Hay Diet

Hay diet also called as Dr. Hay diet is a diet plan that was developed in 1920 by a New York Physician, Dr. William Howard Hay. He recovered from acute heart plus kidney disease and high blood pressure by just eating naturally (combining the right food types). He lost all the excess weight he had put on to become healthy yet again. This diet follows the age old tradition of giving the body what it needs and letting it heal by itself. Providing the right food for the body and removing all the unwanted food that would cause interruption to the body functioning is the main principle of this diet.

In this diet plan food items are separated from one another into groups. The three major groups are acid, alkaline and neutral groups. Acid food groups like fish, dairy, meat etc that are rich in protein are not combined with alkaline food groups like starch food, rice, wheat, grains, potatoes etc that are rich in carbohydrate.

Complete natural food indicates that at least 50% of the food intake should be fruits, vegetables and salads. Refined flour and sugar have to be kept at bay as they hinder the body healing process. This diet is also known as the food combining diet and functions as a trigger to reduce unwanted weight. No exercise schedule is insisted during this diet program, this is a diet that works purely with the nutrition of the body and can be followed all through the life of a person.

Regulations of hay diet

• Carbohydrates should not be eaten with proteins and acid fruit in the same meal.
  
  
• Vegetables, fruits and salads must be the main component of the diet and has to be eaten on a regular basis.
  
  
• Proteins, starch and fat have to be consumed in small quantities.
  
  
• Whole grain and unprocessed starches are preferred over refined, processed foods such as white flour, white sugar and margarine.
  
  
• There has to be a time interval of four to four and a half hours between each meal. Each meal may consist of different food groups.
  
  
• Milk does not combine with these food groups thus milk has to be kept at bay during any meal.
  

Benefits of hay diet

• This diet helps in nullifying chronic and degenerative conditions such as constipation, indigestion and arthritis.
  
  
• Advantageous for asthma and allergy victims.
  
  
• Helps in stimulating weight loss in a natural manner thus reducing risk of diabetes, gallstones and coronary heart diseases.
  
  
• This diet does not cut down on the amount of food intake but looks into the quality of food eaten.
  
  
• Eating snacks at regular intervals is recommended to keep up high levels of energy.
  
  
• Weight loss is assured at the end of this diet program as this diet regulates the type of food you eat.
  

Principles of hay diet

Hay diet suggests that proteins and starches should not be combined in a single meal. Proteins include meat, poultry, fish, cheese etc. Starch includes bread, cereals, grains, potatoes, sugars etc. If protein and starch are combined in a single meal, digestion of protein is hindered and protein is digested only partially. The same is the case with starch; protein in the diet upsets the digestion of starch in the body. This will possibly lead to various health problems. It is therefore recommended that starch and protein not be mixed in a single meal. The only limitation of this diet is the practical difficulty in listing out the starch content, protein content of each food item we consume.