Instincto et food associations

The food association theory was in the headlines throughout the days when diets were all the rage. Its founder, Shelton, advised against eating starchy foods or other sources of carbohydrates and proteins in the same meal. Recent work on AGEs seems to support the idea that chemical reactions can occur between glucose and protein, either in the intestine or in the blood, or already during food preparation.

Molecules staying together in the stomach or intestine before having been degraded by digestive enzymes can indeed react chemically, hence the possible appearance of molecules not foreseen in the human nutritional program, liable to accumulate and to cause various disturbances, in other words: to constitute “toxins”.

The question that arises in the instinctual context is whether the organism is protected by alliesthesia or other mechanisms against bad associations. The existence of such protection would be twice beneficial: it would spontaneously avoid bad associations, thus avoiding torturing the mind when eating; it would protect against unfavorable associations not listed in Shelton’s blacklist.

According to experience, ordinary olfactory and taste alliesthesia does not take into account immune problems. A food can appear attractive even when it is eaten after another with which it constitutes a bad association.

Fortunately, nature has provided for this scenario. When an association is unfavorable, two signals appear to limit the damage: a slight feeling of nausea, and a signal of fullness. Rather than referring to rigid and inevitably incomplete classifications, given the complexity of the problem, it is sufficient to listen to the body, and to give up continuing the ingestion as soon as one or the other of the two appears. these signals. Other signs also make it possible to recognize undesirable chemical reactions in the intestinal tract: malodorous stools or winds testify either to an incomplete degradation of certain molecules and to parasitic chemical reactions, or to abnormal bacterial proliferation (very clear with eggs ).

Practice

Experience has shown that the following rules prevent most bad associations:

Rule # 1: consume animal proteins only when they are very attractive to the smell and taste, and then consume them at the start of a meal. If there are signs of digestive complications, it is better to wait between the animal proteins and the rest of the meal (from a quarter of an hour to an hour).

Rule n ° 2: limit or avoid products rich in carbohydrates, in particular fruits, after consumption of meat.

Rule n ° 3: a good approach to the problem is to eat at noon only fresh fruit (no more than two or three varieties), and at dinner (around 7 p.m.) in order a protein or a product rich in fat , secondly, one or more vegetables, and finally a single variety of fresh or dried fruit (first present on the table the choice of proteins and fatty products, avocados, oilseeds etc. then replace them with the choice of vegetables , and finally the choice of fruits). Another variant is to eat the protein food about an hour before the evening meal, so as to allow the digestive enzymes to neutralize it before contact with vegetables and fruits.

Rule n ° 4: in all cases, respect the first signs of alliesthesia negativation (loss of flavor) and especially of fullness (first sensation of having something in the stomach, or of having a stomach), because it is is the digestive overload which complicates the work of enzymes and multiplies parasitic chemical reactions.

If the feeling of digestive heaviness persists, or if the appetite remains mixed, it is recommended to eat fruits and vegetables during meals without protein, and to eat from time to time a protein-only meal, and. Systematically spacing out animal proteins, however, has the drawback of insufficient vitamin B12 intake, knowing that this vitamin can only be absorbed in very small amounts at a time and is only present in animal products. An annual check of the B12 reserves is therefore recommended.

One solution to avoiding bad protein + carbohydrate combinations is to eat protein as an appetizer, and then wait at least half an hour to an hour before eating most of the meal. It can be seen with the eggs that the foul-smelling winds do not occur in this case, while immediately following up with the vegetables, the fumes of hydrogen sulphide indicate the presence of abnormal chemical reactions.

The main thing is to learn to respect the language of the body: never exceed, especially during meals including proteins, neither the alliesthesic signals, nor the fullness signals. Stop as soon as the flavor seems less rewarding, as soon as the slightest sign of fullness occurs, or even the slightest feeling of disgust.

Plus the exception that proves the rule: occasional forcing (never more than once a month for example), can wake up the immune system. For example, if there is disgust with a particular food association, exceeding repulsion signals can trigger a detoxification reaction.

An occasional bad association is in principle of no consequence. A particularly plentiful and varied New Year’s menu is certainly less dangerous than ordinary gourmet menus. No complications have ever been observed. Shelton’s warning applies only to repeated bad associations, as occurs in ordinary diets, when menus respond to certain cooking habits that defeat the body’s natural defenses. The problem arises in the instincto context only if we tend to force the signals to stop, old binge eating habits, or too little choice, or if we force ourselves to finish the leftovers of meals (fruits started) or the remaining provisions in order to avoid losses.