10 strict NO's for empty stomach

Often food and lifestyle define you and your personality. Eating right and at the right time has been the secret of good health. While there are several things you are advised to refrain from post meals, there are various other things you should also refrain from on empty stomach. Surprised? Don’t be. We will tell you what not to do on empty stomach so that you remain in good state of health and avert unwanted consequences.

1.       Drinking coffee/tea on empty stomach? Think again

 Addiction to bed tea or coffee shot for energy is not new but you need to stop doing that right away. Coffee is high on caffeine which if taken empty stomach causes heartburn and severe digestive problems. Consumed over a longer duration may lead to stomach ulcers, acid reflux or irritable bowel movement. The same goes for tea that erodes the lining of intestines and causes acidity and indigestion. In case you cannot do without your morning beverage, have breakfast along, add creamer to coffee or replace your normal tea with green tea.
   
2.       Never take medicines if you haven’t eaten anything

This piece of advice has been passed on through many generations. Apart from the pills recommended on empty stomach, all others are advised to be consumed only after eating something. This is because empty stomach lining is exposed to reactions from medicines that cause nausea, constipation, vomiting and intestinal bleeding besides reducing the effect of the medicines. To reduce the negative effects of pills on empty stomach, you can replace water with milk.    

3.       No food in stomach? Skip spicy food

Spices are good for metabolism but certainly not good until you have something in your tummy. Spices, especially chillies are pungent in nature which trigger indigestion and upset the stomach lining. It is hence important to mix something with spices to avoid such reactions. Perhaps something like bread can be consumed along.

4.       Alcohol is a big NO-NO

Haven’t we all seen people binging while boozing? Well, that’s because alcohol should NEVER be taken if you are empty stomach even if your last meal was three hours ago. One simple reason behind the same is that alcohol absorption rate in your body will be high and at the same time the breakdown of alcohol will be even slower. This takes a toll on your liver, heart, kidneys and needless to mention, a major hangover that follows. Advisable to eat and layer your stomach before you booze.

5.       Don’t go shopping on empty stomach


Hungry body is low on energy and glucose. To replenish it, your body demands food, especially sweets or those high on calories. Since your ability to concentrate and making decisions gets negatively impacted, you end up buying unhealthy food or junk that would instantly satisfy your hunger. Because the need of your stomach gets converted to stress, your brain sends wrong signals to your body leading to an overload of unwanted items in your cart, even in non food stores.

6.       Intense workout

The need for those flat abs and toned muscles make you work harder on your body. But have you been working out on empty stomach in morning or evening? That’s all wrong! Your body starts running low on energy during workout and lowers your performance. Also, working out hungry may cause loss of muscle instead of fat. The logic is low glycogen levels which burns muscles if you demand too much from your body while exercising. You hence need to fuel yourself before hitting the gym. Banana or fibrous salads are the most recommended foods before you work out.


7.       Avoid citrus fruits or juices

Ah, we know how a warm glass of lemon and honey in morning has been treated as a mantra to lose belly fat. Little did you all know that lemon will not harm your stomach since it is diluted in water. Citrus fruits should be avoided when you haven’t eaten, since fiber and fructose slow down your digestion, irritate stomach and cause acidity. Just like lemon, you can dilute the fruits in water to reduce the acidic level or else totally avoid till you eat something.

8.       Never sleep empty stomach

 Did you know that low glucose prevents from us from sleeping and lack of sleep triggers your hunger? Hence the next day you end up hogging more, because of increased hunger hormones. That’s one reason you should never sleep hungry. Secondly, it causes mood swings and stress. Good enough reason for you to not skip meals now? An alternative to eating is consuming milk with honey that keeps you full and helps you sleep better.

9.       Say no to chewing gums

 Can something as simple as chewing gums on empty gut, adversely affect your body? Yes, it can! Always remember, empty stomach is prone to attack on the soft stomach lining. When you chew gums, the digestive juices produced with saliva creates an acidic effect on stomach lining leading to gastritis. The sweetening effects of gum effects your food habits and leads to addiction of junk, instead of natural healthy food. Hence,  it is advisable to chew gums for not more than 10 minutes even if you are full.


10.   Dodge raw vegetables

Yes agreed, one should eat healthy and salads or raw vegetables are good source of vitamins. We know diet conscious ones often do that. We are sorry, you would be surprised that you had been doing that wrong. Consuming raw veggies on empty stomach causes an overload of coarse fiber which causes abdominal pain and accumulation of gas in intestines.

We hope the above tips proves to be useful and helps you to be healthy. In a busy and hectic lifestyle, we tend to ignore these little things that eventually harm our body in the long run. All you need is a little bit of precaution and willingness.