Five foods that linger in your gut the longest
To prevent this, Adrienne Benjamin, Gut Health Nutritionist at ProVen Biotics, reveals the foods that you should avoid to protect your gut health.
Red meat
While red meat is a good source of nutrients, it can take up to 72 hours to leave your digestive system and lead to bloating and discomfort.
"Red meat is dense and high in protein, which makes it slow to break down in the stomach and intestines," the expert explains.
Fatty and greasy foods
Burgers, hot dogs and other fried foods take longer for the body to break down than other foods, which can lead to digestive problems such as abdominal pain and bloating.
Complex carbohydrates
While complex carbohydrates are more nutritious than simple carbohydrates, they take longer to digest.
"Whilst complex carbohydrates take longer to digest than simple carbs (think bread, sweets, pastries), they are also more nourishing and there is a necessary balance between foods moving too quickly through the digestive system and nutrient absorption and energy provision," Adrienne states.
Although they stay in the gut longer, they also provide "fibre for stool consistency and regularity, and a more steady stream of energy".
Sweets and fizzy drinks
Sweets, fizzy drinks, and baked goods like doughnuts, cakes and cookies are packed with refined sugars, which can feed certain species of bacteria in the gut.
"This can lead to these bacteria fermenting the sugar which can contribute to bloating and discomfort," the nutritionist cautions. "They tend to travel through the gut quicker, but the by-products and side-effects produced by the bacteria that feed on these processed foods can linger."
Takeaways
Finally, try to avoid eating too many takeaways, as they tend to consist of processed foods.
"The high levels of saturated and unhealthy fats in foods like burgers, fried chicken, fast-food pizzas, and Chinese takeaways, can impact digestion and lead to gut symptoms, such as bloating," she warns, adding that they can cause "sluggish digestion, discomfort, and maybe even diarrhoea".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
That's a lot of needles in your face
When it comes to achieving youthful-looking, rejuvenated skin, do all roads eventually lead to needles? It seems so, given the multitude of ways to poke one's face, from Botox injections and plumping fillers to microneedling facials and even PRP (platelet-rich plasma) and salmon sperm DNA injections, all sought out for the promise of a glowier, more supple visage. Pity the needle-phobic! Cosmetic acupuncture (aka facial acupuncture), the injection-free outlier of the bunch, uses needles approximately one-fifth the diameter of typical hypodermic needles and is said to increase circulation and collagen production, and improve skin tone. Long favored by wellness moguls such as Jessica Alba, Kim Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow, it has grown in popularity as more people turn to holistic skin care methods. In an interview in May, Sarita Choudhury, who stars in 'And Just Like That …,' said she indulged in weekly sessions with her acupuncturist. Advertisement As one of the Western Hemisphere's more widely known forms of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture's stateside popularity reaches back to the 1970s when an American journalist trailing President Richard Nixon's 1971 delegation to Beijing reported on having received the treatment there. Advertisement Stefanie DiLibero of Gotham Wellness conducted a facial acupuncture session in New York in March. Cosmetic acupuncture uses needles approximately one-fifth the diameter of typical hypodermic needles and is said to increase circulation, boost collagen production, and improve skin tone. JEANETTE SPICER/NYT In the ensuing decades, acupuncture coursed through the channels of medicine from alternative to the mainstream, seemingly effective for all manner of ills and conditions including migraines, digestive issues, infertility and insomnia, as well as general pain management. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and NBA star LeBron James incorporated acupuncture into their injury recovery protocols. Wellness and lifestyle website Goop has referred to the treatment in more than 60 articles. Little wonder that as popular interest and curiosity has spread, some people would look to acupuncture for facial rejuvenation. Related : Interest in cosmetic acupuncture also aligns with the nascent #notox movement, which rejects Botox in favor of natural alternatives promising similar results — especially among Gen Z consumers. Online, Google searches for 'cosmetic acupuncture' have increased by 248% in the past two years. As of January, the average number of views for notox-related content on TikTok had increased 223% in the past year, according to the trend forecasting agency Trendalytics. Part of cosmetic acupuncture's outlier status lies in its holistic nature. Typically, treatments target points on the body, as well as on the face, to address issues such as poor sleep and digestion, stress, PMS — culprits that can factor into the skin's appearance. 'Its greatest benefit is that it's not just skin deep,' said Stefanie DiLibero of Gotham Wellness in the Manhattan borough of New York City. There, clients undergo a full health intake before their multistep treatments, which include full-body acupuncture, microcurrent stimulation and manual lymphatic drainage. DeLibero said 90% of her patients came for cosmetic acupuncture but welcomed the all-in-one perks. Advertisement Still, there's a strong emphasis on 'cosmetic,' as many salons build in treatments one would see on an aesthetician's menu: lymphatic drainage massages, hydrating face masks and red light therapy to stimulate collagen production. At ORA, a wellness spa with two locations in Manhattan, founder Kim Ross said that even teenagers with complexion concerns such as acne came in for its acupuncture facial, which also includes body acupuncture, gua sha and LED therapy. Since ORA's opening in 2021, the facial has become one of the its most popular offerings. Regardless of age or generation, nearly everyone is chasing that elusive 'glow,' Ross said. Claudia Baettig, an acupuncturist who works at Prosper LA in Los Angeles, is seeing women come in as early as their 20s for facial treatments. 'A lot of their peers are already doing Botox and injectables, and they want something preventative,' she said. Or they want to avoid Botox altogether. Red light therapy is used to stimulate collagen production during a facial acupuncture session at Gotham Wellness in March. JEANETTE SPICER/NYT 'I'm just so scared of getting filler and then regretting it,' said Michelle Desouza, who lives in Brooklyn and is the founder of Same Skin, a culture and wellness community for women. She scheduled her first cosmetic acupuncture session with DiLibero at Gotham Wellness when she was just entering her 30s. She wanted to look rejuvenated but 'not look like everyone else,' she said, referring to the ubiquitous 'Instagram face,' the neutered look (sometimes facilitated by face-tuning filters and actual aesthetic treatments) that, often as not, looks artificial-intelligence generated. Desouza, now 36, said she was an exception among her friends, many of whom had gone the way of Botox. While someone who has gotten Botox can still receive cosmetic acupuncture, Baettig noted that it was like buying into 'two opposing schools of thought.' Botox prevents muscle contraction, while acupuncture performs the opposite. Advertisement 'We're stimulating,' she said. 'We want to increase circulation to the muscles.' Does cosmetic acupuncture actually work? Success can be hard to measure because the objective is often subjective and varying. Baettig said clients tended to have an instant glow after one session, but she warned them not to expect the same results as one would with injectables. 'But you do see a subtle reduction of fine lines and wrinkles,' she said. 'You do see a brighter complexion, typically after anywhere from six to 10 treatments.' At Prosper LA, where a single cosmetic acupuncture session costs $195 to $225, and at other skin care salons, including ORA, where the signature facial is $475, a series of treatments could easily put one in the same beauty budget range as injectables. But potential holistic benefits like serenity and a relaxed mood are foreign to most serums, peels and Botox sessions. 'It's a way for me to center and calm myself,' said Abrams, whose acupuncturist did manage to see her for a treatment without the six-week wait. This article originally appeared in .
Epoch Times
a day ago
- Epoch Times
What Is the Chikungunya Virus Spreading in China? Are US Citizens at Risk?
American travelers heading to China face new health risks as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory this month warning of a rapidly spreading mosquito-borne virus outbreak that has infected more than 7,000 people in Guangdong province since June. Chinese health officials confirmed the surge in cases represents one of the largest chikungunya outbreaks in the region's recent history.
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
Zambia says no cause for alarm after toxic mine spill prompts US evacuation
Zambia has downplayed health concerns following a toxic spill at a Chinese-owned copper mine, after the United States ordered the evacuation of its personnel over contamination fears. Zambia addressed health concerns following a toxic spill from a Chinese-owned copper mine. The spill released 50 million liters of toxic sludge, affecting the Zambezi River and the surrounding ecosystem. The U.S. evacuated personnel from Chambishi, citing contamination risks, though Zambia assured that risks are controlled. Zambia has downplayed health concerns following a toxic spill at a Chinese-owned copper mine, after the United States ordered the evacuation of its personnel from the country's second-largest city over contamination fears. In February, a waste dam at a mine operated by Sino-Metals Leach Zambia Ltd., a local unit of state-owned China Nonferrous Mining Co., collapsed, releasing an estimated 50 million litres (13 million gallons) of toxic sludge into a tributary that feeds the Zambezi River. The spill devastated aquatic life and destroyed crops along the riverbanks, marking one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of Africa's second-biggest copper producer, Bloomberg reported. The U.S. health alert said the acid spill had polluted water and soil around the town of Chambishi, where the plant is located and that contaminants could also become airborne. Zambian government says crisis 'Under Control' However, Zambia has denied that an acid spill in its copper-mining region six months ago still posed a serious health risk, a day after the U.S. embassy restricted travel to the area for U.S. officials, citing widespread contamination. Zambia's Information and Media Minister Cornelius Mweetwa said the situation was under control. 'The immediate danger to human, animal and plant life has been averted as we speak today. All serious implications on public health, water safety, agriculture and the environment have been brought under control, ' Cornelius Mweetwa, the information and media minister, told reporters Thursday. ' There is therefore no cause for alarm.' Mweetwa said laboratory tests showed pH levels in the affected waters had returned to normal and concentrations of heavy metals were declining.
