Best Food Combinations for Nutritional Deficiencies

Eating healthy and the right food combination can help you improve your digestion, boost food metabolism, enhance nutritional absorption and thus improve your overall health. These food combinations can help you cure nutritional deficiences and will provide you with a balanced diet for weight loss.

Iron / Zinc with vitamin C

• Iron with vitamin C results in 67 % more absorption of iron in the body
• Food rich in iron and zinc include dal, chole, rajma, nuts and seeds
• Food like green leafy vegetables, ragi, oats, amaranth etc also have iron and zinc in abundance
• Food rich in vitamin C include lemon juice, tamarind chatni, raw mango chutney, homemade pickle etc
• Vitamin C increases the absorption of plant based iron

Grain with pulses or grain with nuts or seeds / pseudo grains

• For complete plant protein include the following
  • Legumes with beans / lentils / peas
  • Nuts / seeds
  • Whole grain like rice / grains
• Oatmeal with nuts / seeds
• Roti or whole wheat bread with nut butter spread

Fat soluble vitamin with healthy fat

• Vitamin A, E, K and D with healthy fat
• Winter ladoos / pinni with nuts / seeds / ghee
• Flax seeds (omega 3) with ghee
• This food combination helps with a number of functions including keeping your bones strong, good immune support and supporting healthy skin
• Eggs with olive oil / unprocessed cheese

Iron and zinc with sulphur

• Add onions or garlic with your meal
• Iron and zinc with sulphur enhances the uptake of iron and zinc in the body

Black pepper with turmeric

• Curcumin with piperine increases absorption by 2000 % due to this food combination
• Turmeric latte with black pepper
• Red lentil, turmeric and black pepper are ideal combination
• Curcumin is the active compound in turmeric which has anti inflammatory properties
• Black pepper which has piperine increases the absorption and potency of curcumin

Lycopene with healthy fat

• Lycopene is a fat soluble compound and a powerful antioxidant
• Salads in olive oil dressing is a good combination
• Lycopene supports heart health with decreased risk of hogh cholesterol and high blood pressure

Green tea with vitamin C

• Lemons help maximise the potential of the body to absorb catechins
• Your body can absorb six times the catechins when combining green tea with lemons

Folic acid with B vitamins

• B vitamins work at their prime when in synergy rather than an isolated nutrient
• Combination of folic acid and vitamin B 12 are essential to form healthy RBC
• Eggs with spinach thus is an excellent food combination
• Curd with moong dal is another very good pairing

Calcium with vitamin D

• Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium from the gut
• Both these nutrients are key for optimal bone density in the body
• Sun dried tomato or mushrooms in veggies or lentil soup is a very good combination

Omega 3 with vitamin D

• Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, therefore it’s consumption alongside fat will automatically increase the nutrient absorption

Food combinations you should avoid

• Caffeine with any meal
• Don’t mix different two types of plant protein
• Don’t mix animal protein with starch (animal protein with vegetables)
• Starch with acidic or semi acidic fruits
• Eat melons alone
• Eat fruits alone
• Have milk as a separate meal