Sparkling waters help us digest?
True and false
These are not the bubbles that facilitate digestion, but the minerals of some spring waters . A water rich in bicarbonates may be a little more to "buffer" gastric acidity. Another, rich in magnesium, will have a slightly laxative effect. On the other hand, whoever suffers from gastro-oesophageal reflux has any interest in banning soft drinks.
- What are we doing? We look at the mineral composition on the labels . After, it's a matter of taste.
Raw vegetables are very difficult to digest?
True and false
Vegetable fibers are neither digested nor absorbed in the small intestine . Some are completely evacuated, others are fermented in the colon, but their role is essential: facilitation of intestinal transit , effect on satiety, balance of the intestinal flora , increased absorption of minerals and vitamins ... Remains that consumed raw, they can be irritating for certain sensitive digestive tubes. A sudden rise in their consumption can also cause bloating and abdominal pain.
- What are we doing? Not supporting raw vegetables often signifies an underlying digestive disorder , such as irritable bowel syndrome . Better then to consult. Otherwise the strategy is to reintroduce in small doses those that had been banned. In general, our colon is done and we can gradually increase the quantities until we find its tolerance level.
Drinking water during meals causes swelling?
FALSE
- Unless we return to the Middle Ages, where liters of water were sent to the condemned, we have no risk of transforming ourselves further or suffering from excess water. This is necessary for the hydration of our food bowl and its digestion and, every day, our gut absorbs 7 to 8 liters . If we do not bring it at mealtime, our body will draw on its reserves.
-What are we doing ? The whole thing is to drink enough during the day (dehydration leads to constipation), but no matter when.
Wash the dried beans several times to better assimilate them?
TRUE
- Dry beans cause bloating and flatulence . Under the action of the bacteria of our intestinal flora, the sugars they contain ferment if they arrive in the colon. Soaking for several hours allows their envelope to detach more easily during transit and thus promotes the digestion of carbohydrates and other complex sugars responsible for our flatulence. It is sometimes said that adding baking soda to the cooking water of the beans makes them more digestible. It is not so, it allows above all to speed up the tenderness of the pulses, at the risk of making them soft.
- What are we doing ? Soak her beans all night (or 1 hour after bringing the water to a boil). Then they are thoroughly rinsed before cooking.
The "Norman hole", a beneficial ritual?
Family meal or gourmet menu, it is traditional to serve a digestive mid-term to continue to gorge. Error. In fact, two mechanisms come into play. By anesthetizing our stomach, the alcohol will increase the elasticity and it can then expand to contain more than 2 l of food and liquid, which gives the impression to be able to eat more. But the pylorus, a digestive muscle that serves as a door between our stomach and our small intestine, will not let food go through as it is. Result: the gastric work (homogenization and partial digestion of the meal) is slowed down. Far from facilitating digestion, the "Norman hole" complicates it.
What are we doing ? We respect our stomach whose capacity is adapted to the rhythm of meals and their volume!
Need to cook sauerkraut in several waters?
FALSE
- It is fermentation that promotes the digestibility of sauerkraut, not cooking . During this fermentation, the sugar contained in the cabbage is transformed into lactic acid. The latter, as it does in our gut, produces a favorable environment for the development of certain bacteria, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus . Fermentation also allows the fibers to be better tolerated by the digestive tract and to play a beneficial role in transit. It is finally this lactic acid which gives its sour taste to sauerkraut. If you digest it badly, you have to think about charcuterie. Fatty substances slow down the gastric emptying time, the digestion of a well-stocked sauerkraut can reach or even exceed 6 hours!
- What are we doing ? We just rinse it well and squeeze it to limit the bitterness and avoid overloading it with fatty meat products (we can choose to garnish with ham rather than sausages).
White on red, nothing moves, red on white everything goes crazy
FALSE
- No scientific explanation corroborates this precept. Experiments conducted to compare the digestion of a test meal with the color of the wine showed no difference . Still some people do not support some wines, this usually results in a red neck, face from the first sip without knowing why. The good news: reacting badly to an Alsace wine, for example, does not mean that all whites will make us sick.
- What are we doing? If we find that we can not stand a wine, we avoid it. It's not a question of dose, even a glass will trigger the reaction. As for the order of the colors, there is no rule. If it's only mixed rhyme rarely with moderation and there, "hello the damage! ".
Thank you to Dr. Michel Bouchoucha , of the digestive physiology laboratory at Paris V University, and CEFRED (Center for Functional Exploration and Digestive Rehabilitation, Avicenne Hospital, Bobigny).
