How Long Different Foods Take to Digest and Why It’s Important to Know
When you eat a large meal, you may assume that every morsel will be fully digested within the same time frame. Well, even if you had an inkling, you’d still be quite surprised at how long it actually takes for certain foods to digest. You will also get to chance to learn the importance of digestion and how it can significantly impact your weight loss.
If we simplify the term, digestion time is a procedure when food that you eat breaks down into tiny particles that get transferred through your intestinal system into the bloodstream. It is important to understand digestion time to lose weight or to maintain what you have already achieved.
Fast-digesting food
If you’ve consumed a ton of fast-digesting foods, then you will soon find out that you’ve eaten more than you should. These types of foods pass quickly and will leave you hungry again. They also give you an added boost of energy as your glucose level spikes. If your body has an overabundance of glucose, it’ll only take in what it needs and the rest of the glucose turns into more unnecessary fat.
Slow-digesting food
Slow-digesting food raises your blood sugar levels much more slowly, giving more steady and balanced energy. But if you eat only very slow-digesting food, you make your digestive system work to the max all the time and it can be quite tough on your body.
Nutritionists have stated that mixing fast and slow digestive foods in one meal is not very good for your body. Your digestive system hasn’t finished yet and you will just be overloading your stomach with extra food. During lunchtime, your digestive system will be the most active, and it’s best to mix fast and slow foods during this time if you must. Here are the digestion times for common foods and drinks:
The best time for processing food that has components with different digestion times is at lunch when your digestive system is the most active. The meals for breakfast and dinner should be simpler and preferably with products that are quickly digested, so you get an energy boost soon after breakfast and let your stomach rest at night.
1. Water
Enters into the intestines immediately.
2. Fruit or vegetable juice
15-20 minutes
3. Raw vegetables
30-40 minutes
4.Cooked vegetables
40 minutes
5. Fish
45-60 minutes
6. Salad with oil
1 hour
7. Starch vegetables
1.5-2 hours
8. Grains (rice, buckwheat, quinoa)
2 hours
9. Dairy
2 hours
10. Nuts
3 hours
11. Chicken
1.5-2 hours
12. Beef
3 hours
13. Lamb
4 hours
14. Pork
5 hours
Do you eat more slow-digesting or fast-digesting foods? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
Source:brightside.me, apost.com
