Food influences our overall health and wellness in complex ways.  By combining powerhouse healthy foods together, you’re able to truly reap the benefits of not one, but two as they compliment each other and ultimately deliver stronger benefits for your body – when they’re together.   For example, Fats and carbohydrates help you absorb nutrients better. The vitamin C in fruits and vegetables help you absorb more iron. And those are just a couple examples to name a few! Daily supplements, like vitamins and protein powders are good to use, yes, but it’s combining powerhouse nutrients together with healthy food combinations that really will improve your health.

Benefits of Food Combining: 

• Less Gas/Bloating – So much of the bloating and discomfort you feel after certain meals is the result of improperly combined foods. Combining foods correctly will significantly reduce the abdominal discomfort that comes from digestive gas. 
• More Energy – Improperly combined foods are harder to digest, which means they can leave you feeling sluggish and weighed down. But because food combining promotes smoother, more efficient digestion, your body will naturally have more energy left over after each meal. 
• Anti-Aging – Food combining improves your body’s ability to absorb essential vitamins and nutrients, which helps fight the aging process in a number of different ways, including promoting joint health, better vision, and brighter, healthier skin and hair. 
• Weight Loss – Although food combining has a whole laundry list of health benefits, it first came into the public consciousness as a healthy alternative to popular diet fads and weight loss solutions. That’s because properly combined foods are easier for your body to assimilate, which means your body is able to metabolize them more efficiently, reducing the amount that is converted into stored fat.

Here are 12 healthy food combinations you can use to elevate your nutrition: 

1. Almonds + Yogurt: Fat-soluble vitamins found in dairy products (A, D, and E) are activated and absorbed best when eaten with healthy fats like those found in nuts. 
2. Tomatoes + Avocados: Tomatoes contain the carotenoid lycopene, which may decrease the risk of some cancers. Healthy fats, like those in avocados, make carotenoids more bioavailable.
3. Blueberries + Grapes: Both of these fruits are packed with antioxidants, and the antioxidant effects are boosted when you eat them together. The same goes for mixing up antioxidant-rich veggies, like leafy greens, beets, and broccoli. 
4. Garlic + Fish: The minerals in fish help make the best use of the anti-inflammatory fish oils, EPA & DHA. Garlic has its own long list of benefits. Together, this healthy food combination helps reduce LDL cholesterol.
5. Green Tea + Lemon: Vitamin C in lemons helps your body absorb antioxidants in green tea up to 6x more than if you drank it alone. This can also improve brain function and fat loss.
6. Eggs + Cheese: Vitamin D in egg yolks maximizes the absorption of the calcium in cheese. Sufficient calcium in the body will promote neurotransmitter health (mood/focus) and stabilize hormones to reduce PMS & weight gain.
7. Broccoli + Tomatoes: Both have been shown to reduce the growth of tumors, but the combo is even more effective at shrinking the size of prostate-cancer tumors.
8. Eggs + Cantaloupe: Protein from eggs (or other meats) slows the absorption of glucose from carbs. This minimizes insulin & blood-sugar spikes, which slows the absorption of glucose and makes you feel full.
9. Turmeric + Black Pepper: The curcumin in turmeric is anti-inflammatory and tumor-fighting but has low bioavailability on it’s own. Adding black pepper enhances curcumin’s bioavailability by 1,000x.
10. Red Meat + Rosemary: The antioxidants, rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid, in rosemary soak up the free radicals, which are carcinogenic, that appear in the charred meat when you grill at high temps over an open flame.
11. Lemon + Kale: Vitamin C helps your body absorb plant-based iron, as non-heme (plant-based) iron is less bioavailable.
12. Apples + Chocolate: The antioxidants in apples (quercetin) and chocolate (catechin) have benefits of their own. Together, the combo loosens clumpy blood platelets, improving cardiovascular health.