Can't go without snacks during the Spring Festival? 8 types of food you should never eat on an empty stomach.

"When hungry, one is not particular about what one eats," is a saying that describes how when a person is hungry, they want to put whatever food they see into their mouths. They eat whatever is available and find everything delicious. However, eating some foods on an empty stomach can lead to them being excreted before being digested and absorbed, or they can irritate the stomach and intestines, causing physical discomfort and harming your health. The following foods should not be eaten on an empty stomach.

1. Milk, soy milk, yogurt

Milk and soy milk contain large amounts of protein. When consumed on an empty stomach, the protein is "forced" to be converted into energy for consumption, failing to provide nutritional benefits. The correct way to drink them is to consume them with foods containing flour, such as pastries or biscuits. Yogurt is the best dairy product for people with lactose intolerance, but if consumed on an empty stomach, its health benefits are diminished. Drinking it two hours after a meal or before bedtime can not only be nourishing but also promote digestion.

2. Baijiu (white liquor)

Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach can directly stimulate and erode the gastric mucosa and muscle layer because there is no food to buffer it. It neutralizes stomach acid, inhibits the secretion of various digestive enzymes, and irritates the gastric mucosa. Over time, this can easily lead to gastritis, gastric ulcers, and other diseases. When a person is fasting, their blood sugar is already low. Drinking alcohol at this time can quickly lead to hypoglycemia, where the brain tissue experiences functional impairment due to a lack of glucose supply, resulting in dizziness, palpitations, cold sweats, and hunger. In severe cases, it can lead to hypoglycemic coma. Furthermore, alcohol is absorbed quickly on an empty stomach, significantly affecting organs and tissues such as the brain, nerves, muscles, heart, liver, and kidneys.

3. Tea

Drinking tea on an empty stomach can dilute gastric juice, reduce digestive function, and also cause "tea intoxication," which manifests as heart palpitations, dizziness, headache, fatigue, and unsteady standing.

Honeysuckle Tea

4. Sugar

Sugar is a food that is very easily digested and absorbed. Eating a large amount of sugar on an empty stomach causes the body to secrete insufficient insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels, causing a sharp rise in blood sugar, which can easily lead to eye diseases. Moreover, sugar is an acidic food, and eating it on an empty stomach can disrupt the body's acid-base balance and the balance of various microorganisms, which is detrimental to health.

5. Bananas

Bananas contain a relatively high amount of magnesium. Eating bananas on an empty stomach causes a sharp increase in magnesium levels in the body, disrupting the magnesium-calcium balance in the blood. This has an inhibitory effect on the cardiovascular system and is not good for your health.

6. Persimmons, hawthorn

When the stomach is empty, it produces a large amount of gastric acid, which can easily combine with the gelatin in persimmons, causing symptoms like stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting. Hawthorn is sour; if consumed on an empty stomach, it not only depletes energy but also increases the feeling of hunger and worsens stomach pain.

Hawthorn and Chinese Yam Cake

7. Garlic

Garlic contains allicin, which has a strong pungent taste. Eating garlic on an empty stomach can cause strong irritation to the gastric mucosa and intestinal walls, leading to gastrointestinal cramps and colic.

8. Cold drinks

Many people drink large amounts of various frozen beverages after exercise or on an empty stomach. This strongly stimulates the gastrointestinal tract and heart, causing these organs to experience sudden spasms. Over time, this can lead to endocrine disorders, menstrual irregularities, and other ailments.