Dietary Taboos: 11 Foods Not to Eat on an Empty Stomach
Introduction: Persimmons and tomatoes contain a significant amount of pectin and tannic acid. These substances undergo a chemical reaction with stomach acid to form indissolvable gel-like masses, which can easily lead to stomach stones. Hawthorn and oranges contain large amounts of organic acids, fruit acids, hawthorn acid, citric acid, etc. Consuming them on an empty stomach can cause a sharp increase in stomach acid, adversely irritating the gastric mucosa and leading to symptoms such as bloating, belching, and acid reflux.
Persimmons and Tomatoes: Contain a significant amount of pectin and tannic acid. These substances undergo a chemical reaction with stomach acid to form indissolvable gel-like masses, which can easily lead to stomach stones.
Cold Drinks: Consuming large amounts of frozen foods on an empty stomach can stimulate the gastrointestinal tract to contract. Over time, this can lead to a disruption of various enzyme-catalyzed chemical reactions, inducing gastrointestinal diseases. It can also cause menstrual irregularities in women during their period.
Bananas: Bananas contain a high amount of magnesium. Eating bananas on an empty stomach can cause a sudden spike in the body's magnesium levels, disrupting the magnesium-calcium balance in the blood. This can have an inhibitory effect on the cardiovascular system and is not conducive to good health.
Hawthorn and Oranges: Hawthorn and oranges contain large amounts of organic acids, fruit acids, hawthorn acid, citric acid, etc. Consuming them on an empty stomach can cause a sharp increase in stomach acid, adversely irritating the gastric mucosa and leading to symptoms such as bloating, belching, and acid reflux.
Milk and Soy Milk: These two foods are rich in protein. When consumed on an empty stomach, the protein is "forced" to be converted into energy and burned off, failing to provide its nutritional and nourishing effects. The correct way to consume them is to eat them with foods containing flour, such as pastries or flatbreads, or to drink them two hours after a meal or before bedtime.
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 be unable to secrete enough insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels in a short period, leading to a sharp increase in blood sugar which can easily cause eye diseases. Furthermore, 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.
Yogurt: Drinking yogurt on an empty stomach reduces its health benefits. However, drinking it two hours after a meal or before bedtime provides nourishing, health-boosting, and digestive-promoting effects, as well as aiding bowel movements.
White Sweet Potatoes: White sweet potatoes contain tannic acid and pectin, which can stimulate the stomach lining to secrete more stomach acid, causing discomfort such as heartburn. (Image source: PConline Photo Tribe)