List of Easy to Digest Foods

There are many reasons you might need to eat foods that are more easily digestible than others. It may be that you suffer from indigestion, or that you have diarrhoea or have been vomiting. By eating foods that are easier to digest it is possible to provide our bodies with the necessary nutrients such as sodium, water and vitamins, without creating more discomfort. In some cases the problems can actually be worsened by having nothing in your stomach, so if you can eat a little of something easy to digest, this can then help you to get back on track and on the way to normal health again. Here we will look at a few things you can consume that won’t take too much work for your body to digest.

Things to Avoid

The best way to work out what you can eat is to narrow down those things that you cannot. These include for example those foods high in fibre or fat. Fibre is designed to be difficult to digest and to thus pass through our digestive tract un-broken down so that it can clear out the system and get rid of fatty deposits. This is very useful, but not so much if you are struggling with diarrhoea (soluble fibres are better than insoluble). You should also avoid those foods high in fat as this is also harder for the body to digest and will sit in our stomachs for a long time after we eat it – this is why we often feel as though we are fuller when eating fast food such as a beef burger (and why it’s so defiantly satisfying).

You also want to avoid foods that are spicy, greasy or sugary. Something like curry for instance should very much be avoided as this can cause digestion problems at the best of times. Other complications are caffeine, gas, acid, and alcohol. You should avoid then: tea and coffee, alcohol, carbonated drinks such as Coke, tomatoes, and mints.

Things to Look For

What you do want then is for your foods to be as simple as possible and the fewer flavours and spices you have to confuse your system the better. Your body needs to work through different types of foods to digest them differently so try to stick to just one or two items (bread rather than bread with butter, celery and chicken).

The other role of your digestive system is to break up foods so that they can be absorbed by the body. You want to also avoid foods then that are very tough or sinewy or that are otherwise difficult to break up. Eat things that are instead as soft and easily broken down as possible. Things like banana, mashed potato (this is also very good for soaking up other things), soup, white bread, rice, cooked vegetables and oat porridge.

A Short List of Easily Digestible Foods

  • Bread
  • Rice
  • Cooked Vegetables
  • Soup
  • Porridge
  • Apricots
  • Banana
  • Cantaloupe
  • Mashed Potato
  • Scrambled Egg
  • Honeydew Melon
  • Peaches
  • Watermelon
  • Alfalfa Sprouts
  • Mushrooms
  • Squash
  • Zucchini
  • Carrots

A Quick Snack That’s Easy to Digest

If you have acute indigestion or stomach upset, then you might be looking for a quick and easy meal that you can be sure won’t provide too much trouble going down. A great one is savoury rice which can be made very simply by boiling rice in cold water that has one OXO cube added to it as well as some Maggi (seasoning). This creates a delicious savoury rice that should go down relatively safely.

Total
0
Shares
Comments 23
  1. This article is most helpful because it is clear, simple, logical, and full of the information I was looking for. Thank you.

  2. Wait a second…did you really just suggest that I eat SOAP?? Because it's easily digestible??!

    Admin: Spelling error corrected! 🙂

  3. You specify 'not to have' drinks in your text but don't have 'to drink' drinks on the list!? Either drinks on the list or a link to a drinks list? Also porridge made with milk or water? Otherwise a good article – thank you!

  4. With colonoscopy coming up, I wanted a list of easy to digest foods for 2 days before the preparation. Thanks! I found this list very helpful.

  5. First bread is not easily digested, it breaks apart quickly but that is not digestion, it contains lectins that are an anti food for people with digestive issues, second potato is a nightshade and also upsetting to the stomach and to mash it is to assume added butter and dairy is okay, and it's not. Bananas depend on whether it was tree ripened or not as aged unripened bananas are highly acidic. There are other flaws, seems these foods were not researched but gathered from some outdated unproven list.

  6. While the information is provided plainly enough, there are multiple grammatical errors. Please proofread prior to publication.

  7. Thank you for the suggestions. I just had stomach surgery. I was on liquids for two weeks and then on soft foods for two weeks. Now I can eat what I want, but it is not going very well. About everything I eat makes me sick.

  8. This was informative. Maybe a little more direct information, basic medical advice do to digestion would be great.

    Thanks!

  9. List has too many fresh foods items, often unavailable when an easy to digest meal is needed right away. A longer list would probably include food that folks are more likely to have on hand.

  10. I found this to be very helpful as I just got out the hospital and was told to eat bland easy to digest foods. I'm also lactose intolerant so I know to be wise about what goes in my foods. I do appreciate this. Thank you very much. 🙂

  11. I am concerned that protein is not really mentioned in your article except by way of soup. Are there no easily digestible proteins?

  12. You really need to get you facts right. You are just misleading people… some are compromised in certain ways which makes this much worse. For example… spices are very anti-cancer with benefits too numerous to mention all… and are easy to digest. Bread is dead calories and a punch to the system with instant blood sugar spike. This notion that too many foods or flavors should not be in one meal is totally moronish. This writer should be extreme ashamed and put on watch.

Leave a Reply to clelia Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *