What Are The Foods That Most Impair Digestion?
If you have been suffering from frequent stomach ailments such as abdominal pain, heartburn, or conditions such as irritable bowel, you may need to avoid certain foods. There are several foods that harm digestion causing discomfort in the gastrointestinal system.
To improve this condition, below we explain which are the foods that are not recommended to facilitate digestion. The best option is to exclude these products from the diet, or failing that, greatly reduce their consumption to avoid complications.
Foods that impair digestion
Fried and high-fat foods
All those fast foods, such as fried foods or the foods in the following list, can cause or increase gastric reflux. As a result, digestion is worse and heartburn and heartburn can occur.
Foods rich in fat also delay gastric emptying, therefore their time through the stomach is longer as shown in the following article. These foods are as follows:
- Chips.
- Ice creams.
- Fried eggs.
- Sweet.
- Burgers.
- High fat foods.
Therefore, it is recommended that those people who suffer from irritable bowel or frequent stomach pains, avoid eating this type of food so that the symptoms do not worsen.
The alcohol
People with gastrointestinal disorders should moderate their alcohol consumption. This substance can cause burning in the stomach with the annoying symptoms of acid reflux. These symptoms are even more intense if alcohol consumption is combined with tobacco, as the following study affirms.
This occurs as a result of inflammation of the stomach lining, preventing the absorption of nutrients and impairing the work of certain enzymes.
Hot peppers
To avoid heartburn, reflux or gastritis, we recommend that you avoid all kinds of spicy foods. The intense burning that you feel can cause severe stomach irritation. In this way, health problems can get worse.
This is highlighted by a publication of Digestive Diseases , which mentions that spicy foods increase irritation in the already inflamed esophagus and, therefore, increase the severity of heartburn.
Because of this, the consumption of this kind of food should be moderate. Also, in case of heartburn or acid reflux, it is best to avoid consumption until you find relief.
Dairy can jeopardize your digestion
As we all know, calcium is an essential mineral in our diet. The best way to obtain it is by consuming milk and all its derivatives.
However, there are many people who cannot consume them due to lactose intolerance. This is a very common condition in large numbers of people whose bodies do not produce enough of the lactase enzyme. This protein is responsible for digesting the lactose contained in milk.
When people with lactose intolerance consume these dairy products, they suffer from stomach disorders such as:
- Diarrhea
- Cramps
- Gases
- Abdominal distension.
- Poor digestion
So if you are on the list of people with intolerance to dairy foods, you should avoid them and get your calcium from green leafy vegetables or through vitamin supplements.
In the case of not being a lactose intolerant person, the consumption of dairy can alleviate the symptoms of heartburn or reflux due to its basic nature, which acts as a buffer against stomach acid.
Chocolate and strawberries
Chocolate can be harmful for people with chronic constipation and irritable bowel movements. It can also produce changes in the pressure of the esophageal sphincter and therefore increase the risk of reflux according to the following study.
The same happens with strawberries, which despite being delicious and nutritious can harm gastrointestinal health in these patients.
These fruits can cause many digestion-related problems for people who have diverticula, sacs that form in the large intestine.
Diverticula can fill with the seeds contained in strawberries and cause serious infections. Therefore, if you know that you suffer from this disease, it is better to avoid strawberries from your diet.
Coffee and sodas make your digestion worse
What these drinks do is relax the esophageal sphincter and, as a consequence, favors the development of reflux.
Coffee and soft drinks act as diuretics, they can cause severe diarrhea and cause abdominal pain. People who have acid reflux and heartburn should stop consuming these drinks.
To keep in mind!
There are many foods that can affect good gastrointestinal function and digestion. We must be very careful with the symptoms caused by the food we eat every day. In this way we will know which ones affect our health and thus we can exclude them from our diet.
