Why Fried Foods Can Make Your Stomach Hurt

Fried foods are more difficult to digest due to the fat they contain,” explains Connie Diekman, RD, a food and nutrition consultant, former president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and author of The Everything Mediterranean Diet Book. In essence, fried foods equal fatty foods. And fat, she adds, “is a very large chemical molecule, and it requires several steps in digestion.”

“Most of the digestion of fat occurs in the intestine,” she notes. “In the intestine, we release enzymes and bile that help break down the fat so that we can absorb the nutrients it contains.”

High-fat meals take up less space in your stomach than low-fat meals, and that means you won’t feel full as quickly as you would with lower-fat foods. That can lead to overeating. The situation is particularly accelerated if the high-fat content comes from fried foods.