After dealing with a bad case of indigestion or food poisoning, the first foods you reach for when you’re ready to eat are simple and easy to digest. Nobody has the desire to wolf down a double cheeseburger after dealing with stomach issues. More often than not, you choose plain crackers, soup, bread, or rice to remedy symptoms.
A common theme among easy to digest foods is that they are low in fiber, fat, and flavor. They lack acidity, spice, and are usually soft or easy to chew and swallow. Eating foods that are harder on the digestive system may worsen symptoms, so you choose foods that are more digestible to give your digestive tract a break. Digestion requires energy, which includes mechanical and chemical energy processes like chewing or the work done by acid in the stomach.
By choosing foods that are easy to digest when you don’t feel 100%, you give your gastrointestinal (GI) tract a break. Your body has to work a little less hard to carry out the digestive processes. That is what you want if you experience diarrhea, indigestion, vomiting, or other digestive issues. Continue reading to learn about some of the easiest food groups to digest when your digestive system isn’t in the best shape.
Well-Cooked Vegetables
Raw vegetables can be harder to digest than cooked vegetables. When you cook vegetables, their plant cell walls soften and their starches become readily available to enzymes in the digestive system. That makes for an easier digestive process. Consider cooking the following vegetables if you need easily digestible healthy options:
- Spinach
- Green beans
- Carrots
- Zucchini and squash (seeded)
- Beets
- Potatoes (peeled)
Peeled Or Stewed Fruits
Just like raw vegetables, fresh fruits are high in fiber, which can make them tougher for the body to digest. Because the bulk of dietary fiber in fruit exists in peels and seeds, health experts suggest eating peeled and seeded fruits after dealing with an upset stomach. It can be beneficial to choose fruits lower in fiber, such as ripe bananas or melons, especially if you struggle with diarrhea or nausea. If you choose to eat fruits like pears and apples, remove the skin. Softer fruits like stewed peaches or plums are also good options if you have an upset stomach.
Soups, Smoothies, And Purees
The way you prepare food can influence how your body digests it. Texture modification strategies, such as blending, doesn’t change the fiber content, but it can reduce the size of fiber particles in plant-based foods. That’s why smoothies, soups, and purees are much gentler on the digestive system. Raw kale, for example, is bulky and tough, while cooked or blended kale is soft. The change in texture allows for easier digestibility. The same goes for berries and other fibrous fruits, which you can enjoy if you blend into smoothies. Blending or pureeing these plant-based foods essentially pre-digests food, which takes the majority of the work away from your digestive system.
White Flour Products
After a bad bout of food poisoning or general GI discomfort, you usually choose white foods, including rice, bread, and plain crackers. As you know by now, high-fiber foods can be difficult to digest if you’re experiencing abdominal bloating, diarrhea, or nausea. White bread, white pastas, and white rice, although not the healthiest foods, have had their fiber components removed. You can temporarily choose these foods to enjoy when dealing with digestive problems, but don’t eat them regularly.
Soft Proteins
Animal proteins don’t contain fiber, but they are difficult for the body to digest, especially if they are rich in fat, tough, or chewy. Choose softer, easy-to-chew proteins that are low in fat. Scrambled eggs, smooth nut butters, and soft tofu are nourishing options that are typically easy to digest.
