Fried foods, chocolate, ice cream, creamy mashed potatoes... these widely loved 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 8 hardest-to-digest foods.
Fried Foods
Fried foods like chicken nuggets and french fries are inevitably high in oil and fat. The buildup of these two substances in the stomach can cause illness. Oils produce a substance called "acrylamide" at high temperatures, which is difficult to digest. If you already suffer from gastrointestinal diseases, it's especially important to eat less greasy, high-fat fried food, as it can cause discomfort symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
Solution: To satisfy your cravings without frying, you can still get a delicious crunch. For example, while salty potato chips aren't healthy, you can prepare potato slices using other methods, like baking instead of frying, or opt for low-fat or fat-free foods like crisp crackers or hollow popcorn.
Chocolate
Eating large amounts of chocolate not only brings excess calories but also causes an unpleasant burning sensation for those suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease. This is because chocolate relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing stomach acid to reflux and irritate the esophagus and throat.
Solution: When choosing chocolate, dark chocolate is the best option. It is rich in various beneficial minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and copper, and among all chocolates, it has the lowest sugar and fat content. Additionally, dark chocolate can lower blood pressure and prevent atherosclerosis. However, even good things shouldn't be overdone; limit yourself to at most two small pieces per day.
Citrus Juice
Acidic drinks can irritate the esophagus, stimulating sensory nerves and causing the affected area to become red and swollen. If you start your morning with a large glass of citrus juice, you will increase the acidity in your stomach. If you're drinking sweet lemonade with a high concentration of fructose, you should be even more cautious, as excessive sugar intake can cause diarrhea.
Solution: Citrus juice is rich in vitamin C and suitable for regular consumption. As long as you choose the right time to drink it, you don't have to worry about irritating your esophagus. The best time to drink acidic juices like citrus juice is with a meal or between meals.
Ice Cream
If you happily finish a large bowl of ice cream only to experience bloating, abdominal cramps, and gas, you should consider avoiding these dairy-rich foods. Consuming too many cold raw foods like ice cream, popsicles, and iced drinks can affect the normal function of the digestive system, making food difficult to digest and potentially harming the spleen and stomach. While delicious at the time, they can later lead to a loss of appetite, irritate the digestive system, and create a vicious cycle of bloating and pain.
Solution: If you don't want to give up cool frozen foods, the only solution is to switch to lactose-free frozen options, such as frozen desserts made from beans or rice flour. However, even if you can tolerate lactose, ice cream contains a lot of fat, which stays in the stomach longer than other foods. Therefore, it's best to eat cold foods sparingly or not at all.
Broccoli and Cabbage
Broccoli and cabbage are standout vegetables in the cruciferous family, not only rich in vitamins and dietary fiber but also having anti-cancer and anti-aging effects. However, even though they are rich in fiber and various nutrients, these vegetables are not without their drawbacks. High-fiber vegetables can expand your stomach capacity and easily lead to a buildup of excess gas in the intestines.
Solution: The solution is simple. Just blanch them in hot water before eating to soften them, which will neutralize the sulfur compounds that cause gas. Both of these vegetables are best suited for cold salads and stir-frying.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes are a low-calorie, high-protein food rich in various vitamins and trace elements, known as an ideal weight-loss food and very popular. However, mashed potatoes with added cream or cheese are not as good as they seem.
Some people are lactose intolerant. If you are one of them, creamy mashed potatoes are not for you. This is because the milk, cream, or cheese added to the mashed potatoes can make your stomach very uncomfortable.
Solution: It's best not to buy mashed potatoes from outside. You can easily make plain, additive-free mashed potatoes at home using fresh potatoes, either steamed or boiled.
Raw Onions
Onions, garlic, and chives are full of various nutrients and are very beneficial to health, such as protecting the heart. However, eating them raw can also cause digestive discomfort like gas and abdominal cramps. Cooking them seems to neutralize the compounds that cause these issues.
Solution: American nutrition expert Mary Ryan suggests using a mixed raw and cooked method when eating these foods. This way, you can 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, producing gas that can lead to belching, rumbling, bloating, and abdominal pain. Patients with severe peptic ulcers should avoid bean products because they are high in purines, which can promote gastric acid secretion. Patients with acute gastritis and chronic superficial gastritis should also avoid them to prevent stimulation of gastric acid secretion and gastrointestinal bloating.
Solution: Cooking beans in soup form can aid digestion. Adding water helps digest the large amount of fiber in beans, or you can extend the cooking time. Additionally, gradually introduce bean products into your diet. This will slowly increase the enzymes needed to digest beans without causing side effects.