Even if only broadly, however, knowing what are the digestion times of the most common foods helps athletes to avoid finding themselves "burdened" during training or competitions. If the food remains inside the stomach for a long time, in fact, there is a blood diversion towards the digestive system, with a reduction of the oxygen available for the muscle under stress.
For non-athletes, however, consuming poorly digestible foods in large quantities can cause unpleasant sensations in the stomach and intestines (heaviness, acidity, cramps, etc.).
In general, digestion times increase in proportion to the fat content of foods, while they decrease when the food is carefully chewed, properly cooked or has a liquid consistency. Among the various cooking methods, the most demanding from a digestive point of view are frying and grilling (especially if there are charred parts).
To get an "idea of the" importance of "adequate chewing, just think that fruit and vegetable smoothies are digested much more quickly than whole raw materials. Obviously, there are exceptions; whole milk, for example, takes time. of digestion long enough despite being liquid.
Furthermore, food combinations should not be underestimated, since digestion times lengthen when different food categories are consumed in the same meal. When fasted, for example, water leaves the stomach almost immediately, while when consumed during meals it stays there for a long time. If drunk in large quantities, it also excessively dilutes the gastric juices, increasing digestion times. be made for fruit which - if consumed at the end of a meal as usual - prolongs the stay of the bolus in the stomach (it is no coincidence that it is recommended as a snack and at breakfast; to learn more, see the principles of the dissociated diet). The exception that confirms the rule is given this time by pineapple and papaya, rich in proteolytic enzymes such as bromelain and papain, which facilitate the digestion of proteins.
Finally, as one would expect, quantities also greatly influence digestive times; a chocolate, for example, is digested much more quickly than a chocolate cake.
2 or 3 hours; normal meals remain in the stomach for 3 to 4 hours, while particularly elaborate menus take up to 5 or 6 hours to reach the small intestine.
Broth without additions
Cocoa without additions
Coffee without additions
Boiled milk
Tea without additions
Milk eggs
Light wine
Vegetable or fruit smoothies
Watermelon / melon
Fruit
Skimmed milk
200 g
200 g
200 g
200 g
100 - 200 g
200 g
100 g
200 g
200 g
200 - 400 g
Beer
Cocoa with milk
Coffee with cream
Boiled milk
300 - 500 g
300 g
200 g
300 - 500 g
Beef
Dried ham
Boiled pigeon
Roast pigeon
White bread
Boiled rice
Boiled carrots
Salted caviar
Boiled cabbage
Boiled carrots
Boiled spinach
Cucumbers in salad
Radishes
Apples
Jams
Banana
250 g
160 g
230/260 g
195 g
150 g
150 g
150 g
12 g
150 g
150 g
150 g
150 g
150 g
150 g
150 g
150 g
Salted anchovies
Roast hare
Smoked tongue
Roast goose
Roasted partridge
Roast pigeon
Peas
Roasts
Lentils
Fried food
Sauerkraut
Fatty meats
Lard, butter
200 g
250 g
250 g
250 g
250 g
210 g
200 g
Again as a general indication, the ingested food reaches the final tract of the small intestine within 6-8 hours; the elimination of waste and indigestible residues begins about 24 hours after swallowing and may take a few days to complete.
The average transit time of undigested food residues in the human intestine is 50 hours in men and 57 hours in women, with large intra and inter-individual variations (minimums well below 20 hours and maximums below 20 hours). above 100 hours).
