A gut doctor shared three “dangerous” foods he frequently avoids and why
A gut doctor has shared the three “dangerous” foods he avoids and why. Dr Saurabh Sethi, a gastroenterologist, shares his experience and knowledge with his 473,000 followers on TikTok (@doctorsethimd).
The doctor, who graduated from Harvard University has gone viral after sharing the reasons he avoids a number of products, including deep fried foods, soft drinks and more. His recent clip was captioned: “Three most dangerous foods for the gut I avoid as a gastroenterologist.”
In the video, Dr Sethi said: “First, ultra processed foods are high in preservatives, additives, and unhealthy fats which can disrupt the gut microbiome. Second, deep fried foods. These are hard to digest and can slow down the digestive process, leading to bloating, gas, or acid reflux. For occasional deep frying to high smoke point oils like refined olive oil or avocado oil, ghee or refined coconut oil.
“Third, regular and diet soft drinks. The diet ones contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame, which can negatively impact the gut microbiome from my clinical experience.”
Why should we avoid these foods?
According to the British Heart Foundation, ultra-processed foods often contain high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar and when we eat them, we leave less room in our diets for more nutritious foods. It’s also been suggested that the additives in these foods could be responsible for negative health effects.
The actual processing of the food could also make a difference to how our bodies respond to it. Studies have shown, for example, that when foods such as nuts are eaten whole the body absorbs less of the fat than when the nut is ground down and the oils are released. Another new theory is that diets higher in ultra-processed foods could also affect our gut health.
More research is needed to separate these different elements and understand exactly what about ultra-processed foods could be bad for our health.
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Consuming foods fried in unstable oils can have several negative health effects, reports Healthline. In fact, eating them regularly can put you at a higher risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Although diet soda has no calories, sugar, or fat, it has been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease in several studies. According to Healthline, research has found that just one serving of an artificially sweetened drink per day is associated with an 8–13% higher risk of type 2 diabetes