Yogur or Yogurt as it is popularly spelled is a type of food that is produced from bacterial fermentation of milk. Yogurt is known to have lots of health benefits for the body, and one of the many health benefits associated with drinking yogurt is that it helps prevents heart disease and has antioxidant properties that are beneficial to the body. Furthermore, the good bacteria contained in the different types of yogurt-like Activia yogurt, yogur Griego, and yogurt natural aids digestion.
Irrespective of its many nutritional benefits, drinking yogurt on an empty stomach in the morning is not advisable especially for people with IBS(inflammatory bowel syndrome), constipation, diarrhea, lactose intolerance, and allergies. This is simply because the human body depends on the acidic substances contained in the gastric juice, and drinking yogurt in the morning on an empty stomach will likely increase the concentration of gastric juice.
This can have a negative impact on the way your digestive system functions, and also result in loss of appetite or indigestion.
To get the best health benefits derived from drinking Activia yogurt, nutrition experts have recommended its consumption at the following periods:
Drinking yogurt as part of your breakfast menu is very beneficial especially for those who desire to shed some extra pounds. The nutritional content contained in yogurt is sufficient to feed and supply the body with enough energy to carry out its daily activities. In addition, it also helps to maintain digestive health.
Another good time to drink yogurt is two hours after a meal because it allows the gastric juice enough time to dilute, and increases the Ph level to 3-5 which provides an enabling environment that aids the growth of lactic acid bacteria.
In addition, it’s best to drink yogurt as a dessert after eating instead of consuming other products with high sugary content. It can help reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood.
Drinking yogurt as part of your snack combination is not only ideal for weight, it also helps to prevent mood swings. Studies have shown that consuming yogurt has the same satisfying effect as chocolate, it can make you feel happier after consumption.
When going on road trips and visiting new places, our body becomes vulnerable to nausea, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. This is usually caused by bacteria from the food we eat, and drinking yogurt can help overcome this.
According to research findings, Yogurt natural is an excellent source of calcium in food, and from the angle of calcium supplementation, the gains derived from consuming yogurt at night is far greater. Nutrition experts revealed that the best time for the body to absorb calcium from food is from midday to the early hours of the morning when the human blood calcium content is at its lowest level. This is simply because there are fewer factors that prevent calcium absorption in the human body during this time.
Although milk is known to be a very rich source of calcium, but the combination of lactic acid and calcium contained in yogurt can help the body absorb calcium better.
Drinking yogurt is good because of its health and nutritional benefits, but it isn’t advisable for everyone to drink yogurt especially for people who have problems with their stomach like chronic gastritis, diarrhea, bowel disorder or any other intestinal disease.
Another set of people who should not drink sugary full-fat yogurt are patients suffering from cholecystitis, atherosclerosis, pancreatitis, and diabetes because yogurt consumption can easily worsen their condition. Also, children under the age of one should be exempted from drinking any type of yogurt whether yogur Griego, yogurt natural, or Activia yogurt.
However, people with cardiovascular-related ailments, osteoporosis patients, frequent constipation sufferers, antibiotic patients, computer operators, smokers, and drinkers are advised to consume more yogurt to help improve their bowel function.
How we start our day is very important because while sleeping at night, the body loses fluid and you become dehydrated. During this period of sleep, you have not been drinking anything for hours, and as such, the body needs to be re-hydrated. In addition, the body has been working hard in repair mode and the digestive system has had some well-deserved rest. Since your last meal in the evening of the previous day, you've done a mini-fast, and it's time to break the fast in the morning.
However, it is advisable to prepare the body before breaking the fast, and drinking a cup or two of warm water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning is the best thing to do. Compared to cold water, warm water is very gentle on the stomach, and it is very important that the water contains no extra additives to ensure it passes through the right channel. If it does contain any additives, it will end up staying for an hour or two in your stomach, and doing so on an empty stomach in the morning can affect your digestive system.
Furthermore, drinking water on an empty stomach upon waking up in the morning can help thin our belly. This is because our gastrointestinal tract produces plenty of metabolites after digestion every night, and these metabolites stay in our intestines. Drinking a cup of warm water after cleaning your teeth aids gastrointestinal motility, which can help facilitate metabolic waste excretion of the previous day to prevent constipation, and ensures smooth bowel movement.
Drinking water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach helps the body in so many ways, some of them include;
Of course, it's pretty convenient to grab that packet of chips or sipping a glass of orange juice on an empty stomach in the morning while trying to get your day started and attend to more important things for the day. However, the quality of food that goes into our system takes a back seat all simply because no one wants to make these decisions at that time of the day. Settling for the less stressful options comes at with a price, negative effects that end up staying for the long run.
If you feel reaching out for a cup of coffee is the perfect way to start your morning on an empty stomach, I suggest you have a rethink. Listed below are certain foods that can harm the body if consumed on an empty stomach:
That early morning cup of coffee you sip on first thing in the morning on an empty stomach might be warming you up but in reality, it's doing more harm than good. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach increases the levels of acidity in the body. You might also experience heartburn and indigestion throughout the day, no thanks to your sumptuous cup of coffee.
In addition, coffee and other caffeinated beverages like tea are known to suppress the secretion of gastric juices and reduce bile and acid required for food digestion.
Coffee is best taken after meals and not as the first thing in the morning on an empty stomach because it stimulates the gastric mucosa, promotes duodenal peristalsis, increases the secretion of gastric juice, and effectively aids digestion.
Banana is a very nutritious fruit, but that’s not enough reason for you to eat it first thing in the morning, and I will give you several good reasons not to. Bananas contain large volumes of natural sugar, and 25% of an average banana is sugar which gives you an initial energy boost that eventually ends up draining you a few hours later. That same sugar might fill you up initially, but leaves your stomach empty later on.
Also, because of its high magnesium and potassium contents, eating a banana on an empty stomach first thing in the morning can create an imbalance on the magnesium and potassium levels in our blood. And since magnesium is one of the essential elements that affect heart function, eating bananas on an empty stomach after waking up can trigger heart disease symptoms.
Furthermore, due to its acidic nature, one might develop bowel issues in the future if eating bananas on an empty stomach in the morning becomes a habit for you.
Nutrition experts have advised that we avoid drinking too much cold water to prevent indigestion related problems and vasospasm. Warm water is a much healthier alternative to drink on an empty stomach in the morning because it helps to restore moisture in the stomach and flush out impurities from our digestive organs.
Desserts contain yeast, and eating dessert on an empty stomach in the morning will increase the volume of gas in the intestine, thereby causing severe discomfort for us. Furthermore, if eaten on an empty stomach, dessert tends to raise the amount of insulin in the body and makes people feel hungry within a short period.
If you can’t resist that yummy looking dessert, for health reasons it’s advisable to eat dessert after eating an omelet or after drinking coffee.
Fruits are a very important part of our diets, but when it comes to eating fruits, it’s advisable to consume them at the appropriate time and in the right proportion. Citrus fruits are packed with fruit acids, and the acids contained in these fruits over time can provide an unnecessary boost to acid production in your gut. This can result in stomach issues like gastritis or gastric ulcers and inflammation of the mucous membrane. Heartburn is also another likely reaction to eating citrus fruits on an empty stomach, together with a slower metabolism no thanks to the volume of fructose contained in fruits.
Aside from citrus fruits, guava is another fruit you need to stay clear from eating on an empty stomach in the morning due to its high acid content.
Pineapples contain very strong enzymes, and when eaten on an empty stomach can cause serious damage to your gastrointestinal health. Pineapples are best consumed after meals so the nutrients contained in the pineapple can be fully absorbed after eating.
Wheat bran when eaten can be very satisfying and effectively reduce hunger, but it’s likened to a sponge and will absorb plenty of water, which leads to bloating. In addition, wheat bran enhances the secretion of gastric acid and stimulates the gastrointestinal mucosa. So, if you have to eat Wheat bran, make sure it’s not on an empty stomach in the morning.
Drinking vinegar and on an empty stomach in the morning can cause stomach upset and increase its level of acid. And on the other hand, garlic consumption on an empty stomach can irritate the intestinal wall and gastric mucosa, which often results in stomach cramps.
Although tomatoes are enriched with Vitamin C & nutrients, you should never eat them on an empty stomach. This is because the tannic acid contained in tomatoes increases acidity in the stomach and can lead to gastric problems.
Green vegetables like cucumber and cabbage are enriched with amino acids, and when consumed on an empty stomach can cause heartburn, abdominal pain, and flatulence.
By default, our stomachs contain plenty of good bacteria at all times that aids in breaking down food particles and transporting its nutrients to other parts of the body. Yogurt contains a high volume of lactic acid that helps strengthen our bones and promotes good bacteria growth.
However, an empty stomach already has high levels of stomach acid present in it, and drinking yogurt at a time like this can completely reduce the effectiveness of the lactic acid from the yogurt or even result in unpleasant acid reflux.
Furthermore, the beneficial bacteria contained in Activia yogurt has a corrosive impact on an empty stomach and have zero benefits when taken before a meal, and this is why nutrition experts recommend taking yogurts 45minutes after having breakfast.
Pears have high crude fiber constituents, and when eaten on an empty stomach can damage the delicate mucous membranes.