Doctors Warn These 11 Everyday Foods May Wreck Your Gut Health

Yahoo

a day ago

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Watery stools, a.k.a. diarrhea, are annoying at best and terribly unpleasant at worst. While most bouts are caused by a virus or bacteria, per the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and aren't typically a cause for concern, there are also many common foods that can cause diarrhea. If you suspect that food, rather than an illness, is causing your diarrhea (or other bothersome digestive woes), there's an easy way to identify the culprit. 'The best way to investigate which foods are making your symptoms worse is to keep a food diary,' said gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella, M.D.. Simply write down everything you eat each day, how you feel after eating, and if and when you have any unpleasant trips to the bathroom.
Meet the experts: Gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella, M.D.; Bhavesh Shah, M.D., gastroenterologist and Director of Advanced Endoscopy at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland; Anne Roland Lee, Ed.D, R.D.N., L.D., assistant professor of nutritional medicine in the celiac disease center at Columbia University.
To help streamline the process, we narrowed down the most likely foods that cause diarrhea. Ahead, GI doctors share the most common culprits to watch out for.Sugar Substitutes
Diet sodas and sugar-free snacks and chewing gum may help satisfy your sweet tooth, but many contain sugar substitutes that can also act as a laxative. 'Sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, and sorbitol can contribute to diarrhea and bloating based on how your body metabolizes them in the gut,' said gastroenterologist Bhavesh Shah, M.D., the Director of Advanced Endoscopy at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. Recent research in iScience also found that artificial sweeteners can alter the composition of the gut microbiome, disrupting the balance of healthy bacteria and further contributing to issues like diarrhea.Coffee
Is your morning cup promptly followed by a rush to the bathroom? That's pretty normal. In fact, up to 29% of people report feeling the urge to go after sipping a cup of coffee, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 'Coffee can cause diarrhea in some people,' Dr. Ravella said. 'The caffeine can stimulate the gut to contract more quickly than it normally does, so food moves through faster and isn't absorbed as well.' The acidity of coffee can also worsen the symptoms of some digestive disorders, such as acid reflux. Other caffeinated foods and drinks, including tea and energy drinks, could have the same effect.Alcohol
If you have a few too many during a night out (or in!), you may wake up with an upset stomach the next morning. 'This is often a symptom that accompanies a hangover,' Dr. Shah said. 'Alcohol is an irritant. Your gut may not agree with drinking a large amount.' Booze also speeds up digestion and pulls water into your digestive tract, per the Cleveland Clinic—hence the liquid stools when you're hungover.Dairy
According to the NIH, up to 50 million American adults may be lactose intolerant and could benefit from limiting their consumption of dairy or cutting it out altogether. If your stomach goes rogue when you eat milk, cheese, or yogurt, you may be one of them. 'Common symptoms, which begin about 30 minutes to two hours after consuming foods containing lactose, may be diarrhea, nausea, cramps, gas, and bloating,' Dr. Shah said.Wheat, Rye, and Barley
Gluten—a mix of proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley—can cause diarrhea and bloating for up to 15% of people, according to Northwestern Medicine. Keeping track of any GI symptoms you experience after eating bread, pasta, and grains or cutting out these foods to see if your symptoms disappear will help you find out if you're one of them. 'If you think you have gluten intolerance, it's important to see a gastroenterologist to make sure you don't have celiac disease,' Dr. Ravella added. For people with this disorder, gluten can do serious damage by causing the body to attack the lining of the small intestine.Condiments and Salad Dressings
Store-bought condiments, dressings, and sauces might contain traces of gluten in the form of ingredients like malt vinegar or wheat starch to help thicken the texture and add flavor, said Anne Roland Lee, Ed.D, R.D.N., L.D., assistant professor of nutritional medicine in the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. Try preparing your own dressings and sauces at home if you have a gluten intolerance, or carefully read the ingredient labels at the store to avoid any hidden triggers.High-FODMAP Foods
FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. They're a group of carbs and sugar alcohols that can be tough to digest, especially for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Dr. Ravella said, leading to gas, bloating, and diarrhea. A low-FODMAP diet may help improve symptoms, but should be monitored by a dietitian, as it requires you to cut out certain foods rich in vital nutrients. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, High-FODMAP foods include dairy, wheat, beans, lentils, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, garlic, apples, cherries, and peaches, while foods low in FODMAPs include eggs, meat, rice, quinoa, potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, pineapple, and berries.High-Fiber Foods
Fiber gets your digestive system moving, which is a good thing—but sometimes it's a little too effective, Dr. Shah warned. Fiber binds with water, which can help prevent constipation but may also have a laxative effect if you consume too much at once. Plus, according to UCSF Health, eating a lot of insoluble fiber (the type found in nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and whole grains) can speed up digestion, leading to watery stool. That's not to say you shouldn't be eating plenty of high-fiber foods—just be sure to increase your fiber intake gradually until your stomach adjusts.Spicy Foods
Some people can eat jalapeños like they're candy, while others feel their stomach churn at the mere sight of a chili pepper. 'Each individual is unique when it comes to tolerating spicy foods,' Dr. Ravella said. 'Spicy foods can irritate the lining of the stomach and intestines, causing food to move more quickly through the gastrointestinal tract, which results in loose stools.' If you don't eat spicy food often, she added, you're more likely to feel the burn (and the potential digestive side effects) when you do.Fast Food
If you need motivation to skip the drive-thru window, consider that greasy takeout grub can be hard on your gut. 'In general, all fats can be harder to digest, but the worst culprits are the fats in greasy, fried foods typically found at fast food restaurants,' Dr. Ravella said. 'You're less likely to have issues when eating healthy fats from whole foods, like avocados.' Indeed, a recent study published in the journal Nutrients found that fast food consumption was associated with an increased risk of having inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, making issues like diarrhea that much more likely to occur.Packaged Foods
Like fast food, processed and packaged foods from the grocery store often contain lots of the hard-to-digest ingredients listed above. Be sure to read nutrition labels and ingredient lists carefully, and be on the lookout for gut-irritating and hard-to-digest ingredients like sugar substitutes, dairy, gluten, or FODMAPs. According to research in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, all these ingredients in processed foods can increase your risk of diarrhea-causing illnesses like inflammatory bowel disease.
You Might Also Like
Can Apple Cider Vinegar Lead to Weight Loss?
Bobbi Brown Shares Her Top Face-Transforming Makeup Tips for Women Over 50