Mom says you can’t drink milk on an empty stomach?

Two days ago, there was a hot discussion on the Internet about “you can’t eat zongzi on an empty stomach” and “you can’t drink milk on an empty stomach.
” Some netizens complained: “Just say that you can’t eat breakfast on an empty stomach.
.
.
” For this reason, I did a survey on Weibo
.

1.
Protein foods such as milk, yogurt, soy milk, and eggs
.

2.
All kinds of fruits, especially those with heavy acidity, astringency, and irritation to the tongue
.

3.
caffeinated foods and beverages, such as coffee, tea and so on
.

4.
The high sugar foods such as sweets, sweet drinks, chocolate and so on
.

5.
There are strong stimulation of taste foods such as onion ginger garlic and pepper
.

6.
Other starchy foods, foods such as rice, sweet potato variety
.

What exactly is an empty stomach? Why is it okay for some people to eat certain foods on an empty stomach, but some people feel uncomfortable? How harmful is it to eat on an empty stomach? Now, I will briefly answer the related confusion from several aspects
.

How is it called an empty stomach?

From a medical point of view, fasting usually refers to not eating again within 10 hours or more after eating the first bite of food at the last meal
.

However, in daily life, "fasting" often means "before a meal"
.

To say that you can’t eat something on an empty stomach often means that it’s not suitable to eat when you’re hungry
.

Especially for some patients with gastric disease, there are already injuries, inflammations and even ulcers in the stomach.
At this time, they may be more sensitive to the irritation caused by food
.

In contrast, after eating staple foods rich in starch, and then eating these foods, the sugar, acid, and irritating foods in it will be diluted by the staple food chyme, and the direct stimulation to the stomach will be reduced
.

What are the adverse consequences after eating on an empty stomach?

Ten years ago, it was an iron rule not to drink milk on an empty stomach.
Many people would rather be too hungry to drink milk
.

Some people say: Drinking milk on an empty stomach will cause nutrition to pass through the intestines, and protein will become calories and cannot be fully utilized by the body
.

Theoretically speaking, eating some starchy staple foods first, and then eating protein-rich foods is indeed conducive to improving the bioavailability of protein
.

On the one hand, carbohydrates have a "protein-saving effect"
.

On the other hand, after ingesting protein, more gastric acid is needed to activate the activity of pepsin, and more proteases are secreted from the intestine
.

Some people are uncomfortable drinking milk on an empty stomach.
The most important reason is actually digestive problems, especially lactose intolerance
.
When you drink it on an empty stomach, the lactose concentrates to reach the intestine, which is more likely to cause intestinal flatulence, cramps, and even diarrhea, abdominal pain and other adverse reactions
.
If you eat some starchy foods first, the emptying of the stomach will slow down, the lactose will be diluted, and the gastrointestinal energy supply will increase the overall digestive capacity, the discomfort after drinking milk will be greatly reduced or even disappear
.

As for the death of lactic acid bacteria in yogurt, this is not an important reason
.
Isn't the boxed "sterilized yogurt" without live lactic acid bacteria sold very expensively? I haven't heard of anyone who questioned the matter of "Why kill lactic acid bacteria deliberately"
.

Therefore, if you eat or drink before meals or if your stomach feels uncomfortable, don't do it; if you don't feel any bad feelings, just continue to eat and drink
.
The same is true for milk and yogurt, as are fruits and eggs
.

Whether it is comfortable to eat certain foods on an empty stomach varies from person to person

"The strong have no taboos, and the weak are like walking on thin ice
.
" People who are generally infirm, indigestion, gastrointestinal disease, and chronic disease patients need to pay special attention to the order of food intake
.

For people with poor digestion ability and small appetite, drinking tea before meals is easy to get hungry, eating fruits first makes the stomach feel uncomfortable, the digestion rate slows down, and it is more likely to have indigestion
.
For diabetics, eating a big dumpling will cause the blood sugar to rise too fast
.
Drinking strong tea before meals is prone to hypoglycemia
.
For people who are prone to diarrhea, drinking coffee, milk, soy milk, and eating fruits such as dragon fruit and kiwi before meals will promote intestinal movement and prone to diarrhea
.
For them, cold stimulation can also cause reduced gastrointestinal blood flow and excessive intestinal movement, especially drinking iced drinks and cold food before meals is not a good choice
.
For people who are prone to stomach pain, eating persimmons and pineapples on an empty stomach can easily cause discomfort
.
I am afraid that the excessive tannins in fruits such as persimmons will damage the gastric mucosa, and the strong proteases in fruits such as pineapples may damage the gastric mucosa
.
For people with gastroesophageal reflux, drinking coffee on an empty stomach and eating sweets are prone to stomach acid, and eating zongzi also has similar problems
.
For people with hyperacidity, it may be uncomfortable to drink tomato soup, drink yogurt, and eat sour fruits before meals
.
Theoretically, the acidity of organic acids in food is far worse than that of stomach acid
.
But it may have the effect of stimulating gastric acid secretion
.

In fact, if you feel uncomfortable after eating, your body will naturally tell you
.
If you really feel uncomfortable, don't "have no taboos", you must listen to your body's feedback, and you can't be overly willful
.
But if there is no discomfort at all, there is no need to deliberately taboo
.

For example, if you drink milk without any discomfort and have a strong ability to digest lactose and protein, you don't have to "abide" the taboos such as not drinking milk before meals and not drinking milk in the morning
.

How much and how to eat to have an uncomfortable reaction?

The so-called dose determines toxicity
.
After all, food is not a poison.
Eating a lot of food before a meal will cause discomfort, not necessarily a bite will cause trouble
.
For example, eating fruit before a meal, eating a fruit plate with two apples and three bananas, is acceptable to most people; but if you eat a catty of fruit before a meal, it may not be acceptable to everyone
.

Similarly, the way food is eaten is also very important
.
Eat it raw or cooked? Eat it cold or hot? Eat slowly one bite at a time or eat it quickly? Is it combined with other foods? These are closely related to the feeling after eating
.

For example, if drinking cold milk is uncomfortable, try drinking hot milk
.
If you are still uncomfortable, you can add some cinnamon powder and ginger powder and stir it evenly.
The spices can promote digestion
.
If it doesn't work, you can try it with foods such as bread, buns, porridge, oatmeal, etc.
You may find an acceptable way of eating
.

Eating or not eating, which is the greater the risk or the benefit?

The so-called whether you can eat is to evaluate the pros and cons of eating a certain food
.
If the harms outweigh the advantages, we will not eat, and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and we will eat
.

For example, in a severe state of hunger, the digestive capacity of the human small intestine decreases, and the activity of lactase decreases.
Drinking milk is more prone to lactose intolerance
.
In other words, drinking milk at this time will be more prone to flatulence and diarrhea
.

The same goes for bananas and other fruits
.
Although it may be better to eat after meals or between meals, taking a few mouthfuls and adding a little sugar when hypoglycemia occurs will reduce the possibility of weakness and even life-threatening
.

In short, I have the following advice on the taboo of fasting food:

1.
If a food cannot be eaten on an empty stomach, the reason is only "decreased nutrient absorption rate", "death of probiotics", "may affect appetite", etc.
, don't worry too much, it is not in the range of taboos
.

2.
Listen more to the body's reaction
.
Everyone's ability to accept food varies greatly.
Whether a certain food can be eaten on an empty stomach or before a meal depends on how your body feels
.

3.
People who are healthy, strong, and have strong digestive ability do not need to stick to the legends of others; and those who are weak, have digestive system diseases, and have various chronic diseases, they must pay special attention to the order and matching of food
.

4.
People who need to control blood sugar should eat some vegetables, protein foods or other slow-digesting foods, and then start eating glutinous rice foods such as zongzi.
Compared with eating up, it is more conducive to stable blood sugar
.

5.
For those with weak gastrointestinal function or gastrointestinal diseases, eat some staple cereals first, and then eat sweet potatoes, purple potatoes and various fruits, which may reduce the risk of discomfort
.

6.
In the case of other options, foods that may be irritating and damaging to the digestive tract, such as foods that are too acidic, too salty, too greasy, too stimulating, contain high-activity proteases, and contain a lot of tannins and oxalic acid.
It is wise to eat some other foods before eating them
.

7.
Eating a large amount is not appropriate, it does not mean that you can't eat a bite
.
Healthy people don't have to be a soldier, let alone worry about what food they eat on an empty stomach
.

Whether the medicine needs to be taken before meals, please follow the instructions on the instructions and the advice of doctors and pharmacists
.
Many drugs must be taken before, after, or regularly during meals, otherwise they may affect the efficacy of the drugs and even cause unnecessary physical damage
.
This is out of the scope of this article
.
(Author: Fan Zhihong, College of Food Science, China Agricultural University)