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From all the sources I've read, the hypothesis of "protein complimentarity" (mixing foods to create a complete protein) was brought forward by Frances Moore Lappe in the late 1960's; in 1981, she recanted that theory after doing actual research on the subject. (see pages 178-183 of Diet for a New America by John Robbins; also Wikipedia, "Combining Proteins", "Complete Protein Myth", among other sources).
However, since the old saying goes "there is nothing new under the sun", I would not be at all surprised if the now-repudiated practice of 'protein combining' predated Lappe's hypothesis - especially since she based her theory on traditional diets such as corn tortillas or rice with beans in Latin America, rice or wheat chapatis with lentils in India; soy products with rice, wheat, or barley in Asian countries and so on...
Good analysis, Mrs. Jim. And so true about the traditional foods: tortillas and beans, rice or wheat with lentils, etc. ... and our taste buds seemed to have evolved from the dawn of time wanting these combos in places where meat was not the major food source, IMO.
Food combining have very little, if any, rational basis. Almost all the foods we eat have a combo of the three macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbs and our bodies are pretty much made to digest them simultaneously.
However, food combining may work because you're eliminating one major food group (and its associated calories) from the meal. For example, instead of steak and potatoes--you may get steak and veggies, which reduces overall calories of the meal and thus, weight loss/maintenance.
Maybe food combining has nothing to do with weight loss, however, it CAN help in how you feel! Take Ayurveda for example... for a long time I ate in certain food combinations for my type (Pitta) and I had less problems with indigestion, heartburn, gas, bloating, etc... whether it helped me lose weight is neither here nor there... maybe it did, maybe it didn't.
Even though I am starting my WL journey again I learned A LOT over the years about what foods make me feel good and what foods made me feel crap. I would love for there to be a magic pill, but there isn't. Isn't it also important that you FEEL GOOD while you are losing weight? In that respect I see nothing wrong with food combining
I see nothing wrong with food combining methods either as a way of eating for feeling good or health as desired by individuals.
I only feel there gets to be a problem when celebrities or other individuals with no scientific background write books about food combining or other methods and market them as THE way to FINALLY lose all that weight, then the public jumps on the bandwagon and spends its collective hard-earned money on this final solution and touts its effectiveness, until the next fad comes along.
I think that the problem with saying that something "can" help someone feel better, or lose weight better, is that well, just about *anything* can do this if the person really believes that it will. It can be a placebo effect or can be an effect that is coming about from other factors that the person is mis-attributing to the effect in question. Without a double blind study, there is no way to know that what is being reported is actually due to the properties of the procedure in question.
This is why individual "But it worked for me!" reports are almost worthless in determining if something is an effective strategy. Unless you were part of a study that did a double blind study, there is no way of knowing exactly what it was that was working for you.
