Bioavailability - The Power of Food Combination

Hello beautiful people! Let’s talk about 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍!

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But first, let’s define what I mean by that.⁣

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𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 refers to the technique of eating certain foods together in order to increase 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 of nutrition.⁣

Bio-what?? Huh? 🤨⁣

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𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 is the degree and rate at which a nutrient is absorbed in your body. Combining certain foods together (i.e. combing certain vitamins, nutrients, minerals) can actually 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 the amount and speed of 𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. ☣️⁣

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So when you hear the term “𝘝𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘓𝘈𝘕𝘒 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺” it doesn’t necessarily mean you are NOT eating or getting enough of that vitamin/mineral/nutrient. It can just mean that you are simply not 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 and so no matter how much of it you eat, it won’t be absorbed by your body. (This is one of the main reasons I am not big on MOST 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 1-3 and the rest through food).⁣

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The opposite is also true! 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.⁣

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But today, I wanna focus on 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. ⬆️⁣

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So let’s get started with 𝟱 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗲𝘀: 👇🏼⁣

1️⃣Combining 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜 with 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭 will boost bioavailability of 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪-𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 compounds of turmeric. 🫚⁣

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2️⃣ 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧, an essential mineral, absorption can be enhanced by combining with 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐂. So pair red meat (or any other foods rich in iron) with leafy greens, broccoli, or sweet peppers to increase absorption of iron in the them. 🥩🌶️🥦⁣

*** 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞/𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 can lead to things like 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘻𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴/𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, etc.⁣

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3️⃣ 𝑭𝒂𝒕-𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒔 (A, D, E, and K) are better absorbed when eaten with 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵. So sauté your kale in ghee/olive oil, or dress sweet potatoes with coconut/olive oil.⁣

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4️⃣ 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐬 + 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬. 🍅🥑 There is no surprise why guacamole exists. Tomatoes are rich in 𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦 and when combined with the 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐬 of avocados, the lysopene becomes more bioavailable.⁣

5️⃣ Increase bioavailability of nutrients in 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬 by combining them with olive oil, avocado, nuts or other sources of fat; leafy greens contain 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘴 (antioxidants) that are better absorbed with the presence of 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭. 🥬⁣

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📍According to a study by the 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘕𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒅𝒔 were NOT absorbed when salads were dressed with 𝐟𝐚𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐟𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 showed a substantially 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!⁣

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So my folks, ditch that “fat-free” diet and have yourself some butter on that toast and pour some REAL dressing on your salad (or better yet, use some good old EVOO as my dear friend Rachel Ray would say ☺️)⁣

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Finally, this is not necessarily a food combination but rather a 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐩 but might as well throw it in here:⁣

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I know we are told from a young age to “𝘌𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴!” But what we are NOT told is 𝐇𝐎𝐖 to eat them (and by "how" I don't mean how to hold your knife/spoon/fork, but rather 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧). 👩🏻‍🍳⁣

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Why is this important?⁣

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Because the 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 can 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 or 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 their 𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.⁣

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𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁: Researchers found that 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 like sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers and asparagus kept the 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 locked in. ♨️⁣

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📌So, 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗜𝗣: Steam vegetables until they are 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 and then stop. This is the time needed for them to have the maximum nutrients locked in. (You don’t want them to become limp).

Boiling vegetables causes 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳-𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘴 like vitamin C, B1, and folate to leach into the water; and so you 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄 the 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 unless you are drinking or using the water, too.⁣

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PLUS, some vegetables actually 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 when steamed! 📈⁣

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When you cook vegetables, they become 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭, especially if you suffer from 𝘐𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘭 𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘦/𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 (𝘐𝘉𝘚/𝘐𝘉𝘋). Why? Because plant foods, such as vegetables, have a thick outer wall in their raw state which can be difficult to digest for many people.⁣

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So, for those of us with 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬, I suggest you to try and start off with cooked vegetables and later introduce some raw, if tolerated. For maximum diversity for the gut (here comes our second brain again! 🧠), go for eating a mixture of raw and cooked (providing you don’t have digestive issues). 🥕🍠🫛⁣

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All that being said, remember, we are all 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄.⁣

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𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿.⁣

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𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 to it. 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 it. 𝐅𝐮𝐞𝐥 it. 👂⁣