Foods to detoxify and cleanse the intestines

There is no marketing concept such as "detoxification" in the field of nutrition. The essence of "intestinal cleansing and elimination of waste" in public perception is to improve intestinal peristalsis, regulate intestinal flora, and make defecation smoother. Currently, the foods that have been proven to have auxiliary effects are mainly concentrated in three categories: high dietary fiber, probiotics/prebiotics, and natural enzymes. There is no special food that can "cleanse the intestines after eating". All functions are based on daily dietary rules. Blindly eating Internet-famous intestinal cleansing products may damage the intestines.

Not long ago, a little girl born in 1995 came to me to adjust her diet. She said that in order to cleanse her intestines, she ate three sticks of raw bitter melon on an empty stomach every morning, along with Internet-famous enzyme jelly. She had diarrhea frequently, but within half a month she started to suffer from acid reflux and belching. Even her aunt put it off. When I asked her, I found out that she equated diarrhea with "detoxification" and was completely in the wrong direction.

Foods that can really help relieve the burden on the intestines are actually common items on the daily dinner table. For example, when you usually steam rice, grab two more handfuls of mixed beans and mix them into the rice, or cook some oats with bran in the morning. Don’t overcook them. It’s better to have a grainy texture when chewed. This kind of insoluble dietary fiber is like a small brush with soft bristles. When it passes through the intestines, it can bring down food residues stuck in the folds of the intestinal wall. It can also gently stimulate intestinal peristalsis. It is safer than how much intestinal cleansing tea you drink. Of course, some people say that eating celery and leeks can relieve constipation. This varies from person to person. I have a sensitive stomach. Eating too much raw leeks can cause heartburn and bloating. In this case, it is better to switch to foods with milder fiber such as baby cabbage and cauliflower.

When I suffered from functional constipation before, the nutritionist didn't prescribe any medicine for me, but asked me to drink a small bottle of plain yogurt without additives and half a piece of cool roasted sweet potato every afternoon. Don't tell me, after more than half a month, I became much smoother. Later I learned that the resistant starch in cold sweet potatoes is a prebiotic, which is equivalent to feeding the beneficial bacteria in the intestines. It is much more effective than taking probiotics alone. Of course, there are also different opinions in the academic circles. Some studies say that it is difficult for exogenous probiotics to colonize the intestines for a long time. At best, they can only temporarily adjust the status of the flora. If you want to cultivate good bacteria for a long time, you still have to eat enough dietary fiber for a long time. Don’t expect that everything will be fine after drinking two bottles of probiotic drinks. Take a look at the ingredient list of those drinks. There must be white sugar in the first three ingredients. Drinking too much will provide nutrients to harmful bacteria, and the more you drink, the heavier the intestinal burden will be.

Sometimes when I go out to make skewers with friends and my stomach feels uncomfortable after eating too much, I will buy a kiwi fruit to eat. The protease in it can help break down the protein of the barbecued meat I just ate, and the bloating will disappear in less than half an hour. There are similar enzymes in pineapples and papayas, but don’t believe the propaganda about “papaya enzyme cleansing and detoxifying the intestines”. Most of these enzymes have been corroded by gastric acid and have been inactivated long ago.

The older generation or Chinese medicine practitioners often recommend eating some gummy fungus, such as black fungus and tremella, which are said to be able to "scrat oil and clear the intestines." Modern nutrition does not have the term "scratching oil". However, this type of soluble dietary fiber can absorb water and swell, making stools more fluffy and effortless. It can also delay the intestinal absorption of fats and sugars, which can be regarded as indirectly reducing the burden on the intestines. The two statements are not conflicting, but the expression systems are different.

To be honest, "fee" and "intestinal poisoning" are marketing concepts created by businesses. These two words are not included in formal medical textbooks. As long as you have a bowel movement once every 1-3 days, the stool will be normal and there is no need to "cleanse the intestines" specially. I once had a distant relative who drank a certain brand of colon cleansing tea for three years. Finally, he had a colonoscopy and found that the entire colon was blackened. It was the anthraquinone laxatives secretly added to the tea that caused the constipation, which was more harmful than the constipation itself.

In the five years I have been working as a dietary guide, I have seen people with the best gastrointestinal problems. They do not mess around with their meals. They eat vegetables and whole grains every day, drink enough 1500ml of water every day, and move three or four times a week. Defecation is natural and smooth. There is really no need to focus on a certain "intestinal cleansing food" and eat it to death. The word "balance" is more effective than any folk prescription.