Unhealthy food- a 'say no' list! | Good Digestion Tips - GI Doctors (2024)

Bad food for digestion

Are you keen on easy food like processed or junk food? Do you prefer burgers overs vegetables and fruits? I am sorry to break this to you but resisting and finding alternative food is what you should start doing right away. I understand that resisting your favourite food might be very hard. However, it will get easy with time when you understand the benefits of good digestive health. Overindulgence can cause you a lot of tummy trouble. Consumption of unhealthy food might bring a lot of digestive issues like vomiting, bloating, constipation and whatnot. Not resisting your temptation for triggering food such as fried foods, doughnuts and sugary drinks might completely wreck your body! All you need to do isfollow a healthy gut diet plan.

1. Sugary drinks

Sugary drinks like fruit juices, smoothies, low-calorie drinks consist of added sugar which is one of the most harmful food to consume. We know that early morning and easy to go tummy-filling drinks like smoothies are easily accessible. But they are accessible at the cost of your health. When consumed in large quantities, it can drive insulin resistance and make you prone to fatty liver diseases or hepatic steatosis. It is also associated with conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart diseases.

2. Fried Food

High heat cooking food like fried chicken, ribs, calamari is extremely harmful to our health. Besides being high in fat and calories, they contain harmful chemical compounds like acrylamides, acrolein, heterocyclic amines, oxysterols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and AGEs (Advanced Glycation End products. AGEs is an extremely toxic compound that is specifically said to increase the chances of heart disorders and cancer.

3. Fruit Juice

4. Processed and frozen food

Processed food is any food that has been altered in some way during preparation. Studies have shown that people who eat processed food have a higher risk of getting serious diseases like colon/bowel cancer. These foods are prolonged by adding preservatives (which is obvious), so why it is not obvious to understand that they come under one of the most unhealthy food categories? Especially the meat used in pizza is the worst form of processed food! This type of food lack fibre, so if you are constipated, you should totally skip processed food. They even contain preservatives and artificial colouring which is not at all good for our health.

5. Citrus Fruits

Avoid citrus fruits and tomato sauce when your belly doesn’t feel right. Consumption of citric acid disrupts the stomach lining, which causes more digestive problems and discomfort.

6. Dairy products

Dairy is one food group that can be hard to digest for some people mainly because of Lactose. If this is the case, then you might be lactose intolerant which then results in gas andbloating. Please note that excessive consumption might lead to diarrhoea.

7. Alcohol

If you are feeling a little funny, for instance, your tummy is upset, then consider scratching off the alcohol from your chart for some days. Consumption of alcohol affects the liver metabolism and can lead to more digestive problems likeacid reflux.

I hope after reading all the above facts, you might want to change your diet with healthy alternatives. Consumption of salutary food and avoiding unhealthy food can save you from a lot of problems. Mind my word ‘avoid’, I did not say cut off. No one is asking you to completely get rid of your favourite food unless you are under any specific medication. Everyone deserves a cheat day ;). The key is to be mindful of your consumption!