Not all seemingly healthy foods are good for you, if eaten at the wrong time. Which is why you need to avoid these foods on an empty stomach.
1. Fruit juices
For many of us, fruit juice is a staple in our diets. However, on an empty stomach, fruit juice may put an extra load on the pancreas. And the sugar in the form of fructose in fruits can negatively affect your liver.
While it appears to be a healthy choice, as per research by University of Toronto’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, when juicing fruits, some of the healthy fibre is lost as juice extractors separate the juice from the fibre-rich pulp and skins. That loss of fibre in fruit juices may result in spiking the blood sugar relatively more than when we eat the actual fruit, causing issues such as diabetes or high cholesterol.
2. Citrus fruits
This is something that your mom must have told you and she was absolutely right. Citrus fruits increase acid production with very uncomfortable consequences if you haven’t had anything to eat. The glut of fibre and fructose in fruits also slows down digestions and messes up your system all day.
3. Coffee
Is having coffee the first thing that you do in the morning? You may be unaware but you are actually causing a lot of harm to your body. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach can increase the levels of hydrochloric acid and can lead to constipation vomiting. They also slow the digestion process. Try having a glass of water on an empty stomach; give it some time to settle and then intake caffeine.
4. Yoghurt
Consuming fermented milk products such as yoghurt on an empty stomach makes the lactic acid bacteria present in the yoghurt, ineffective due to high acidic levels of the stomach. Moreover, due to the high acidic levels, the stomach produces hydrochloric acid, which leads to acidity.
5. Carbonated Drinks
Carbonated drinks are basically bad for health and imagine having them on an early morning. Nothing can be more troublesome for your stomach than having these carbonated drinks first thing in the morning. They up the risk of cancer and heart diseases and can also lead to many other complications. Strictly avoid them on an empty stomach.
6. Salads
The raw vegetables used to prepare salads are perhaps a better choice for lunch. Raw vegetables are full of fibre, which may put an extra load on an empty stomach, causing flatulence and abdominal pain. Tomatoes, for instance, contain tannic acid, which, in contact with gastric juices in the stomach, could cause stomach irritation.
7. Tea
What do you do after you wake up in the morning? Grab a cup of chai, right? But drinking tea first thing in the morning is not a healthy idea. Wondering why? Well, it is loaded with compounds which increase the acid levels in the stomach and can irritate the stomach lining. This, in the long run, can lead to heartburn and vomiting. Hence, it is advised to not have chai on an empty stomach.
8. Chilled drinks
It is wise to start your day with a glass of water but not with a glass of chilled water or iced beverages. Chilled drinks not only make your digestive system sluggish but also harm the mucous membrane. Instead, have lukewarm water or fruit juices (except melons) on an empty stomach and chilled drinks preferably after meals.
