Gastro Doctors Share The 1 Food They Never (Or Rarely) Eat

We all have our indulgences: A big bowl of chocolate ice cream after a long, stressful day. That can of Coke with a few slices of pizza on a Friday night. A burger and fries at that new restaurant everyone’s been raving about.

The saying “everything in moderation” exists for a reason. Most doctors and nutritionists know that completely depriving yourself of foods you love will backfire, causing you to eat way more of them than you should. But there are certain foods that gastroenterologists — doctors who specialize in keeping your gut and digestive tract healthy — avoid 99% (and sometimes 100%) of the time.

None of these foods will take years off your life if you eat them now and then, but there are certain foods GI docs rarely eat. Here are six of them.

Protein bars

Protein bars are healthy, right? While some — like the ones made with real fruit and nuts — are better than others, Dr. Harmony Allison, a gastroenterologist at Tufts Medical Center, says she never eats the highly processed ones. In particular, super-processed protein bars can lead to bloating and gas. “I never eat ‘protein’ bars. They tend to be highly processed and contain lots of additives that are of unknown utility,” she said. “You can get the same amount of protein in a cup of milk, a serving of peanut butter, nuts or pumpkin seeds.”

Steak

Sorry, red meat lovers: GI docs are not fans. “I avoid red meat, especially steaks and burgers,” said Dr. Reezwana Chowdhury, agastroenterologist at Johns Hopkins. “Red meat and processed meat increase the risk of colon cancer and colon polyps. They are high in saturated fats, but if you are going to consume them, the amount consumed is important: The risk of colon cancer is higher in those who consume greater