We all know Christmas is the time for indulging. The mince pies in the office, the glasses of mulled wine after work and not forgetting the main event – Christmas dinner!
The average Brit will gain five pounds (or two kilos) over the four week festive period and consume around 6,000 calories on Christmas day. And if you thought Christmas parties were sin-free, think again! Brits will guzzle an extra 43 teaspoons of sugar in one yuletide night out!
All this indulgent eating and drinking doesn’t just affect your weight gain this winter, it can cause million of Brits to suffer painful, disruptive (and a little embarrassing!) digestion problems too.
A new report by the Henry Potter Advisory Committee reveals that nearly one in five described their digestive health as temperamental and troublesome, whilst one in 10 respondents described their digestive health as poor.
Of the 2,000 men and women aged 25 to 60 surveyed, Bloating was highlighted as a significant digestive health concern – nearly nine out of 10 (87.5 per cent) of those studied said they suffered from the problem.
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Below is a list of IBS foods we recommend you avoid to reduce IBS symptoms. They are commonly known as "trigger foods".
"IBS" is the shortened description of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Although it is recognised as a term used to describe a common discomfort of the gut and bowels, in short, Irritable Bowel syndrome can not be explained away in a few simple words. The answer is a lot bigger than the question!
- Alcohol is a gastrointestinal irritant and often triggers IBS
attacks, especially on an empty stomach. Small amounts of alcohol in
cooking are fine
- Artificial fats, such as Olestra, can cause abdominal cramping and diarrhea in people who don’t even have IBS
- Artificial sweeteners, such as sorbitol, can trigger pain, cramps, gas, bloating, and diarrhea
- Battered and deep-fried food
- Biscuits
- Caffeine is a gastrointestinal stimulant and should be avoided, especially in higher doses
- Carbonation in soda pop and mineral water can cause bloating and cramps
- Coffee: regular and decaf coffee contain an enzyme that is a powerful irritant of the gastrointestinal tract
- Croissants, pastries, biscuits, scones, and doughnuts
- Dairy products such as cheese, butter, sour cream, cream cheese, milk, cream, ice cream, whipped cream, yogurt, frozen yogurt
- Dried bananas – they are often deep fried in oil
- Egg yolks (whites are fine, do try to buy organic)
- Mashed potatoes which have butter / milk
- MSG used a lot in Chinese food. MSG has been implicated as a cause or trigger of various digestive issues
- Potato chips – unless they are baked
- Poultry dark meat and skin. Skinless chicken white meat is fine
- Red meat, such as ground beef, hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, roast
beef, pastrami, salami, bologna, pepperoni, corned beef, ham, bacon,
sausage, pork chops, and any other meat that comes from cows, pigs,
sheep, goats, deer, etc
- Skillet-fried food that is cooked in fat or oil
- Solid carob – but carob powder is OK
- Solid chocolate – but baking cocoa powder is OK
- Wheat, rye, barley or other foods containing gluten
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