A quick visual guide to which foods combine well and which to keep apart.
Build meals around alkaline vegetables — they combine with almost everything.
Don't mix acid-forming proteins with alkaline starches in the same meal.
Melons digest fastest of all — eat them alone, on an empty stomach.
Sweet and acid fruits don't mix; sub-acid fruits bridge the two.
Eat fruit 20–30 minutes before a meal, never as dessert after one.
Keep to a single concentrated protein per meal for easiest digestion.
Acid-forming proteins digest well with alkaline, low-starch vegetables. Vegetables don't compete with protein for digestion.
Starches combine cleanly with alkaline vegetables. Avoid adding protein to a starch meal.
Sweet fruits digest similarly and combine well with each other or sub-acid fruits.
Sub-acid fruits bridge sweet and acid — they mix with both, so they pair with acid citrus.
Melons digest faster than any other food. Eat them solo on an empty stomach, or not at all.
An all-vegetable meal is the safest combination — everything is alkaline or neutral.
A Greek-style protein plate — fish with non-starchy alkaline vegetables and a light olive-oil dressing.
Single protein (chicken) with alkaline, non-starchy cabbage and pepper — no rice keeps it a clean protein meal.
Lean protein with alkaline peppers and neutral-fat avocado — skip the rice and beans to keep it protein-centered.
Lentils are a single concentrated protein; spinach is alkaline and non-starchy — a classic dal-saag combo.
Lamb is an acid-forming protein paired with water-rich alkaline vegetables — no starch on the plate.
Oily fish with tender alkaline asparagus — a clean protein-and-greens pairing with no competing starch.
Quick-digesting shrimp with low-starch alkaline vegetables and bright lime — protein plus greens only.
Beef with alkaline cabbage and a light sprinkle of seeds (neutral fat) — no rice, so the protein digests alone.
A starch-centered meal — pasta with low-starch tomato and garlic. Keep it protein-free for clean digestion.
Starch (rice) with alkaline, non-starchy vegetables — a light starch meal with no protein to clash.
Sub-acid papaya bridges sweet mango with a splash of acid lime — a tropical fruit bowl eaten on an empty stomach.
A starch-centered stew — sweet potato with alkaline root vegetables and aromatics, no protein added.
Eggs are a single concentrated protein; spinach is alkaline and non-starchy — a clean protein-and-greens plate.
Fish protein with alkaline vegetables cooked in neutral coconut fat — no starch keeps the protein meal clean.
Meat & potatoes, burger bun, pasta & meatballs
Protein needs acid to digest; starch needs alkaline. Together they neutralize each other's enzymes, causing fermentation.
Rule: Never mix acidic protein with starchy foods.
Orange & banana, pineapple & dates
Acid fruits retard the digestion of sweet fruits, which then ferment in the gut.
Rule: Don't mix acid fruits (citrus, pineapple) with sweet fruits (banana, dates).
Watermelon after a meal, melon & berries
Melons move through the stomach in minutes. Held up by other food, they ferment and cause gas.
Rule: Eat melons completely alone — 20–30 min before other food.
Cheese & meat, eggs & nuts
Different proteins need different digestive conditions; combining them overloads the system.
Rule: One concentrated protein per meal.
Heavy oil with meat, nuts with eggs
Fats slow gastric emptying and protein digestion — keep fats moderate with protein.
Rule: Use fats lightly; don't overload a protein meal.
Dessert fruit after dinner
Fruit digests fast but gets trapped behind slow-digesting cooked food and ferments.
Rule: Eat fruit on an empty stomach, ideally 20–30 min before meals.