How long does it take food to digest?

[Anxious_gal]

I also have reflux so food comes up very easily .
I ate rice and veg 5 hours ago.
I started getting a funny feeling inu chest so I burped and up came the undigested food. Plus acid which is getting stuck in my throat.

I suffer from nausea and not feeling hungry alot , but had been making great progress on weight gain, I gained 8 pounds.

I'm assuming this isn't normal?
Could something be up with my digestive system beside anxiety slowing down digestion.

Is it something I should mention to my doctor?

Note this is not causing me anxiety , only frustration :)

[Chem]

Your symptoms are often caused by anxiety, but you might possibly have an ulcer. That can be treated with meds. I have just had a breath test (you breathe into a tube before and after taking a tablet) I'm waiting for the results.

[countrygirl]

Personally I stil have food in my stomach after 5 hrs - I think with me its more like 6 hrs before I would have an empty stomach and some things that I eat I can burp half a day later and still taste it!!
I cannot tolerate even a spoonful of alcohol or I get terrible acid reflux and weirdly I can taste the alcohol for at least a day afterwards if I burp.
If you had gastric paresis then you would vomit badly after every meal as after a certain length of time if the stomach does not empty then the body will get rid of it itself upwards! This is very rare condition and is always accompanied by being constantly sick.
By all means discuss your fears with your Dr if it will reassure you.

[spacebunnyx]

I get the "bringing up food" thing a lot when I'm stressed... a whole mouthful of undigested food. It's gross and made me realise i don't chew my food very well! lol! I have the same nausea at the moment... not sure what that's about. but for me the regurgitation thing is def anxiety-related... I even get it when I'm not aware i'm anxious.. for example: driving to see my parents when they were divorcing - i got it a lot in the car (even tho i wasn't "anxious" as such). maybe this could be the same for you? some kind of underlying stress?

[Dying_Swan]

Food takes on average 18 hours to pass through your digestive tract. I'd say it is perfectly normal to still have some food in your stomach 5 hours after eating.

I hope you are feeling better now :)

[spidergrrl]

I am emetophobic, so this is on my mind more often than usual. I find that food stays in my actual stomach an average of 2-4 hours (and a little longer if I am taking Zantac or Nexium). It may be 6-10 more hours before it gets to the intestines and on out.

Things that have slowed my digestion: stomach medicine (Zantac, Nexium, etc), dehydration, immobility (sitting or lying down a lot). Anxiety tends to give me the other problem- digestion that is too FAST.

I hope you are feeling better.

[Danath]

I' sure I read somewhere that for food to be completely processed its about 13 hours, though I could be mistaken, mind you, thats probably talking abotu it gonig throguh the gut as well

[Anxious_gal]

oh wow so this is fairly normal after all.
I was some how under the impression it only takes 20 minutes for food to digest lol
Thanks again for you all the replies x

[djvtech]

Here's a list:

DIGESTION TIME OF VARIOUS FOODS: (The time spent in the stomach before emptying).
Water: when stomach is empty, leaves immediately and goes into intestines.
Juices: Fruit vegetables, vegetable broth - 15 to 20 minutes.
Semi-liquid: Blended salad, vegetables or fruits) - 20 to 30 min.
Fruits: Watermelon - 20 min.digestion time.Other melons - Cantaloupe, Cranshaw, Honeydew, etc. - 30 min.Oranges, grapefruit, grapes - 30 min.Apples, pears, peaches, cherries, etc. - digest in 40 min.
Vegetables: Raw tossed salad vegetables - tomato, lettuces, cucumber, celery, red or green pepper, other succulent vegetables - 30 to 40 min. digestion. -Steamed or cooked vegetablesLeafy vegetables - escarole, spinach, kale, collards etc. - 40 min. - Zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, yellow squash, corn on cob - all 45 min. digestion timeRoot vegetables - carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips etc. - 50 min.
Semi-Concentrated Carbohydrates - Starches.Jerusalem artichokes & leafy, acorn & butternut squashes, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam, chestnuts - all 60 min. digestion.
Concentrated Carbohydrates - Grains: Brown rice, millet, buckwheat, cornmeal, oats (first 3 vegetables best) - 90 min.Legumes & Beans - (Concentrated Carbohydrate & Protein)Lentils, limes, chick peas, peas, pigeon peas, kidney beans, etc. - 90 min. digestion timesoy beans -120 min. digestion time
Seeds & Nuts.Seeds - Sunflower, pumpkin, pepita, sesame - Digestive time approx. 2 hours.Nuts - Almonds, filberts, peanuts (raw), cashews, Brazil, walnuts, pecans etc. - 2 1/2 to 3 hours to digest.
Dairy: Skim milk, cottage or low fat pot cheese or ricotta - approx. 90 min. digestion timewhole milk cottage cheese - 120 min. digestionwhole milk hard cheese - 4 to 5 hours digestion time
Animal proteins: Egg yolk - 30 min. digestion timeWhole egg - 45 min.Fish - cod, scrod, flounder, sole seafood - 30 min. digestion timeFish - salmon, salmon trout, herring, (more fatty fish) - 45 min. to 60 digestion timeChicken - 11/2 to 2 hours digestion time (without skin)Turkey - 2 to 2 1/4 hours digestion time (without skin)Beef, lamb - 3 to 4 hours digestion timePork - 41/2 to 5 hours.