Summer Barbecue – Digestion Tips

Ahhh, long summer days are here, and our thoughts turn to outdoor cooking and eating. Whether you are picnicking, camping, or barbequing in your own backyard, safety comes first when it comes to preparing food, but what about preparing your digestive tract? We want to ensure what we eat will be optimally digested and utilized by the body.

When we eat foods we are not used to, or perhaps eat too much, we may notice symptoms like gas, bloating, heartburn, and an uncomfortably full feeling. In these cases, there are some simple things you can do to make digestion easier. Slow down and enjoy the sight, smell, and taste of your food, chew thoroughly before swallowing, and try not to drink a lot of liquid when you eat. You may also want to consider taking digestive enzymes with your meals.

Digestive enzymes are proteins your body makes to help break down the foods you eat into usable nutrients that are absorbed by the digestive tract and utilized throughout the body. Taking an enzyme supplement with each meal can help improve your digestion and reduce symptoms of gas, bloating, and heartburn.

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Here are some additional tips to follow when eating outdoors:

• Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often to prevent spreading bacteria and germs.
• Separate: Separate raw foods from cooked foods to prevent cross-contamination of bacteria.
• Chill: Keep cold foods cold. Leaving food at unsafe temperatures sets you up for bacterial growth and foodborne illness.
• Cook: Be sure to kill harmful bacteria by cooking food to the proper temperature. Don’t play guessing games! Use an instant-read digital food thermometer to check if meat and poultry are safe to eat. Don’t add extra marinade within the last 5 minutes of cooking. Marinades should also be cooked to safe temperatures before eating. Discard any leftover marinade. Do not try to reuse it for another dish or another day.
  • Cooked foods should be cooked to safe temperatures:
    • 71°C (160°F) for ground beef
    • 74°C (165°F) for leftovers
    • 85°C (185°F) for whole poultry
• Cover: Cover your food when not serving it to prevent attracting insects. Insects like flies and wasps carry bacteria and other germs on their legs and bodies that contaminate food when they walk on it.
• Pack: Always transport food for a picnic or outing in an insulated cooler with a few ice packs or frozen juice boxes to keep it fresh. Food should be kept in the cooler until ready to be eaten, and raw food, like meat, should be kept separate from ready-to-eat foods. Store food that is meant to be fresh in the cooler after use; do not leave it out in the open to spoil.[1]

By following the above suggestions, you can enjoy healthy food and optimal digestion.

by Caroline Farquhar, RHN, EMP, BA

[1] Environmental Health and Social Services NT Staff. (2017). Summer Food Safety Guidelines. Available: https://www.hss.gov.nt.ca/en/services/summer-food-safety-guidelines.