The 'Healthy' Foods Causing the Traffic Jam

We need to talk about the "healthy" foods that wellness influencers swear by — which are actually destroying your gut motility.

When you have a normal, fast-moving digestive tract, you can eat almost anything. But when you have chronic constipation, your gut acts differently. Foods that are considered superfoods for normal people act like concrete in a slow gut.

Here are the three biggest offenders you need to cut out this week.

1. Raw chia seeds

You've seen the TikToks. "Put a tablespoon of chia seeds in water for gut health!"

Here is the problem: chia seeds absorb up to 12 times their weight in water. If you consume them raw, or if you don't drink massive amounts of water with them, they enter your slow-moving colon and absorb whatever moisture is left. They turn into a dense, gelatinous brick.

The rule: If you must eat chia, soak them overnight until they are fully expanded — before you eat them. Never eat them raw.

2. Massive raw salads (especially kale)

Raw cruciferous vegetables (kale, broccoli, cauliflower) contain a complex carbohydrate called raffinose, and they are incredibly high in insoluble fiber.

Remember: insoluble fiber adds bulk. If your motility is slow, adding a massive bowl of raw, hard-to-break-down bulk is a recipe for severe bloating and a complete traffic jam.

The rule: Cook your vegetables. Steaming or roasting breaks down cellular walls, doing half the digestive work before the food even enters your mouth.

3. Unripe bananas

Bananas are tricky. A fully ripe, brown-spotted banana is high in soluble fiber and can actually help lubricate the gut. But a green or slightly yellow banana is full of resistant starch and heavy tannins. These compounds bind things together — which is why the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) is prescribed to stop diarrhea.

The rule: If the banana doesn't have brown spots, don't eat it.

This week's protocol

Take a look at your diet. Are you forcing yourself to eat giant raw salads because you think it's "healthy"? Swap the raw kale for roasted zucchini this week. Watch what happens to your bloating.

If you've also been wondering whether a probiotic is worth the money — most aren't, because they can't survive stomach acid in useful amounts. The one we keep recommending to readers (because it actually has clinical trial data on transit time, not just "gut health" handwaving):

See you next Monday,

— The Bowel Brief Team