I understand that McDonald’s, Domino’s, Taco Bell and the like is loaded with saturated fats, sodium, and sugars, which is why it can contribute to obesity, hypertension, and other negative health effects. But, why exactly is it so hard to digest. For a lot of people, myself included, the occasional fast food binge comes with all sorts of nasty digestive problems. What exactly is in a greasy pizza that my guts can’t deal with and why?
Well, the grease itself seems to be a pretty major contributor. Also, there’s probably no dietary fiber. Anecdotally, whenever I make a major change in my diet, such as switching to or away from fatty foods, my digestive tract protests. WAG: If you don’t eat lots of fatty foods normally, your body may not be producing enough bile to bind up all the fat you get in a fast food binge.
This is a weird follow up question, but if a person is in fact under-producing bile and some fat isn’t digested, and instead is excreted, does that mean technically I consumed less fat than the product contained? A gross but potentially beneficial side effect?
I believe that fast foods do not have any fiber to assist in the throughput of digestion.
What one often has with eating food laden with fats is such a high fat load that the body cannot produce enough lipase to digest it all. LOTS of fat calories get absorbed, but that which does not gets digested by the bacteria in the gut, where it is broken down into incredibly noxious, gassy compounds. This is called steatorrhea, and results in foul, frothy, floating feces which leave oil slicks on the toilet water surface.
Hardly a beneficial side-effect.
How much is lots? 90% or more?
It occurred to me I should clarify why I’m asking this question. I’m not trying to figure out if I’ve stumbled upon a radical dieting program. I’m simply curious as to the extent of fat that goes undigested.
Isn’t that the basic logic behind Olestra?
Heh. You almost said “anal leakage.”
cainxinth wondered what percent of food calories would still be absorbed even if the body’s ability to produce digestive enzymes such as lipase were overwhelmed.
Although addressing a different question, this study showed that when some people take huge quantities of laxatives - enough to cause more than 5 litres of diarrhea :eek: - there is still almost 90% absorption of ingested food calories.
Thanks for all the imagery, doc.
More fiber and Probiotics might help. But eating healthier choices, even at the Fast Food restaurant is best. Salads, baked potaties, and so forth.
Which is one reason why bulimics who abuse laxatives tend not to lose any significant weight at it.
I wonder which poor lab technician got the 5-litres-of-diarrhoea detail. Suddenly my job seems not so bad.
Indeed. The primary goal of the study was to clarify exactly that.
And this coming from somone with the words “pooh” and “colon” right in their user name.