So what can I tell you about food combining, the belief that eating certain foods together leads to weight loss, as well as a number of other health benefits.

Well, after reading“Food Combinations for Weight Loss: Do They Work?” at Healthline.com, I’ll say the title is nicely done. Written in question form, it makes you want to read on to learn the answer.

But whether the answer is a yes or a no for you, my friend, ultimately depends upon the manner in which you do the food combining. As the Healthline article notes, the problem with many food combining suggestions now making the rounds is that they appear arbitrary, and “not based on research.”

And in other articles where I found research cited to support specific food combinations . . . well, it’s like putting your dachshund’s sweater on your neighbor’s Dalmatian. You know, a bit of a stretch.

For instance, when Christina Stiehl suggests eating eggs, spinach, and avocado oil together in “20 Food Combos to Triple Your Weight Loss” at EatThis.com, she cites two studies that make me wonder if using a Great Dane instead of a Dalmatian would’ve been better in the doggie-sweater analogy.

After calling eggs a “satisfying choice” for a meal or a snack and one that will “will help you lose weight” because of the appetite-suppressing 6 grams of protein found in each large egg, Stiehl adds “but so will the amino acid arginine” and refers to a study published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements. That study found obese women given arginine supplements lost average of 6.5 pounds in a 12-week period, which is all well and good.

But this isn’t.

A WebMD.com article, “Top Foods High in Arginine,” lists 16 foods as containing particularly high amounts of the aforementioned amino acid found in complete protein sources like red meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products - and there’s no mention of eggs.

Stiehl then mentions a study published in the journal Appetite that found people who consumed thylakoids lost more weight than those who didn’t. Thylakoids, by the way, are disk-shaped, membranous sacs in the chloroplasts of green plants.

All green plants. Not just spinach. So wouldn’t asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or even green beans work in this food combination just as well?

And why use avocado oil at all? Just because it’s “rich in satisfying monounsaturated fats”?

Satisfying or not, avocado oil, regarded as a good fat because moderate amounts will not adversely affect your cardiovascular health, has just as many calories per gram as saturated and trans fat - which is 225 percent more calories per gram than protein or complex carbohydrates. So how could any amount of it play a role in an eating strategy designed for weight loss?

Now I’m not trying to make Stiehl look bad here, but scrutinizing one of her suggested food combinations gives credence to what comes next. Because it can be a such crap shoot, food combining isn’t the best way to go.

Combining certain macronutrients - while avoiding others - is.

I call this practice nutrient partitioning as John Parrillo first did about 40 years ago after repeatedly altering the diets of competitive bodybuilders successfully. So successfully that nutrient partitioning has become a keystone to his trademarked system, the Parrillo Performance Nutrition Program.

In his writings, however, he doesn’t use that phrase often any more. When I do, though, I give him credit.

In short - and as found in Parrillo’s Nutritional Bulletin #135 - the premise behind nutrient portioning is easy to follow.

Create meals that include protein, complex carbs, and a “starchy carbohydrate” like oatmeal, squash, rice, white or sweet potatoes. Eat protein and fiber “in large amounts,” but determine the amount of starchy carbs to be consumed on whether you want to build muscle, maintain your current weight, or lose body fat.

Since I criticized the murky science behind food combining, let me remind you of some that’s been long established about digesting dietary fat: It’s easy for the body to do. Really easy.

So much so that about 98 percent of the fat eaten in excess becomes stored body fat.

Similarly, about 95 percent of simple carbs consumed in excess becomes body fat.

Protein, however, is far more difficult for your body to digest, so that when it is consumed in excess, 20 to 30 percent of it gets “wasted” in the process. Complex carbs are about twice as hard to digest as simple ones and the fiber found in complex carbs cannot be digested at all.

From all this, I’m sure you can generate an accurate summary of the Fitness Master food philosophy and see why it’s preferable to food combining. That while sprinkling cinnamon on your oatmeal, adding cayenne pepper to your sandwich, or lemon and mint to the green tea can’t hurt your weight-loss effort, there is better help.