12 Unhealthiest Food Combinations

I've recently become very fond of cooking, having just learned from my mom, but I'm not very knowledgeable about food pairings. What are some unhealthy food combinations? Don't worry, let's figure it out together.

In daily life, some food pairings have a long history, and their wonderful flavors are widely accepted. It's also customary to consider these pairings perfectly natural. However, from a health perspective, they are not scientific. Health experts have very solid reasons for this. Here, we list 12 food combinations that health experts consider incorrect. However, some things are just not tasty otherwise, so maybe eating them occasionally isn't a big problem. If you value your health, it's best to follow the experts' advice and not eat foolishly or greedily.

1. Beef and Stew

Harm: Gastrointestinal dysfunction

Reason: Since potatoes and beef require different concentrations of stomach acid for digestion, they will inevitably prolong the time food stays in the stomach. This leads to an extended period of digestion and absorption, and over time, will inevitably cause gastrointestinal dysfunction.

Shredded Potato with Tomato

2. Scallions with Tofu:

Harm: Impaired calcium absorption

Reason: The calcium in tofu combines with the oxalic acid in scallions to form a white precipitate—calcium oxalate—which similarly makes it difficult for the body to absorb calcium.

3. Soy Milk with a Raw Egg:

Harm: Nutrients cannot be absorbed

Reason: The mucoprotein in eggs will combine with trypsin in soy milk, thereby losing the nutritional value of both.

4. Tea-boiled Eggs:

Harm: Irritates the stomach and is not conducive to digestion

Reason: Besides alkaloids, tea also contains acidic substances. These compounds combine with the iron in eggs, irritating the stomach and hindering digestion and absorption.

Scallion Egg Pancake

5. Adding MSG to scrambled eggs:

Harm: Destroys the natural umami of eggs

Reason: Eggs themselves contain a lot of glutamic acid, the same component as MSG. Therefore, adding MSG when scrambling eggs not only fails to enhance the umami but instead destroys and masks the natural flavor of the eggs.

6. Red and white radishes mixed together:

Harm: Affects vitamin C absorption

Reason: White radishes are extremely high in vitamin C, but red radishes contain an enzyme called ascorbic acid oxidase, which destroys the vitamin C in white radishes. Once red and white radishes are combined, the vitamin C in the white radish is completely lost. Not only that, when cooked with vegetables containing vitamin C, the red radish acts as a destroyer. Cucumbers, pumpkins, and others also contain similar decomposition enzymes.

7. Radishes with fruit:

Harm: May induce or lead to goiter

Reason: In recent years, scientists have discovered that after cruciferous vegetables like radishes enter the body, they metabolize quickly to produce an anti-thyroid substance—thiocyanate. The amount of this substance produced is proportional to the intake. At this time, if fruits rich in plant pigments like oranges, pears, apples, and grapes are consumed, the flavonoids in these fruits are broken down by bacteria in the intestines into hydroxybenzoic acid and ferulic acid. These can enhance the effect of thiocyanate in suppressing the thyroid, thus inducing or leading to goiter.

Radish and Meatball Soup

8. Seafood with fruit:

Harm: Creates indigestible substances that irritate the stomach

Reason: Seafood like fish, shrimp, and algae are rich in protein, calcium, and other nutrients. If eaten with fruits containing tannic acid, not only is the nutritional value of the protein reduced, but the calcium in the seafood can also easily combine with the tannic acid to form a new, indigestible substance. This substance can irritate the stomach and cause discomfort, leading to symptoms like stomach pain, vomiting, and nausea. Fruits high in tannic acid include persimmons, grapes, pomegranates, hawthorn, and green plums. Therefore, these fruits should not be eaten with seafood dishes; it is advisable to wait for two hours.

9. Milk with oranges:

Reason: Drinking milk and then immediately eating oranges causes the protein in the milk to meet the citric acid and vitamin C in the orange, coagulating into lumps. This affects digestion and absorption and can also cause symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

10. Alcohol with carrots:

Harm: Liver damage

Reason: Recently, American food experts have warned that eating carrots with alcohol is very dangerous. Experts point out that because the abundant beta-carotene in carrots enters the body with alcohol, it will produce toxins in the liver, causing liver disease. In particular, one should not drink alcohol immediately after drinking carrot juice.

Cashew, Carrot, and Broccoli Stir-fry

11. Baijiu (white liquor) with soda:

Harm: Seriously harms the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, and cardiovascular system

Reason: Because baijiu and soda are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream after consumption, they produce a large amount of carbon dioxide, which has serious harmful effects on organs like the stomach, intestines, liver, and kidneys, and also damages the cardiovascular system.

12. Eating meat while drinking tea:

Harm: Constipation & increases the possibility of absorbing toxic and carcinogenic substances

Reason: Some people drink tea shortly after eating meat, seafood, and other high-protein foods, thinking it aids digestion. What they don't realize is that the large amount of tannic acid in the tea combines with protein to form tannic acid protein, which has an astringent effect. This slows down intestinal peristalsis, thereby prolonging the time feces stays in the intestines. This not only easily leads to constipation but also increases the possibility of absorbing toxic and carcinogenic substances.