I’ve seen the phrase “takes longer to digest” used in a negative context when it comes to foods (i.e. fatty foods). Why isn’t that a good thing? I thought what was wrong with fast food was that it digests too quickly and you’re hungry again later. Is there something here I’m not getting, did I misunderstand what was being said, or is this another myth to muddy the waters of weight loss information?
TL;DR: Is it unhealthy or beneficial for foods to take longer to digest?
In: 2
No, it’s all about a balanced diet. Fatty foods and proteins take longer than fibrous and vegetative foods. For healthy colons you want a good variety. Also, candies and other sugary treats are the fastest to digest.
Depends on what you want.
Rich, fatty meals can sit in your system for a long time and cause nausea, reflux and, given recent research, may even increase risk of colon cancer.
But high sugar and low fibre foods are immediately stripped into energy and cause rapid spikes in blood sugar leading to waves of hunger and hyperglycemia which can promote obesity and diabetes.
You should seek a balance of carbs, protein, fat and fibre as much as you can.
Think about starting a bonfire outside.
If it’s all kindling.. you’ll get a big flame that only lasts a few minutes
Only logs? VERY hard to get a fire started without any kindling
This was most simple analogy I can think of.. we need those “logs” and the kindling to start our digestive fire lol
Also, don’t put a lot of weight into something on a supplement label, or fitness blog.. the fitness game-changer industry part of the reason why we have so much confusion when it comes to health education. Legally, supplements can only make “structure-function” claims.. meaning you will get a lot of vague, BS phrases like “helps assist digestion”
Honestly it all depends.. for example you wouldn’t want a meal to just “sit” in your GI tract. This is can happen when someone eats a full meal then gets plagued by anxiety or something to active their fight-or-flight response.. this response is supposed to keep us alive so functions, like digestion, are “turned off” during the fight-or-flight response
On the other hand, you’d want something to take longer to digest to increase satiety, just like you said
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