October 26, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC
When it comes to eating for gut health, arguably no one knows better than gastroenterologists, who spend their days working with patients who are suffering from all sorts of digestive probs. In other words, they basically think about digestion non-stop.
While most people know that coffee can, well, help you poop, when it comes to what to actually eat in the morning, it turns out that some breakfasts are better for jumpstarting digestion than others. Niket Sonpal, MD, a New York-based internist and gastroenterologist and adjunct professor at Touro College, has a few rules for breakfast list he tends to stick to.
What a gastroenterologist eats for breakfast
1. Coffee
If you rely on coffee in the morning to, er, move things along, rest assured that it’s a habit Dr. Sonpal does too. “Coffee helps perk us up, and wakes up everyone’s colon,” he says. But he still advises pairing it with something to eat, if you have time.
2. Oatmeal with chia seeds
One of Dr. Sonpal’s fave go-to breakfasts—oatmeal with chia seeds—is a double hit of fiber-rich food sources. “I like adding chia seeds to my oatmeal because it adds another layer of fiber as well as a great deal of iron and other nutrients,” he says. One cup of oatmeal has 16.5 grams of fiber and two tablespoons of chia seeds has about 10 grams. Combined, that’s about the daily recommended amount for the whole day. (If you’re not used to getting much fiber, start slow and then work your way up to avoid feeling bloated and overloading your stomach.)
3. blueberries
Preferably, Dr. Sonpal likes to have his fruit on top of his oatmeal (he’s really all about that fiber), and his fave is blueberries. “They have fiber and area full of antioxidants,” he says. Besides the gut, blueberries benefit the heart and brain, so adding them to your morning meal will benefit your body in more ways than just one.
Overall, the big takeaway when crafting your morning meal to jumpstart your digestion is loading up on (drumroll) fiber. And hey, a little coffee won’t hurt.
Smoothie for breakfast fiber? Yes, please:
Now that breakfast is taken care of, here are some healthy ideas for what to eat for lunch and dinner.
Author Emily Laurence | Well and Good
Selected by CWC