Maintaining a healthy digestive system is the key to a healthy life. A number of common as well as serious health problems are directly related with digestive issues and hence taking care of the health of your digestive system is important.
To take the best care of your digestive system, all you need to do is to eat well. There are certain foods that are good for your digestive system and at the same time there are foods that put the system under stress.
Including more of the foods in your regular diet that are good for the system, and discarding the foods from your regular platter that do not support easy digestion can be the easiest and most effective way to maintain the best health of your digestive system.
To help you pick the right foods and to exclude the worst ones here is a list of the top and worst foods for the digestive system.
Worst foods for the digestive system
High fat and fried foods
Foods that are high in fat content are difficult to digest and are often the primary reason for heartburn and acid reflux. Starting from red meat to butter, cream, cheese all these high fatty foods are not friends for your digestive system and can result into many digestive complications.
High fat foods might also result in irritable bowel syndrome as well as problems like constipation. Depp frying even a food with less fat can make it have more fat content and hence doctors suggest avoiding both high fat and fried foods from regular diet.
Artificial sweeteners
Digesting the artificial sweeteners that we take in with so many less-calorie foods nowadays is one of the major challenges for the digestive system.
Many of these sugars are only digested partially and have a havoc impact on the gastrointestinal system. These sweeteners are a common reason of problems like bloating and indigestion. They can also result in gas formation as well as diarrhea.
Chocolates
Chocolates not only supplies a lot of calorie to your body but the caffeine present in it can be the reason of heartburn and symptoms of IBS.
It can even cause diarrhea due to its diuretic nature. However, having dark chocolate is not bad for your digestive system; the cocoa is present in high amount in dark chocolate which promotes better digestion.
White bread
The processed white bread is not actually good for your digestive system. The chemicals that are used in the white breads to get the color are not good for digestion.
Moreover, white breads include refined carbohydrates, which moves quickly through the digestive tract and can result into formation of gas, bloating and other digestive problems.
Soft drinks
We have a general concept that having a glass of a soft drink after a heavy meal just makes the digestion easier, but in reality soft drinks slow down the digestion process and make it even more difficult for your stomach to digest the food.
The carbon-dioxide present in soft drinks also hampers the pH balance of the intestine which makes digestion even more difficult.
Potato chips
This might be another favorite food of yours, but you must know that they are not good for your digestive system.
Not only the excess spices added in these chips that can upset your stomach, these chips are deep fried in oil which make them ideal for initiating problems in digestion.
Moreover, these highly processed foods move too quickly through the digestive tract, making it more difficult to digest.
Dried red chilies
Chili’s, particularly the dry red chilies can irritate the GI tract and can even cause ulcer in extreme cases. Consuming dried red chilies in high amount in your regular diet has also been linked to increased acid reflux and a lot of other digestive problems including inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
Coffee
Coffee, this one of the most popular drinks in the world is not really good for your digestive system. The caffeine content of it can upset the stomach. It increases the acid production and can result into heartburn as well as inflammation of the GI tract.
Alcohol
Alcohol relaxes the esophageal sphincter which can result into acid reflux. Alcohol can also irritate the lining of the stomach and prevents absorption of the nutrients. So, if you are having any digestive problems, stay away from alcohol.
Corn
Corn might seem like a healthy food particularly because of its high fiber content, but the problem with corn and corn based foods is that they also include high amount of cellulose, which is not broken down by the human digestive system.
So, having corn and other foods made from corn might trigger formation of intestinal gas and can result into abdominal pain.
Having listed a lot of the common foods that you indulge regularly in the list of the worst foods for the digestive system, now let us provide you with some of the foods that are really good for your digestive system and can be the key to maintain a healthy GI system.
Best foods for the digestive system
Yogurt
When it comes to the best foods for digestion and the digestive system, the name of yogurt comes to the top in its own right.
Yogurt is filled with bacteria that are highly effective in boosting the digestive system. However, always make sure that you buy only pure yogurt that is made with proper hygiene or prepare it at home.
Whole wheat breads
Whole wheat breads can be a boon for the digestive system. These unprocessed breads are filled with digestive fibers that help in digestion and also ensure overall health of the digestive system. Whole wheat breads should be your staple if you are looking for digestion friendly foods.
Oats
Oats are another food that comes with high amount of fiber that can be good not only for your digestive system but also for your cardiovascular system, as it lowers the blood cholesterol.
Oats are good for your digestive health but make sure that you measure the amount of it perfectly to not to cause bloating or gas formation. Oats can be very effective for bowel formation, bowel movement and curing problems like constipation.
Banana
Banana is one of the top most fruits that are good for digestion. Banana is not only high in digestive fibers that boost digestion and stool formation but also a lot of vitamins and minerals that help in digestion and can be very effective in treating digestive problem like diarrhea.
Fish
Fishes are considered as the only non-veg diet that is not bad for your digestive system. Fresh fishes are easy to digest and they are filled with a bunch of nutrients that boosts the digestion.
So, if you are keen to include non-veg in your diet, opt for fishes like tuna, salmon, mackerel that are high in Omega 3 content.
