Fried foods, chocolate, ice cream, creamy mashed potatoes... these widely beloved delicacies can often lead to indigestion and are not suitable for everyone. If you have a sensitive digestive system but can't resist your cravings, you might want to check out how to eat the following 10 hardest-to-digest foods. Fried Foods
Fried foods like fried chicken nuggets and french fries are inevitably rich in oil and high in fat, and the accumulation of these two substances in the stomach can cause illness. Oil produces a substance called "acrylamide" at high temperatures, which is difficult to digest. If you already suffer from diseases like gastroenteritis, you should be especially careful to eat less greasy, high-fat fried food, otherwise it may cause some uncomfortable symptoms, such as nausea and diarrhea.
Solution: To satisfy your cravings, you can get a delicious feeling without giving up fried foods. For example, if you want a crunchy experience, eating salty potato chips is definitely unhealthy, but you can find other ways to make potato chips, such as baking instead of frying, or choosing low-fat or fat-free foods like crisp crackers or hollow popcorn.
Spicy Food
Red chili peppers or jalapenos can irritate the inner wall of the esophagus, leaving you with an unpleasant burning sensation after eating and increasing the burden on your stomach.
Even if you add some sour cream to cool it down, you still get the same irritation. Moreover, adding things like sour cream can lead to other side effects.
Solution: For those with a weak digestive system or a "heaty" body, if you really can't resist the temptation of spicy food, you might as well choose some mildly spicy foods and eat less green and red chili peppers.
Chocolate
Eating a lot of chocolate not only brings excess calories, but also people who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease have experienced the uncomfortable stimulation after eating chocolate. This is because chocolate causes the lower esophageal sphincter to relax, causing stomach acid to reflux and irritate the esophagus and throat.
Solution: When choosing chocolate, dark chocolate is the best choice. This is because dark chocolate contains various beneficial minerals for the human body, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and copper. Among all chocolates, it has the lowest sugar and fat content. In addition, dark chocolate can also lower blood pressure and prevent atherosclerosis. However, even good things shouldn't be eaten too much; you can only eat up to two small pieces a day.
Citrus Juice
Acidic drinks can irritate the esophagus and stimulate sensory nerves, causing the stimulated area to become red and swollen. If your first thing in the morning is to drink a large glass of citrus juice, it will increase the acidity in your stomach and intestines. If you are drinking sweet lemonade with a high concentration of fructose at this time, you need to be even more careful, because excessive sugar intake can cause diarrhea.
Solution: Citrus juice is rich in vitamin C and is suitable for regular consumption. As long as you choose the right time to drink it, you don't have to worry about irritating the esophagus. The best time to drink citrus juice or other acidic juices is with a meal or between meals.
Ice Cream
If you happily finish a large bowl of ice cream and then experience bloating, abdominal cramps, gas, and other reactions, you should consider staying away from these dairy-rich foods. Eating too many raw and cold foods like ice cream, popsicles, and cold drinks can affect the normal function of the digestive system, making food difficult to digest and easily damaging the spleen and stomach. Although they are delicious to eat, they can lead to a loss of appetite, irritate the spleen and stomach, and create a vicious cycle of bloating and abdominal pain.
Solution: If you don't want to give up cool frozen foods, the only solution is to switch to lactose-free frozen foods, such as pastes made from beans or rice flour. But even if you can tolerate lactose, ice cream contains a lot of fat, and fat stays in the stomach longer than other foods, so it's best to eat less or no raw or cold foods.
Broccoli and Cabbage
Broccoli and cabbage are both outstanding members of the cruciferous vegetable family, not only rich in vitamins and dietary fiber, but also have anti-cancer and anti-aging effects. But even though they are rich in dietary fiber and various nutrients, these vegetables are not without their flaws. High-fiber vegetables can help expand your stomach capacity and easily lead to the accumulation of excess gas in the digestive tract.
Solution: The solution is simple. Just blanch them in hot water before eating to soften them, which can neutralize the sulfur compounds that produce gas. These two vegetables are best suited for cold salads and stir-frying.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes are low in calories, high in protein, and contain various vitamins and trace elements, making them a popular ideal diet food. But mashed potatoes with cream or cheese are not as good as you might think.
There is always a portion of the population that is lactose intolerant. If you are one of these people, creamy mashed potatoes are not for you. This is because the milk, cream, or cheese added to the mashed potatoes will make your stomach very uncomfortable.
Solution: It's best not to buy mashed potatoes from outside; you can easily make plain mashed potatoes at home with fresh potatoes, steamed or boiled without any seasonings.
Raw Onions
Onions, garlic, and chives are full of various nutrients that are very beneficial to health, such as protecting the heart. However, eating them raw can also cause digestive discomfort, such as gas and abdominal cramps. Cooking seems to eliminate the bad effects of the nutrient compounds that cause digestive problems.
Solution: American nutrition expert Mary Ryan suggests that when eating these foods, you can use a mixed method of raw and cooked, which allows you to reap the health benefits without suffering the negative effects.
Beans
Beans are notorious for causing indigestion. The oligosaccharides in beans, such as stachyose and raffinose, are fermented by intestinal bacteria, which can break down and produce some gas, leading to symptoms such as belching, bowel sounds, bloating, and abdominal pain. Patients with severe peptic ulcers should not eat bean products because they are high in purines, which can promote gastric juice secretion. Patients with acute gastritis and chronic superficial gastritis should also avoid bean products to prevent stimulating gastric acid secretion and causing gastrointestinal bloating.
Solution: Cooking beans in soup form can help with digestion. By adding water, it helps digest the large amount of fiber in beans, or you can extend the cooking time. Additionally, gradually increase bean products in your diet, which will slowly increase the demand for enzymes needed to digest beans without causing side effects.