There are varieties of foods, each one with its own unique flavor and taste. Some are natural, while some are inorganic or artificial. Well, you should watch out for digestive problems if you can hardly resist the urge to satisfy your cravings. If you’re experiencing gastrointestinal conditions, you need to avoid certain foods that are hard to digest.
Here’s a list of foods that pose digestion problem;
Fried Foods
Fried foods are in the top list of foods that people find harder to digest. This is because friend foods contain large amount of fat. Besides, they can cause diarrhea. Other culprits would include fatty meat cuts, rich sauces, creamy or buttery desserts.
Instead, go for baked or roasted foods. You can also choose light sauces instead – sauces prepared with vegetables and not cream or butter.
Dairy Products
If you often suffer constipation, it’s wise you take a pause and examine your diet critically. Dairy products are among the major culprits when it comes to foods that are not easily digested. Typical examples of dairy products that may pose digestive issues include excess cheese and milk.
This doesn’t mean you should stop taking dairy products. What you should do instead is to eat less of them. Also, you should eat only healthier dairy products such as yogurt with probiotics. – your digestive system performs better with live bacteria. This may also make your constipation less.
Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits are hard to digest, which is because they are over-loaded with fiber. Therefore, if you have a history of digestion issues, don’t overdo it when it comes to citrus fruits such as oranges and grape fruits.
Artificial Sugar
Artificial sugar such as sorbitol has a bad record for health problems such as diarrhea and cramps. Also, it is not less likely for this artificial sweetener to also cause digestion issues. According to the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), you may suffer diarrhea by eating 50 or additional grams of sorbitol.
Foods Loaded with Fiber
As mentioned earlier, foods that are high in fiber are hard to digest. While this healthy carb called fiber may help with digestion, excess consumption may result in slower adjustment by your digestive system. Typical examples of such foods are whole grains and vegetables. What you should do is to increase your fiber intake rather slowly.
Beans
While beans are healthy source of protein and fiber, they are also hard to digest foods. They actually feature hard-to-digest sugar, resulting in digestive issues such as cramping and gas. They need enzymes that would break them down, and your body doesn’t have such enzymes. What you can do to aid digestion of beans is to soak them for a couple of hours before cooking. And, consider pouring out the initial water.
Cabbage and Similar Veggies
Also, cabbage, broccoli and similar cruciferous vegetables contain the same type of sugar in beans, hence causing the same digestive issues as beans. And, since they are loaded with fiber, digesting these vegetables may also be difficult. So, consider cooking them a bit instead of eating them raw.
Fructose
For some, it may be hard to digest foods that contain fructose as sweetener. Typical examples of such foods include fruit juice, candy, soda, and pastries. People may suffer cramping, bloating and gas by eating such foods.
Spicy Foods
Some people tend to suffer indigestion and issues such as heartburn when they eat spicy foods, especially a large chunk of such foods. According to some suggestions, capsaicin, a hot ingredient found in chili pepper may be responsible for this.
Peppermint
While peppermint can promote a relaxing effect on the stomach, it may result in issues such as heartburn and indigestion. This is also true about chocolate and coffee. What you should do is to eat these minimally and wait a while after eating them before lying down.
There are other foods also that cause digestive problems because they are not easy to digest. If you often suffer indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems, take caution when eating these hard to digest foods. In fact, you can completely avoid the ones that are not even quite healthy in the first place, such as fried foods. This reduces the risk of digestive issues.