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While not dangerous, this diet is delusional. There is some validity to its concepts, but it makes much ado about nothing.

The diet induces weight loss by making people more conscious of what they eat. So, the effect is 100% psychological.

The danger of this diet is it gives the dieter a false sense of assurance. Because of this, the dieter is unlikely to pay attention to the real issues involved in proper diet.

In the Similar Foods Diet, the claim is that you must eat certain kinds of foods together and not eat other foods with them.

Proponents of this diet make claims about stomach acidity, digestive chemicals, etc. These claims are all based on complete conjecture and total ignorance of how the stomach works.

The stomach secretes hydrochloric acid to break down foods. It does not release special enzymes for this and special enzymes for that. Nor does it release various levels of hydrochloric acids based on what contents it receives.

The stomach is not equipped with a mass spectrometer that analyzes the food and then signals a chemical factory to provide the appropriate mix. The process is much simpler than that. When the stomach receives food, it secretes hydrochloric acid. Period.

The acidity or alkalinity of the food is irrelevant to the stomach. The acid it releases will be the same. The stomach does sense the acidity level and will release more acid as needed. Thus, it makes no difference if you are eating lime slurry (basic) or orange juice (acidic). The stomach will do what it needs to do.

Now, here is where this diet has some validity. The stomach can release only so much acid, because there is not an infinite supply. Thus, if you eat too many things that neutralize the acid (for example, by eating heavy amounts of calcium sources such as dark green leafy vegetables, yogurt, milk, and so on), the digestive process will be less efficient and your body will not be able to break down all the food.

However, this is also true if you simply overeat. Most Americans eat the equivalent of three meals at a sitting, and so this whole point is moot for them anyhow because their digestive system is already overloaded.

So, don't rely on this diet to work any magic. It won't. Instead, focus on real dietary issues.

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