tract. This gas is not only uncomfortable and embarrassing, but it is also often a frequent cause of constipation. Gas pockets in the colon literally stop the flow of material through the digestive tract.

Anti-Aging Application

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The Principle of Food Combining and the Principle of 80/20 are directly related to one of the most proven methods of life extension we know of today—calorie restriction. Because food combining improves the way we digest what we eat, making the nutrients and minerals more available to us, we can eat much less.

• Because incompatible foods can cause an overproduction of alcohol and sugars. Pathogens such as yeast feed off these sugars and multiply more rapidly in these prime conditions, creating more toxins and more acidity in the body.

• Because people today tend to have low stomach acid. Hydrochloric acid (HCl), produced in the stomach, triggers the other enzymes to go to work and digest our foods. Without this acid, we become protein-malnourished and even more deficient in minerals … aging rapidly. As we age, almost all of us become deficient in HCl. When we properly combine our food, focus on alkalizing our bodies, and even use supplemental enzymes with HCl, efficient digestion can occur. In other words, give your stomach a break; don’t force it to do what it can no longer do.

It allows for excellent utilization of nutrients. Even if you eat the healthiest foods on the planet, if they are poorly digested, the nutrients in them are not absorbed. Most of the degenerative conditions facing us today (especially cancer) are ones where the body is literally wasting away. When our bodies lack nutrients, we lose muscle tone, the elasticity of our veins, our vision, the minerals in our bones, our hair’s color and thickness, our youthful hormones, our mental abilities, and more. Proper food combining greatly assists in the absorption of nutrients.

It causes us to look and feel younger. Poorly digested foods are toxic foods. As they travel to our intestines, undigested proteins, fats, and carbohydrates turn into dangerous poisons and gases. These toxins affect our thinking, behavior, and mood. Toxic people look toxic—their bodies are often bloated, and their complexion is dull in color. The toxins stemming from our digestive tract are definitely affecting how quickly we age.

It helps us maintain metabolic enzymes. Besides the digestive enzymes in the stomach and small intestine that break down food into nutrients, we also have metabolic enzymes in every cell of our bodies. Metabolic enzymes produced by the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and other organs are catalysts that speed up the chemical reaction within our cells, helping create energy. They also help the cells detoxify. We could not see, hear, feel, or think without them. How is this related to aging? In a nutshell, you want to retain your metabolic enzymes close to the same level they were when you were a child. If you combine your food in such a way that each meal digests well, and if you consume enzyme-rich fermented foods and also use high-quality digestive enzymes, you will retain more of these precious metabolic enzymes. This is a powerful yet simple tool you can use to regain your vitality, while keeping yourself from aging.

Properly combined food is assimilated and metabolized better, reducing the likelihood that it will be stored as fat. Why haven’t weight-loss “experts” caught on to this?

It reduces gas and other signs of indigestion. Another plus to food combining is the elimination of embarrassing flatulence. Gas and stomach gurgling will be minimized or disappear.

It helps us maintain our ideal weight. By utilizing the Principle of Food Combining, you’ll also have discovered a “best-kept secret” to keeping the weight off. This is because properly combined food is assimilated and metabolized better, reducing the likelihood that it will be stored as fat. I have always been amazed that the companies that sell products that promote weight loss haven’t caught on to this valuable tool.

Food combining always seems so complicated to people, yet it is actually one of the easiest of the principles to implement. In fact, if you practice it for one week, it will become second nature to you. There are six simple rules to food combining:

Rule #1: Eat animal protein with nonstarchy vegetables. Why? Simply put, when you eat animal-protein foods such as eggs and meat, your stomach produces hydrochloric acid and an enzyme called pepsin. When you eat a starch such as a potato or rice, an enzyme called ptyalin is secreted, creating an alkaline condition. Put the two together, such as chicken and rice, and the acid and alkaline conditions neutralize each other, inhibiting effective digestion.

Rule #2: Eat grains and grain-like seeds (that is, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and amaranth) with starchy and nonstarchy vegetables.

Why? This combination is the easiest of all meals to digest. On the Body Ecology program grain-like seeds are preferred over grains because they are gluten free and lack sugar, yet are higher in vegetarian protein. When you’re practicing calorie restriction with optimal nutrition, “less is more.” Your goal is to eat a smaller portion of a food yet obtain more nutrients (more protein). (Additional information on grain-like seeds can be found in Chapter 20.)

• No! Chicken and rice, beef hamburger on a wheat bun, or pizza crust with cheese and salami

• Yes! Rice stir-fried with onions, garlic, broccoli, yellow squash, and red pepper

Rule #3: Eat fruit alone and at least 30 minutes before any other meal, or combined with a protein/fat (see below). Or eat acidic fruit combined with leafy-green salads.

Why? Because fruits pass through the digestive tract very quickly. When they are eaten with animal-protein foods (such as eggs and bacon) or starchy vegetables (such as potatoes or winter squashes) or grains (such as toast), they become trapped with these other foods. Then the fruit sugars cause fermentation; bloating; and gas, which can remain in the digestive tract for hours—and even days—causing discomfort, embarrassment, and constipation.

Most fruits are not encouraged on the Baby Boomer Diet, especially in the earliest stage, because they are too sweet. When you eat very sweet fruits (bananas, dates, or figs, for example), especially in the morning, this weakens your adrenals, thus lowering your energy for starting the day. Sweet fruits also contribute to a systemic yeast overgrowth. Once your inner ecosystem is well established from consuming fermented foods and liquids in your diet, and your body becomes more alkaline, you can add in members of the sour-fruit family, such as berries or grapefruit, and combine them with milk kefir and nuts and seeds.

Fermented foods eaten with fruit contain beneficial microflora that eat up the sugars in the fruit. Fats, like butter, ghee, and raw cream, help slow down the absorption of the sugars in the fruit.

Rule #4: Combine fats and oils with animal protein, grains, grain-like seeds, and starchy or nonstarchy vegetables. They can be enjoyed in a meal with protein and with the recommended grain-like seeds.

Why? Nature seems to put fats and oils in many foods naturally. On the Body Ecology program, cooking with ghee, coconut oil, and red-palm oil is preferred because their fatty acids can take a higher heat before losing their nutritional value. Raw, extra-virgin oils can be used on top of, in, or with our foods. Nature seems to have created fats in such a way that they go with everything we eat. They are an important antiaging nutrient. (See Chapter 17.)

• Yes! Salmon in a leafy-green salad with other raw veggies and an extra-virgin-oil dressing

Rule #5: Combine protein/fats with other protein/ fats. (Protein/fats are foods that contain both protein and fat.) Avocado, dairy foods (milk and milk kefir, yogurt, and cheese), and nuts and seeds are all protein/fats and are easily digested when eaten together. Protein/fats also combine well with fruits from the acid-fruit family. If you have “strong digestive fire,” you may find that you can also eat them with animal-protein foods. (For many, nuts and seeds are difficult to digest.)

Why? These foods combine well because they are alike in nature. Sometimes the fat is of vegetarian origin (as in an avocado), and sometimes it is from an animal protein (like the fat in dairy foods), but all seem to be quite compatible.

• Yes! Diced organic chicken (a protein) in a leafy-green salad with finely chopped walnuts (a protein/fat)

• Yes! Leafy-green salad with avocado, roasted pumpkin seeds, and raw veggies

• Yes! A leafy-green salad with avocado, walnuts, and raspberries tossed with a milk-kefir dressing

Rule #6: Combine protein/starches with nonstarchy vegetables from the land and ocean.

Protein/starches contain mostly starch but also some protein. Beans (also called pulses) are both protein and starch. Remember that proteins and starches don’t combine well, so these foods are naturally more difficult to digest.

Why? Since these foods are innately difficult to digest (and are acidic), combining them with an easily digested, alkaline food (vegetables) works best.

The Principle of 80/20 works well in conjunction with that of Food Combining, as both are about correcting and improving digestion. Many of us have “eyes that are bigger than our stomachs.” We eat huge portions, consuming not only to the point of satiation, but usually well beyond that. This puts far too much stress on our already-overtaxed digestive tracts and slows down the digestive process, which in turn creates an environment where yeast can flourish.

Earlier I talked about how the foods on the Baby Boomer Diet emphasize quality over quantity; they are so satisfying and nourishing that you will need less food in order to feel content. So, while you are on The Diet, you may find yourself applying the 80/20 Principle quite unconsciously and with little effort. It has three simple rules:

1. Eat until your stomach is 80 percent full, leaving 20 percent available for digestion.

2. Eighty percent of the food on your plate should be land and/or ocean vegetables, with the remaining 20 percent reserved for a meat protein, grain, or starchy vegetable.

3. Approximately 80 percent of the foods on your plate should be alkaline forming, and 20 percent should be acid forming.

Leave a little room in your stomach (approximately 20 percent) for the digestive juices to do their job. This means leaving the table before your stomach is full. Come back later if desired and eat again. If you’re malnourished, you may need to eat more often; six smaller meals a day are preferable to two or three large, “overstuffed” meals. This is practicing calorie restriction with optimal nutrition, because the foods on The Diet will be excellent-quality foods. Also, once you introduce fermented foods and liquids into your diet, you will find that your digestion improves so dramatically that eating less will really be eating more. More nutrients will be absorbed and enter your cells, leaving you satisfied with less food.

The second part of the 80/20 Principle relates to food combining. In addition to eating too much, most Americans eat meals with a preponderance of acid-forming foods (animal proteins, pasta, bread, and rice) and a deficiency of alkalineforming foods, such as nonstarchy vegetables. So, the second 80/20 rule suggests that at least 80 percent of the food on your plate be land or ocean vegetables. The remaining 20 percent can be:

Although this rule may seem a bit daunting at first, you will immediately begin to experience its benefits. No more after-meal fatigue or bloating. No more acid indigestion or feelings of anxiety. Instead, you will leave the table calm and satisfied. You will also be digesting a superior level and quality of nutrients, which will give you the energy that seems to have gone out the door along with your Grateful Dead records.

A preponderance of acid-forming foods in the American diet makes it especially important to eat more alkaline-forming ones, creating a healthy ratio in the body. For more on how to create the proper acid/alkaline balance, see Chapter 12.

This is a new way of eating, so be kind to yourself and give yourself a month or so to become a master of these rules. Break up each part into steps. For example, plan just one meal with your favorite protein food. Broiled salmon, perhaps? Then serve the fish with a leafy-green salad and two other nonstarchy vegetables. Maybe asparagus? Broccoli? Yellow squash sautéed with onions? A serving of cultured veggies (see Chapter 15) would also complete your perfectly combined meal.

Keep the food-combining chart (on the facing page) on your refrigerator, and refer to it often in the beginning. Before you know it, these rules will become a part of how you eat quite naturally. I can promise you that if you forget them or choose to “cheat,” you’ll quickly see how effectively they work.

NOTES: All fruits should be eaten alone (30 minutes before or 3 hours after eating) with exception of the acid fruits, which may be eaten with protein fats. Only very sour acid fruits are on the B.E.D. (lemons, limes, cranberries, and black currant juice).

SUGAR–Not on B.E.D. but should be eaten alone (30 minutes before or 3 hours after eating). Does not combine well with any other foods.

DAIRY–Not on B.E.D. If introduced later, ferment and eat alone (30 minutes before or 3 hours after eating) or with raw salads, acid fruits, or seeds and nuts.

PROTEIN STARCHES–Dried peas, soybeans, and beans are not initially on B.E.D. If introduced later, they should then be eaten with non-starchy vegetables and cultured veggies.