11. Questions & Answers

How many mildly starchy vegetables may be used with a concentrated starch?

Preferably only one, e.g., potatoes and carrots. However, if no concentrated starch is used at the meal, two (or perhaps even three) mildly starchy vegetables might be used together, e.g., globe artichokes, carrots and water chestnuts, together with a large green salad.

What percentage of a meal should be of concentrated proteins or starches?

A small percentage, say 10 or 15%.

If I want to eat home-made bread, cake or pie occasionally, how should they be combined?

Cake or pie is such a conglomeration of ingredients, there is no way to properly combine them.

I have an 85-year-old mother who lives with me. How far should I go in trying to convince her to accept the Hygienic food program and food combining?

You can't (and shouldn't try to) force anyone at any age to eat your way. You should not nag elderly people to change their ways. If she is receptive to gentle persuasion, that is fine, but arguing about what foods she should eat may do more harm than good.

Why is it that conventional foods stay with me longer, and what can I do to feel more satisfied for a longer period of time between meals, so I can resist snacking?

First of all, to have foods "stay with you" is undesirable. When you eat a conglomeration of foods that are diffficult to digest, you have given your body a lot of work to do to try to get rid of the mess. No wonder you don't feel like eating again for a long time! Food mixtures that take many hours to digest are apt to ferment and cause problems When I first changed to a properly combined Hygienic diet, I noticed the "empty" feeling at certain times, but I soon came to realize that it was a good feeling to know that gastric digestion has been efficiently accomplished, and that the stomach would now have chance to relax and rest before it would have to deal with the next meal. The "empty" feeling doesn't necessarily signal the need for food.
Of course, it is unusual to feel "empty" very soon after a protein meal. My digestion has improved so much that I am delighted when my stomach feels empty 3 1/2 or 4 hours after eating nuts and a raw salad. In my earlier years of Hygienic eating, it took five or six hours or longer to achieve that happy state of "emptiness."
It is true that for those who feel more satisfaction and less desire for unwholesome foods after a meal that takes longer to digest, it might be advisable to have a protein meal at noon instead of in the evening. A properly combined protein meal will not cause the complicated problems common in digesting conventional meals, but it does remain in the stomach and intestines much longer than fruit or starch meals, thus giving people a satisfied feeling and preventing them from snacking on junk foods or sugars between meals.
In recent years, Dr. Vetrano served the protein/fat meal (nuts) at noon at the Health School. (See article, "Protein Meal at Noon," by Dr. Virginia Vetrano, in this lesson.)
I personally prefer to defer eating foods which require long digestion time (proteins or combination foods or starches) until the evening meal. During the day, when I am most active, I don't like to have a "full" feeling. In fact, when I am scheduled to give an afternoon lecture, I usually don't eat at all until after the lecture. Sometimes I might eat the orange or a small piece of melon a couple of hours before the lecture. When I am scheduled for an evening lecture, I might eat a light fruit meal a couple of hours beforehand.
When I eat a meal which includes protein or a combination food or starch (following a large salad, of course), I prefer to be able to relax and rest afterwards, if at all possible. I find this works best for me.
I do make some occasional exceptions to this rule, depending on my program for the day. If I am going to be away from home in the evening and unable to have my leisurely evening meal, I might eat a protein meal before leaving home, as my noon meal. Sometimes I simply take a bag of salad and some nuts with me.