Food Freedom Friday Edition 333 - Foods Affecting Digestion

That cup of coffee might not be as innocent as it looks.

It doesn't matter how great your day is going. If you're experiencing bloating and gas — common side effects of poor digestion — it's really hard to keep a smile on your face. And unfortunately, plenty of different foods could be to blame. Your digestive system is home to trillions of microbes that help break down your food and keep our intestines healthy. It is, unfortunately too easy to disrupt the delicate balance of bacterial species by eating foods that create havoc is your gut. Here are the top foods to skip (or at least limit) to keep your belly — and your life — running as smoothly as possible.

Wheat

Gluten might just be one of the most common culprits when it comes to wreaking havoc on the digestive system. Whether you have celiac disease or not, Harvard Medical School says a growing number of people are finding they can't properly digest gluten. If you find you're experiencing bloating, pain, gas, or diarrhea after eating foods like bread and pasta, grains might be to blame. Grains in general also contain lectins and phytates which are tough to break down and cause digestive distress.

Alcohol

Sipping on a margarita is all fun and games until your digestion gets all out of whack. Booze is a common trigger of leaky gut: amongst other things, it causes inflammation, which can lead to problems with your digestive tract. If you think alcohol might be behind your issues, maybe stick to something that's easier on your stomach, like good old-fashioned H2O.

Nuts

Who knew your love of nuts could be getting you into digestive trouble? While they're easy for some people to digest, others have a really hard time: As those little pieces wash over some areas of the gastrointestinal system, they may irritate an already-irritated or inflamed area and cause discomfort. As with grains, nuts contain anti-nutrients that can further exacerbate the challenge of their break down and absorption. Instead of eating raw nuts, soak nuts overnight then dry in a low oven to lessen the impact of their indigestibility.

Artificial Sweeteners

Consider this yet another reason to ditch diet soda for good. Research shows that when artificial sweeteners — aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin (a.k.a. Equal, Splenda, and Sweet'N Low) — were consumed, the gut bacteria that controls metabolism was altered. That can lead to all sorts of gastrointestinal (GI) problems, including an increased propensity to store food as fat as opposed to using it as energy. Meaning not only does it become more difficult to lose weight, but it's actually easier to gain and your appetite become harder to control in the process.

Sugar Alcohols

Steer clear of those "sugar-free" candies and gum: Sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol, and other sugar alcohols are frequently added to these products, which can cause bloating, gas, or a laxative effect when eaten in excessive amounts. Read ingredients carefully. If a sugar alcohol appears in the first three ingredients of a food, avoid it. A further reason to cut back on that sugar-free gum habit is because it can stimulate the stomach to secrete acids that your body doesn't need, which may contribute to the development of stomach ulcers.

Milk, Soft Cheese & Ice Cream

While only 4% of adults have true food allergies, according to the National Institutes of Health, lactose intolerance is found in around 65 percent of adults. This occurs when a person lacks the digestive enzyme (lactase) to process lactose, a sugar found in milk, and results in GI distress with symptoms like bloating and diarrhea. The protein casein, found in dairy, can also be problematic and inflammatory to the gut. This may explain why even if you're not lactose intolerant, eating too much dairy can lead to its being digested in the large intestine instead of the stomach, which can cause an upset stomach, diarrhea, and gas. A better choice is hard (aged) cheeses which have lower amounts of lactose and casein. High fat yogurt is typically well tolerated because the live cultures digest lactose better.

Corn

This summertime-into-fall food isn't exactly easy on your system. If you don't chew it long enough, it can pass through your system undigested and cause an upset stomach. Blame the cellulose it contains, which is an insoluble plant fiber, and the fact that humans lack the enzyme needed to break it down. As with all grains, corn also contains a plethora of anti-nutrients along with zein – a gluten-like protein structure that cross-reacts with gluten and is indigestible.

Onions & Garlic

FODMAPs are a group of sugars and fibers found in foods including onions, garlic, and wheat products. These carbohydrates are not absorbed well in the small intestine, causing a host of gut issues like gas, bloating, stomach pain, diarrhea, or constipation for some people. Other FODMAP-containing foods include ‘healthy’ bites like pears, apples, beans, cabbage, and cauliflower, which unfortunately can make it challenging to pinpoint what's causing your distress. If you're having serious GI problems, talk to a qualified healthcare practitioner to see if FODMAPs could be to blame, as the process to determine whether you have a sensitivity to them can be tricky.

Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower, contain complex sugars, known as raffinose, that are difficult to digest and can produce gas. They're also rich in soluble fiber, which doesn't break down until reaching the small intestine, and that can further exacerbate GI issues.  This in turn causes all those familiar symptoms of indigestion — bloating, upset stomach, and gas. This is not to say you need to avoid eating on broccoli for dinner, instead, do not consume raw (light cooking makes them easier to break down) but at the same time do your best not to overcook that destroys the health benefits you're after. Also, consider taking a digestive supplement, which contains enzymes that help break down those hard-to-digest plant fibers. If you're still in need of a healthy-gut-bacteria boost, adding some unpasteurized fermented foods, which are full of probiotics can help.

Coffee

Your daily pick-me-up could be doing more than just waking you up. Not only is coffee linked to reduced calcium absorption, but it also contains caffeine, which speeds up the digestive tract and may cause diarrhea. Caffeine is also a diuretic, meaning it can lead to dehydration and even nausea. What's more, coffee causes the stomach to produce hydrochloric acid (HCL), which can disrupt the natural rhythm of digestive juices. So if you find yourself regularly experiencing GI issues after your cup of coffee, limit it to one cup a day and don't drink it on an empty stomach to help ease those unpleasant symptoms.

Carrageenan

Not every ingredient in a natural food product may be good for you. Case in point: Carrageenan, a gum derived from seaweed and used as a stabilizer in organic and natural foods like soy milk, low-fat yogurt, salad dressing, and ice cream. It can cause a host of gut issues. Research even suggests that the additive may cause inflammation, which can lead to ulcerations and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS). It is best avoided, along with other common stabilizers including guar gum, locust bean gum and xantham gum.

Vegetable Oils

Symptoms of an intolerance to canola may include but are not limited to diarrhea, stomach cramps and abdominal pain. Obviously, a plate of French fries and chicken fingers isn't exactly the picture of a healthy meal. But it's worse than you may think, as fried, fatty foods can cause major distress in your GI tract in more than one way: foods particularly high in long-chain omega 6 fatty acids like those found in crop oils can move undigested through the body too quickly, leading to diarrhea. They can also do the exact opposite and stay in your digestive tract too long, making you feel full, bloated, and potentially causing constipation. Either way, it's a lose-lose.

Raw Foods

Raw vegetables are increasingly more difficult for the body to digest than cooked vegetables. In fact, most people experience digestive distress, like gas, bloating and abdominal pain after consuming raw vegetables. Unlike cooked vegetables, raw vegetables contain a specific type of fiber called cellulose. However, the body is not always capable of producing the enzyme needed to break down cellulose. As a result, the gastrointestinal system goes into overdrive to digest the vegetable, which cause the stomach pain and bloating. Cooking your vegetables lightly helps break down the cellulose making them easier to digest.

In order to determine the root cause of your digestive distress, a well formulated elimination diet is required. A carnivore diet is the ultimate elimination diet and can be dsfely followed for a period of time to both settle and heal the gut. Foods can then be gradually reintroduced to determine your personal tolerance level – or you may feel so good that you simply continue on eating meat – it does the body, and the gut, good!