INTRODUCTION

In Dr Bass opinion and experience as a nutritional consultant in Natural Hygiene (he began studying nutrition in 1936), sequential eating represents the most advanced approach to understanding proper food combining.
Dr Bass tested and retested the concept on himself thousands of times, as well as on others, including his family, his patients, as well as other Hygienic doctors. 

FOOD COMBINING PRINCIPLE

Any quick digesting foods must wait till the slowest digesting foods leave the stomach before they can leave. This process can take up to 6 or 8 hours. While waiting, the fruit, cooked and raw vegetables, and some of the starches undergo some decomposition and fermentation, producing gas, acid and even alcohol along with indigestion.

A RADICAL NEW CONCEPT OF DIGESTION

If there are 5 different types of food in the stomach at one meal, each eaten separately and in sequence, there will be 5 different kinds of digestion going on at the same time, each layer having different enzymes digesting each food, according to the needs of the food contained in that layer.
But when 5 different foods are eaten at a meal, where each mouthful or bite is taken of a different food, then the entire stomach is filled with the same mixture.

ADVANTAGES OF REARRANGING THE SEQUENCE

One of dr Bass patients in his early days of practice absolutely refused to give up any of his accustomed, conventional, low-quality foods. In this case that patient was given all that he desired. The only change was made to rearrange the sequence of his foods. Amazingly, all off his digestive problems vanished in just 3 days.

SEQUENTIAL EATING REFERENCES

In one of experiment rats were fed with small amount of food of 3 different colors. First the black, then the white second, and third the red color. Shortly after, the animals were sacrificed, the stomach frozen and then cut in sections. The different colored food was found to be in layers.

SIMPLE TEST FOR ANYONE

One simple test that dr Bass used on himself was to eat different foods, one variety at a time, in sequence (all at one meal), for few different meals. Then when nature called, he examined the feces and was able to see different colors in the same feces. Watermelon which was reddish in color, was first, then tossed salad which was very dark brown was next, and cheese was very light tan was last. All were joined together, exiting the body in the same order as they were eaten.
Anyone can try this test, but to be accurate, the different foods must be eaten one at a time, and follow each other in sequence.

STOMACH – ILLUSTRATION

For purposes of illustration dr Bass presented a diagram of the stomach and how 6 different foods eaten in sequence at one meal would form 6 different layers, during the time spent in the stomach.

In this diagram of the stomach:

Layer 1 is where the first food eaten goes (fruit).

Layer 2 is where the 2nd food eaten goes (the tossed salad).

Layer 3 is where the corn on the cob goes, etc.

In this meal 6 different foods were used, giving us 6 layers.

With this meal, after 30 min fruit will leave the stomach, and layer 2 – the tossed salad, will move down to layer one’s place. Layer 2 will shortly leave the stomach too and then the corn in leyer 3 moves down and 15 minutes later, it will leave the stomach. As each leyer leave, the stomach size gets smaller and feels more comfortable. Each leyer digest separately,  without mixing and without disturbing adjacent layers.

BASIC RULE – WATERY FOODS FIRST

To simplify this concept of sequential or layered eating, the basic rule or principle can be stated as follows: Eat the most watery food first

DIGESTION TIME OF VARIOUS FOODS

(approx. time spent in stomach before emptying).

Water

when stomach is empty, water leaves immediately and goes into intestines,

Juices

Fruit vegetables, vegetable broth – 15 to 20 min.

Semi-liquid

Blended salad, vegetables or fruits – 20 to 30 min.

Fruits

Watermelon – 20 min
Canteloupe, Cranshaw, Honeydew etc. – 30 min.
Oranges, grapefruit, grapes – 30 min.
Apples, pears, peaches, cherries in 40 min.

Vegetables

Raw tossed salad vegetables – tomato, lettuces, cucumber, celery, red or green pepper, other succulent vegetables – 30 to 40 min.

Steamed or cooked vegetables

Leafy vegetables – escarole, spinach, kale, collards etc. – 40 min Zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, squash – 45 min.                   Root vegetables – carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips etc. – 50 min.

Semi-Concentrated Carbohydrates – Starches

Jerusalem artichokes & leafy, acorn & butternut squashes, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam, chestnuts – all 60 min. 

Concentrated Carbohydrates – Grains

Brown rice, millet, buckwheat, cornmeal, oats (first 3 vegetables best) – 90 min.

Legumes & Beans – (Concentrated Carbohydrate & Protein)

Lentils, limas, chick peas, peas, pigeon peas, kidney beans, etc. – 90 min.
soy beans -120 min.

Seeds & Nuts

Seeds – Sunflower, pumpkin, pepita, sesame – approx. 2 hours.
Nuts – Almonds, filberts, peanuts (raw), cashews, brazil, walnuts, pecans etc. – 2,5 to 3 hours 

Dairy

Skim milk, cottage or low fat pot cheese or ricotta – approx. 90 min.
whole milk cottage cheese – 120 min.
whole milk hard cheese – 4 to 5 hours 

Animal proteins

Egg yolk – 30 min.
Whole egg – 45 min.
Fish – cod, scrod, flounder, sole seafood – 30 min.
Fish – salmon, salmon trout, herring, (more fatty fish) – 45 -60 min.
Chicken – 1,5 to 2 hours (without skin)
Turkey – 2 to 2,5 hours (without skin)
Beef, lamb – 3 to 4 hours
Pork – 4,5 to 5 hours 

BAD COMBINATIONS TO AVOID

The following represents some examples of bad combinations to avoid

Mixing dried sweet fruit, honey, maple syrup or bananas with nuts or seeds

Mixing starch foods with fresh or acid foods or fruits

Mixing dried sweet fruits with acid fruits.

Never eat dried sweet fruits with or after concentrated proteins

Eating raw, fresh or dried fruits after any cooked food

Avoid drinking beverages or even water during or after meals

CHEW ALL FOOD CLOSE TO LIQUID

Dr Bass advice for best digestion – chew all food close to a liquid before swallowing. We can only assimilate foods which are most liquified.

The digestion times given are under an ideal situation of eating only one food, chewing well, and having efficient digestion, as is the case e.g. after a fast. They are digestion times for optimally healthy persons, with good eating habits. 

EAT SMALLER AMOUNT – FEWER VARIETIES

The smaller the amount of a particular food eaten, the less is the digestive time for that food. The greater the amount of a food eaten, the more is the digestive time prolonged.

The less we mix and the fewer the varieties we use, the easier it is to digest and the less we will be tempted to overeat. The greater the variety, the greater the tendency to overeat.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BLENDED SALADS

Due to the liquification of vegetables by blending:

Absorption and assimilation of its vitamins, minerals proteins etc. from blended salad is increased to approximately 5 times as compare to eating and chewing the salad. A blended salad will digest and leave the stomach in 15 to 20 min. compared to 30 to 60 minutes for a tossed salad eaten whole.

Conservation at energy in the digestive process is the key to all healing. (Success in healing is measured in terms of energy available. This was known by the early masters of Natural Hygiene)

BASIC PURPOSE IS SAVING ENERGY

Dr Bass state that energy is the most important factor needed for recovery of health and it must be conserved at all costs and not wasted in unnecessary digestion. Sequential eating will maximize the conservation of energy without fail.

Try it – feel the difference – and you’ll never go back to your old ways.