Compared to Taoist concept of balance, the western notion of “balance” is simplistic and superficial. Western physicians advise everyone to take “a little of everything at every meal”, mixing up such as disparate ingredients as meat, milk, starch, fat and sugar. This blends will not burn efficiently and will provide little power. The Western scientific equivalent of Yin /Yang balance in food combination is something we all learned in elementary chemistry acid/alkaline balance, or “pH”. Combining a measure of alkaline substance with a measure of acid substance, the resulting chemical  substance will be a neutral one, as the plain water. That’s the principle behind reaching for bicarbonate (a strong alkaline) to relieve “acid indigestion”.

The Nine Basic Rules of Proper Food Combining:

1. Eat acids and starches at separate meals. Acids neutralize the alkaline medium required for starch digestion and the result is fermentation and indigestion.  
2. Eat protein foods and carbohydrate foods at separate meals. Protein foods require an acid medium for digestion. 
3. Eat but one kind of protein food at a meal. 
4. Eat proteins and acid foods at separate meals. The acids of acid foods inhibit the secretion of the digestive acids required for protein digestion. Undigested protein putrefies in bacterial decomposition and produces some potent poisons. 
5. Eat fats and proteins at separate meals. Some foods, especially nuts, are over 50% fat and require hours for digestion. 
6. Eat sugars (fruits) and proteins at separate meals. 
7. Eat sugars (fruits) and starchy foods at separate meals. Fruits undergo no digestion in the stomach and are held up if eaten with foods that require digestion in the stomach.  
8. Eat melons alone. They combine with almost no other food. 
9. Desert the desserts. Eaten on top of meals they lie heavy on the stomach, requiring no digestion there, and ferment. Bacteria turn them into alcohols and vinegars and acetic acids.

Healthy Foods to Eat
Sweet Fruit
Banana, Carob, Date, Fig, Prune, Raisins, Dried fruit, Persimmon, Mango, Papaya, Sapote

 Sub-Acid Fruit
Apple, Apricot, Blackberry, Cherimoya, Cherry, Elderberry, Gooseberry, Grape, Huckleberry, Nectarine, Peach, Pear, Plum, Quince, Raspberry, Sapodilla

Acid Fruit
Currant, Grapefruit, Guava, Kumquat, Lemon, Lime, Orange, Loganberry, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Strawberry, Tamarind, Tangerine, Tomato

Melons
Banana melon, Cantaloupe, Casaba, Christmas melon, Persian melon, Crenshaw melon, Watermelon, Honeydew melon, Muskmelon, Nutmeg melon

Proteins
Almonds, Cashew nuts, Hazel nuts, Hickory nuts, Lentils, Peanuts, Gooseberry, Avocados, Pecans, Pine nuts, Pistachio nuts, Soy beans, Walnuts, Sunflower seeds, Coconuts

Starches
Artichoke, Bean (lima)*, Beets, Chestnut, Carrots, Corn, Hubbard squash, Jerusalem artichoke, Peanuts*, Peas, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Yam
* Peanuts, lentils, beans, and all cereals are considered as protein and starch combinations

Non-Starchy Vegetables
Bamboo shoots, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Romaine, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard, Cucumber, Eggplant, Endive, Kale, Kohlrabi,

Lettuce: Boston, Bibb, Leaf, Romaine, Okra, Parsnip, Pepper (sweet), Rutabaga, Sorrel, Sprouts: Mung bean, alfalfa, wheat, barley, etc., Squash (ex. starchy), Turnip.