9 Unexpectedly Hard-to-Digest Foods
When faced with delicious food, many people find it hard to resist. However, when eating, we tend to pay attention to foods that are greasy or irritating to the stomach. But are the following hard-to-digest foods on your radar? You might not notice these 9 hard-to-digest foods in your daily life.
Fried foods, chocolate, ice cream, creamy mashed potatoes... these widely loved delicacies are not actually suitable for everyone. If you have a sensitive stomach, it's recommended to check how to eat the latest list of the 9 hardest-to-digest foods.
1. Ice Cream
There is no quick way to determine if you are lactose intolerant; you'll only find out after sitting down to eat a large bowl of ice cream. When you experience bloating, abdominal cramps, and gas, these are your body's signals telling you to stay away from these dairy-rich foods.
Cold foods like ice cream, popsicles, and iced beverages, if consumed in excess, 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 at the time, they can later lead to a loss of appetite and irritate the stomach and spleen, creating a vicious cycle of bloating and abdominal pain.
Solution: If you don't want to give up cool frozen treats, the only solution is to switch to lactose-free frozen foods, such as those made from bean or rice flour porridge.
However, even if you are not lactose intolerant, ice cream contains a lot of fat, and fat stays in the stomach longer than other foods. Therefore, it's best to eat cold foods in moderation or avoid them altogether.
2. Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes are low in calories, high in protein, and contain various vitamins and trace elements, making them an ideal food for weight loss. It seems nothing is more popular than a bowl of mashed potatoes. This is why when it comes to so-called "convenience foods," mashed potatoes is always at the top of the list.
But mashed potatoes with cream or cheese are not as good as you might imagine. In the United States, 30 to 50 million 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 mashed potatoes can upset your stomach.
Solution: It's best not to buy takeout mashed potatoes. You can easily make plain mashed potatoes at home using fresh potatoes, steamed or boiled without any seasonings.
3. Raw Onions
Onions, garlic, and chives are full of various nutrients that are greatly beneficial to health, such as protecting the heart, but they can also cause digestive discomfort like gas and abdominal cramps. However, cooking seems to neutralize the compounds that cause stomach upset.
Solution: American nutrition expert Mary Ryan suggests a mixed cooking method for these foods, combining raw and cooked. This way, you can reap the health benefits without suffering the negative effects.
4. Chocolate
Eating large amounts of chocolate not only brings excess calories, but also for those suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), they have experienced the unpleasant stimulation after eating chocolate. This is because chocolate can relax the lower esophageal sphincter, causing stomach acid to reflux and irritate the esophagus and throat.
Solution: When choosing chocolate, dark chocolate is the best option. This is because dark chocolate contains various beneficial minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and copper, and among all types of chocolate, 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 overconsumed; you should eat at most two small pieces a day.
5. Fried Foods
Fried foods like chicken nuggets and french fries are inevitably rich in oil and high in fat, and these two substances can accumulate in the stomach, causing problems. Oil produces a substance called "acrylamide" at high temperatures, which is difficult to digest.
"If you already suffer from gastrointestinal diseases like gastritis, you should pay special attention to eating less oily and high-fat fried foods, otherwise it can cause some uncomfortable symptoms like nausea and diarrhea," says Tara Gidus, a nutritionist in Orlando, Florida.
Solution: To satisfy your cravings, you can get a satisfying crunch without frying. For example, while salty potato chips are unhealthy, you can find other ways to prepare potato slices, such as baking instead of frying, or choose low-fat or fat-free foods like crisp crackers or hollow popcorn.
6. Citrus Juice
Acidic drinks can irritate the esophagus, stimulating the sensory nerves and causing the stimulated area to become red and swollen.
If the first thing you do in the morning is drink a large glass of citrus juice, it will increase the acidity in your stomach. If you're drinking sweet lemonade with a high concentration of fructose, you need to be even more careful, as 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 your esophagus. The best time to drink acidic juices like citrus juice is with a meal or between meals.
7. Broccoli and Cabbage
Broccoli and cabbage are both outstanding members of the cruciferous vegetable family. They are 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, you can't completely trust that these vegetables are always healthy. This is because high-fiber vegetables can help expand your stomach capacity and easily lead to a buildup of excess gas in the digestive system.
Solution: The solution is simple. Just blanch them in hot water before eating to soften them, which will deactivate the sulfur compounds that cause gas. These two vegetables are best suited for cold salads and stir-frying.
8. 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 symptoms like belching, rumbling stomach, bloating, and abdominal pain.
Patients with severe peptic ulcers should not consume 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. The added water helps digest the large amount of fiber in beans, or you can simply cook them for a longer time. Additionally, gradually increase bean products in your diet. This will slowly increase the demand for enzymes needed to digest beans without causing side effects.
9. Chili Peppers
Red chili peppers or jalapeños can irritate the inner lining of the esophagus, causing an unpleasant burning sensation after eating and increasing the burden on the stomach.
Even if you add something like sour cream to cool it down, you'll still get the same irritation. Moreover, adding sour cream and the like can lead to other side effects.
Solution: For those with a weak stomach or a "hot" body type, if you really can't resist the temptation of spicy food, you might choose some milder spicy foods and eat less green and red chili peppers.