Thread: Why can some people handle eating fast food regularly and others...?

Why is it that some people can eat fast food almost everyday with seemingly no problems, whereas other people get terrible gi issues or feel extremely lethargic afterwards? I know the placebo effect plays some role here, but it's not the only thing. Without fail, I've had extreme gi distress (I'm talking liquid diarrhea) & fatigue ever since young childhood anytime I ate McDonald's, Taco Bell, etc. I've even had phases of trying to eat these things regularly as a teenager, and failed to do so without being sick every time. Mind you, if I ate these foods in a "healthier" way (say tacos or burgers at home), I didn't have these problems. Does it all come down to that mysterious "gut microbiome", or is it that some people can just digest greasy foods and handle high sodium levels better than others?

Originally Posted by AlexSays

Personally I think people's gut bacteria vary widely and some are more robust than others

However I think the main cause for this is that for some people feeling crappy and lethargic is their 'normal'. For instance when I was a health wreck and ate dominoes pizzas all the time and little else I could handle it fine

Once I started eating a lot better I only realised how crummy fast food was making me feel and how much better I felt with out it. Now if I eat it, it makes me feel like chit again but nowadays I'm not used to feeling like chit all the time so it seems much worse in comparison

Beat me to it. I think most people are not conscious of the way foods makes them feel and probably walk around with a background level of "uhh" feeling. It's not until you move over to a more whole foods based diet that you make the connection of how food affects the way you feel, which then amplifies the way crap food makes you feel once you change your own "normal".

@Strawng probably a lot more to it than just gut microbiome.

Originally Posted by AlexSays

Personally I think people's gut bacteria vary widely and some are more robust than others

However I think the main cause for this is that for some people feeling crappy and lethargic is their 'normal'. For instance when I was a health wreck and ate dominoes pizzas all the time and little else I could handle it fine

Once I started eating a lot better I only realised how crummy fast food was making me feel and how much better I felt with out it. Now if I eat it, it makes me feel like chit again but nowadays I'm not used to feeling like chit all the time so it seems much worse in comparison

Not for me. If I eat a Dominos pizza I feel completely fine. I eat minimally processed food >90% of the time.

TBH I think there are some fitness minded folks who feel guilty over eating something like a Dominos pizza, and this is what makes them feel bad.

Originally Posted by AdamWW

Personally it seems to be consistent with anything with a lot of oil/salt/saturated animal fat.... and when the fiber content is also almost non-existent, even worse.

I'm the exact same way. Oil, salt, and animal fat are extremely difficult for me to handle. I can handle fats if they come from things like natty pb, granola, avocados, etc. I can't really digest animal fats at all it seems. I don't eat meat aside from fish, but I struggled digesting animal fats before I ever cut out meat. Matter-of-fact, my inability to digest animal products was part of the reason I originally became vegan/vegetarian in the past. My family loved getting steaks for special occasions, but every time we did, I got horribly sick after. I can also eat huge amounts of things like breakfast cereal that are still highly-processed, but aren't full of sodium or oils. All other things being equal, my body also has always really struggled with high amounts of sodium. I get extremely thirsty, uncomfortable, nauseated, and lethargic. Even though they're relatively fatty, I could eat far more calories from donuts or something than I could say McDonald's burgers & fries.

Originally Posted by gbullock32

Luck of the draw I guess, never had any issues with food or drinks when it comes to GI, but my Dad does (bad heart burn). Only issue I do get sometimes is gas, but that is normally from too many veggies in one meal.

Yea, I really envy people with cast-iron stomachs. At the same time, I suppose it kinda forces me to eat "clean" for lack of a better word, which is kind of a plus i suppose.

Originally Posted by Zschnack87

Man preaching to the choir. I never got explosive butt rocket from it but I use to get constant heartburn and I do get bloated and hold onto it for a day or two. I recently lost a ton of weight and feeling pretty pumped about how flat my gut was getting. I ate ONE REUBEN from Arbys... my stomach ballooned up and I held onto 3 extra pounds for almost three days before the bloating went away. Pretty crazy stuff. I use to have a friend who could polish off like 10 McDoubles and not see any negative effects from it.

That's how I am. One fast food meal will wreck me, but I know plenty of people who think I'm being crazy.

Originally Posted by desslok

For me its more complicated than that. For one, its changed over the years. When i was a teenager and in my 20s i could eat whatever from wherever, however much and wash it down with tankards of beer or soda. As I got older, certain fast foods give me GI issues. And soda makes me gassy/bloated. Some fast food is fine, i can eat whatever from In n Out or Chick Fil A, even like chicken sandwiches from McDs or Carls Jr etc, but burgers from McDs or Jack in the Box hit me like a grease bomb, i feel heavy and lethargic and am getting the grease burps and hour or two later. I also can’t tolerate dairy as much as I used to. My guess it has to so with as you mention gut microbiome as well as less enzymes as we age. I know some problems started after strong antibiotics. I won’t even take things like Cipro and Keflex anymore if a doc prescribes, those things just trash my digestive system.

My gi ssues have definitely gotten worse as I've gotten older, too. I just probably had a worse starting point then you, because that stuff made me sick even as a kid. I'm also the same way with antibiotics. I don't tolerate them at all.

Originally Posted by AlexSays

Once I started eating a lot better I only realised how crummy fast food was making me feel and how much better I felt with out it. Now if I eat it, it makes me feel like chit again but nowadays I'm not used to feeling like chit all the time so it seems much worse in comparison

I think that's definitely true for some people, and also why kids don't feel it as much...they don't notice. That certainly doesn't explain everything though.

Originally Posted by snailsrus

Sounds like you have ibs to be honest.

I sure as Hell do, but IBS is actually just a set of symptoms and not a meaningful diagnosis. If I do have IBS, it seems to be triggered by high grease and salt meals.

Originally Posted by broganoff

Beat me to it. I think most people are not conscious of the way foods makes them feel and probably walk around with a background level of "uhh" feeling. It's not until you move over to a more whole foods based diet that you make the connection of how food affects the way you feel, which then amplifies the way crap food makes you feel once you change your own "normal".

This for sure describes part of it, but again not the whole story. I know people that eat "healthy" or "strict" but LOVE binging on fast food sometimes. Their binges leave them relatively unaffected.

Originally Posted by Mrpb

@Strawng probably a lot more to it than just gut microbiome.



Not for me. If I eat a Dominos pizza I feel completely fine. I eat minimally processed food >90% of the time.

TBH I think there are some fitness minded folks who feel guilty over eating something like a Dominos pizza, and this is what makes them feel bad.

Exactly! It has to be a constellation of factors because, once-again, guilt doesn't explain the whole thing. Hell, I tried guilting myself IN to eating these things ("steaks and burgers are manly" and "all my friends can eat fast food" and "IIFYM bro").

This thread made me appreciate my (apparently) iron stomach..!

Ever since I remember myself, I could eat almost whatever type of food without any digestive issues whatsoever. My sister, on the other hand, would always have all kinds of trouble handling certain foods (eg mushrooms for some reason).

I used to take it for granted, but I guess I should be more appreciative. Also, it might get worse with aging, as people pointed out here.

Originally Posted by RapidFail

Another iron stomach over here.

The only thing that has even given me digestive issues is undercooked chicken, ie food poisoning.

I got food poisoning after BK once. My patty was green but I was starving after school and hadn't eaten all day. I'm pretty paranoid about food safety now. Food poisoning is the fuking worst.

Originally Posted by astrocoyote

This thread made me appreciate my (apparently) iron stomach..!

Ever since I remember myself, I could eat almost whatever type of food without any digestive issues whatsoever. My sister, on the other hand, would always have all kinds of trouble handling certain foods (eg mushrooms for some reason).

I used to take it for granted, but I guess I should be more appreciative. Also, it might get worse with aging, as people pointed out here.

My stomach was definitely stronger as a kid, but it still fuking sucked. Oddly enough, my sister's the opposite of me. She has an absolutely cast iron stomach for any and all foods, but she's one of the few people who actually can't eat gluten cuz she developed celiac a few years back. She also developed an allergy to soy and most fruits. I love my carbs, eat tons of fruit, and am a big tofu and soy sauce/teriyaki fan, so I'm still glad at least I don't have any food allergies. Knockonwood.

Originally Posted by paulinkansas

I can't handle cucumbers. If I eat just a few slices, i have cucumber tasting burps for a few hours. Pickles give me no problems though.

Can't handle Jack Daniels either. My throat feels like I swallowed fiberglass and swells up to the point I have trouble breathing. Haven't touched Jack in 25 years. Other bourbon gives me no problems (except at my Super Bowl party, which involved bourbon, boxing gloves, a Division III linebacker and my bloody nose).

I love them in moderation but too many cucumbers make me sick, too. A buddy of mine in elementary school used to sneak a bunch of cucumber and eat them at lunch so he'd puke and have an excuse to go home sick from school. Eventually he missed so many days that the teachers were onto him and just forced him to stay in school despite his stomach issues. He'd be sitting in class next to me just puking into a trash can. He learned his lesson soon enough.

I love bourbon on the other hand and JD is my favorite. Oddly enough, I can drink glass after glass of Jack with few if any problems. As for the other types of "problems" that arise from my bourbon consumption...I've had more than my fair share of those too, man. I had to dial that chit way back a couple years ago. Also ouch...least you were probably at least partially unconscious beforehand lol

Originally Posted by Gringer

Apples give me diarrhea. Lol. Apple juice is even worse. I have to avoid apples completely as they just go straight through me. Other fruits don't seem to be an issue.

If I eat too many apples I'm gonna feel bloated as Hell, but nothing like I would after a fast food combo meal.

Originally Posted by Paulie1986

Iron stomach too. I can eat pretty much anything. I have zero issues with after effects.

Now if it's extremely spicy like a Vindaloo then my stomach feels like it's burning even hours after I've eaten it. Anything less spicy then it's all good. I grew up eating pretty much everything processed so maybe that's why, I just adapted? I dunno, I'm no expert on this subject.

Oddly enough, I can handle vast amounts of even the spiciest foods with zero digestive upset. I grew up eating almost exclusively spicy foods since before i could remember, though. Not a day of eating goes by that I don't eat something with some srs spice in it.

I also have this problem. If I eat a greasy burger and drink cola, and then eat ice cream, it means that all evening I will have a stomach ache, and in the morning there will be pimples on my face.
But my brother can eat pizza, burgers, burritos, chocolates, cakes, drink cola all day and everything will be fine with him. I don't know what kind of stomach he has, but he can digest everything in the world. And I'm sad that I don't have such an organism, our parents are the same.

Originally Posted by AdamWW

This has nothing to do with this thread topic

TFW you read the thread title but are way too lazy to actually read the OP.

Originally Posted by desslok

Ever since Baywatch ended that guy has been lost, wandering around random forums aimlessly with no meaning.

LOL that sounds about right. At least he allegedly managed to procure the right to have a concealed weapon in that timeframe. That's...something.

Originally Posted by Strawng

My stomach was definitely stronger as a kid, but it still fuking sucked. Oddly enough, my sister's the opposite of me. She has an absolutely cast iron stomach for any and all foods, but she's one of the few people who actually can't eat gluten cuz she developed celiac a few years back. She also developed an allergy to soy and most fruits. I love my carbs, eat tons of fruit, and am a big tofu and soy sauce/teriyaki fan, so I'm still glad at least I don't have any food allergies. Knockonwood.

Yeah it seems to depend on the person.

In my family, it was always me and my dad that could eat all kinds of crap, whereas my mother and sister were always the ones with the sensitive digestive system.

Fingers crossed I don't develop any such issues while aging, because I keep hearing stories of people that suddenly developed celiac or lactose intolerance etc at some point in their lives.