“You are what you eat” is a popular statement known to everyone but do you know that what we do before having a meal has a great impact on our health as well? In this article, you are going to learn about nine things you should not do on an empty stomach, an empty stomach means two hours after your first meal. You will also learn about the effects of being on an empty stomach especially, for a long time.
Here are Nine things you should not do on an empty stomach
1. Taking anti-inflammatories
Aspirin, paracetamol, and other anti-inflammatory drugs cannot be taken on an empty stomach because it significantly reduces their effectiveness and causes severe health problems, for example, gastric bleeding. As a general rule, it is imperative to avoid drug intake on an empty stomach if you are not specifically required to do so. Here’s a solution, taking a glass of milk while drowning down your drugs is advised but if it is unavailable, use plenty of water.
2. Drinking Coffee
The idea of drinking a cup of coffee while skipping breakfast is a terrible one. Even decaffeinated coffees might stimulate the production of acid and might cause digestive tract issues if drunk on an empty stomach. The desired effect after taking a cup of coffee might also be neglected because it may lead to a deficiency that causes gloominess for the rest of the day. However, it is recommended to add milk or cream to your coffee if it is almost impossible to resist taking one in the morning. The milk or cream will reduce the negative effects, and choosing natural coffee over freeze-dried ones is also important.
3. Drinking Alcohol
Basically, without eating food, the alcohol absorption rate becomes twice as fast which means you are going to get drunk two times sooner, this might sound like a good deal but it has lots of disadvantages. Firstly, you might have a severe hangover that might last for a few minutes or become even long-term, the long term hangovers mean bad business for your liver, heart, and kidneys. To handle this situation, give preferences to cooled non-carbonated drinks as they absorb more slowly or try to eat a little amount of food, a sandwich that contains butter is an example.
4. Chewing Gum
Some people chew gum when they feel hungry while working, you might not know this but when you chew gum, you are making your body system think that you are chewing food that might have to be digested pretty soon. So the stomach makes digestive acid that destroys the lining when it is empty, this means that overindulgence with gum is a sure way to develop gastritis. Also, it is scientifically proven that people who chew gum often indulge in lots of junk foods instead of healthy options like fruits and vegetables. Here’s what to do though, chewing gum that contains sweeteners like xylitol and sorbitol is less harmful than those with sugar. More so, do not chew gum for more than ten minutes because even with a full stomach, it can still do nasty things to the stomach.
5. Going to bed on an empty stomach
If you go to bed hungry and with a low glucose level, it will not only prevent you from falling asleep, but it will probably also cause the so-called superficial sleep and you will wake up earlier than expected. When you go to sleep hungry, you sleep worse and most interestingly, lack of sleep will increase the level of hunger hormones which is the reason why we eat more after skipping dinner the next day. The best option for this is to take some dairy product, it contains magnesium and iron which ensures the soundness of the digestive tract.
6. Intense Exercise
There is a common risk perception that exercise on an empty stomach will burn more calories, but that is not true. It does not affect fat loss but muscle loss and the exercise intensity is reduced since your body lacks enough energy from food. Instead of intense training, try aerobic exercises instead and always take in some snacks especially if you have any digestive tract problems. Physical activity just like chewing gum stimulates the production of gastric juice in the stomach which as we have mentioned earlier, is pretty bad on an empty stomach.
7. Shopping
It is common knowledge that going shopping on an empty stomach can make you buy anything on impulse which entails that, you are buying more than you initially planned. The truth however is this, going shopping on an empty stomach, regardless if it is a food store or not, can make you buy more than you planned to. The obvious advice here is to make a shopping list when you are not hungry, if you are already in the store, pay in cash instead because it is proven that people tend to spend less when they have cash than when they use a credit card.
8. Drinking Citrus Juice
Once more, we’ll talk about the harm to the stomach lining but this time, we relay it to citrus juice which contains acid and tough fibers which will irritate an empty stomach, especially for people with Gastritis or at risk of developing it. The best thing to do here is to always mix the juice with water, diluting citrus juice makes it less harmful with all its nutrients very much intact. If you have hyperacidity, a 1;1 ratio is best but if not, 2:1 is perfect. By the way, some other foods are not very good for an empty stomach such as tomatoes, bananas, and vegetables.
9. Arguing
Scientists have proven that hunger makes us less composed and organized, the reasons are quite simple though, self-control requires energy which is in short supply when the stomach is empty. Here is what to do, if you do not have time to eat some food before a discussion, take something warm and offer your companion too. Better yet, you can have the conversation over dinner.
What happens to the body when you are hungry
As humans, it is natural to feel uncomfortable when our stomach is empty and sometimes some negative things can happen when we go hungry for a long time. Some health conditions can also develop from skipping meals. With that said, below are some things that happen to the body when we are hungry or on an empty stomach
1. Lack of Nutrients
When we are hungry, the body lacks proper nutrients to boost brain power, replenish cells and provide energy.
2. Irritability and mood swings
Have you noticed that you are prone to mood swings when hungry? This is due to the irritable feeling you get when your stomach churns.
3. Fatigue
Hunger induces a severe feeling of tiredness which can in turn lead to frustrations and lack of concentration. Children who go to school on an empty stomach, suffer in their academics and can barely have a retentive memory.
4. Abdominal pains
There is always that churning in your stomach when you are hungry, this can lead to severe abdominal pains that can become permanent and lead to peptic ulcer or gastritis. These are very harmful digestive tract infections that can lead to worse scenarios, death inclusive.
5. Brain inactivity
The brain needs glucose to function properly and foods rich in carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals are good sources of glucose. Without these foods, the brain will be inactive and fuzzy, concentration power will be limited and the body collapses in fatigue, as discussed earlier. This inactivity can also cause brain damage so it will be better to think twice about skipping that meal.
6. Stress
Do you know that hunger can be stress-induced? This means that the more stressed you are, the more hungry you can be. When you are stressed, the body releases adrenaline that can subdue hunger for a short period of time after which, hunger hits back with more intensity than it did before and this can lead to overeating and impulsive buying. Stress also produces cortisone which is a hormone that propels hunger, it is best to eat a snack or drink some water when stressed out to calm body nerves and reduce hunger.
Also, It is important to eat healthy and on time too! The best way to eat is to have a three-course- meal for every meal time. Breakfast and dinner are the most important meal time of the day and should never be skipped. Should there be any reason to skip lunch? it shouldn’t be for long. It is also advised to drink enough water to avoid dehydration because hunger incites dehydration.
Conclusion
A saying goes that water is life, technically yes! But food is the lubricant that helps water function. After understanding the nine things you should not do on an empty stomach, it is best to put them into practice to avoid life-threatening situations and diseases. Malnutrition is one of the world’s major killer factors because it increases the risk of diseases such as kwashiorkor, beriberi, peptic ulcer, gastritis and including, and cancer of the pancreas and stomach. One more thing, eating junks are no alternative to food, they are just basic edibles that should be taken in fewer amounts. Don’t ever substitute food for junk!