The Hay diet was developed by a Doctor in New York. His diet prohibited the consumption of starches and proteins during the same meal. William Hay began developing the food-combining diet in 1904 to treat himself for medical conditions. He lost 50 (22.7 kilograms) pounds in approximately three months and recovered from his ailments.
Whilst researching his new diet he studied the work of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, the Russian physiologist known for his research with dogs. Pavlov’s studies of the digestion process of dogs indicated that it took about two hours to digest starches and four hours to digest proteins. However, it could take 13 hours to digest a mixture of protein and starch.
Hay’s research concluded that health was affected by the chemical process of digestion. The body uses an alkaline digestive process for carbohydrates, the group that Hay classified as consisting of starchy foods and sweet things. The digestion of proteins involved acid.
Dr Hay argued that if carbohydrates and proteins were consumed at the same time, the alkaline process was interrupted by the acid process. Combining incompatible foods caused acidosis, the accumulation of excess acid in body fluids. Hay linked the combination of foods to medical conditions such as Bright’s disease and diabetes. The wrong combinations, he believed “drained vitality” and caused people to gain weight.
Hay concluded that the solution was to eat proteins at one meal and carbohydrates at another. He classified fruits with acids. Hay labeled vegetables in the neutral category that could be consumed with either group. He also advocated the daily administration of an enema to cleanse the colon.
Hay introduced his diet in 1911 and spent the rest of his life promoting it. He lectured in the United States and Canada and wrote books. The Medical Millennium was published in 1927, followed by Health via Food in 1929 and A New Health Era in 1939.
Hay’s eating plan was the forerunner of late 20th century food-combining diet including Stephen’s Twiggs’ Kensington Diet and Judy Mazel’s New Beverly Hills Diet.
Contemporary versions of the Hay diet no longer recommend a daily enema. The eating plan still follows Hay’s classification of foods into three categories, along with the rules about how the foods are combined at mealtime.
The Hay diet meal plan is based on the categories of;
- Proteins,
- Starches,
- and Neutral Foods.
Some versions of the Hay diet recommend eating small portions of proteins, starches, and fats. There is also an emphasis on eating whole-grain products and unprocessed starches. Some plans allow alcoholic beverages; others prohibit processed foods with ingredients such as refined sugar, margarine, and white flour.
The Hay Rules for Health
Starches and sugars should not be eaten with proteins and acid fruits at the same meal.
Vegetables, salads and fruits whether acid or fruit, if correctly combined) should form the major part of the diet.
Proteins, starches and fats should be eaten in small quantities.
Only whole grains and unprocessed starches should be used and all refines and processed foods should be excluded from the diet. This in particular applies to white flour, sugar and all foods containing them. Also excluded are highly processed fats like margarine, highly colored and sweetened foods and drinks.
An interval of not less than four hours should elapse between meals of different types of food.
Hay created his meal plan to treat medical problems associated with obesity. He claimed that a change in eating habits rather than medication was beneficial in the treatment of conditions such as cardiac disease, kidney disease, and kidney disorders.
In contemporary times, the Hay diet is used as a weight-loss plan by the general public and people interested in alternative treatments. Advocates of natural health maintain that the plan reverses conditions such as arthritis, indigestion, constipation, and flatulence. The Hay diet is also regarded as a natural method for providing relief to people diagnosed with asthma and allergies.
Doctor Hay´s food-combining plan has been criticized over the years.
Critics of the Hay Diet argue that the human digestive system is able to process the proteins and starches from one meal. They also point out that some foods contain both carbohydrates and proteins.
