Is the idea of foods taking longer to digest a bad thing, and if so, why?

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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?

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3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

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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