Foods You Shouldn't Combine with Soda
You’ve probably heard that soda (especially cola) is not good for your health. Still, many love to drink it and keep doing so knowing it could be harmful. Did you know there are foods you shouldn’t combine with soda?
As such, we’ll explore which foods you should avoid with soft drinks.
Foods you shouldn’t combine with soda
We eat food that, when combined with certain others, could be toxic or harmful to the body without realizing it.
You might think there’s nothing wrong with drinking soda with a heavy dinner or lunch, but there are some combinations that can be harmful.
Pay close attention to the following foods you shouldn’t combine with soda.
Discover: 8 Positive Health Changes When You Give up Soft Drinks
Milk
Who would think of drinking milk with soda? Of course, we don’t mean putting both drinks in the same glass or drinking them one after another. Rather, we’re referring to recipes that contain milk that can be sweet or savory.
Take cream-filled pastries and birthday cakes, for example. When these foods reach your stomach, the combination of soda and milk produces a lot of acidity that can cause stomach cramps, acid reflux, or indigestion.
Coffee
Again, we don’t believe that there are people who put soft drinks in their coffee. However, there are some who drink soda with their main meal and coffee with dessert.
Both provide high doses of caffeine; therefore, coffee is on our list of foods you shouldn’t combine with soda. Doing so can lead to insomnia, nightmares, or problems falling asleep.
Moreover, when both these drinks reach the stomach, the combination can produce a kind of bubbling foam that’s very acidic. Therefore, you’ll feel alert and stimulated while getting stomach cramps, which are the result of indigestion.
Pastries
At parties, you might tend to eat pastries since they’re rich and sweet. Adding on to their sugar content with soda can result in a dangerous increase in your blood sugar levels.
It can even increase your risk of cardiac arrest.
You’ll also be alert because of the amount of sugar in your body. Therefore, if you want to enjoy your pastries at Christmas, don’t combine them with cola or any other type of soda.
Spicy foods
Spicy ingredients or spices such as chili, cumin, or curry add flavor to meals. However, when ingested, they automatically raise your temperature (which might make you want to drink right away).
Think twice before choosing soda as your drink.
Soft drinks are converted into sulfuric acid at high temperatures. So, if you think that drinking a glass of soda will quench your thirst or cool your stomach, you’re mistaken.
Instead, you’ll be increasing the amount of acid in your stomach.
Mints
Try this out – put a mint in a glass and add some cola and wait for the reaction. You’ll get a kind of explosion! This is due to the mints’ effervescent power and the bubbles in the drink.
Now imagine what happens in your body when you mix them together. As such, mints are one of the foods you shouldn’t combine with soda. You shouldn’t even try it since the pain will be unbearable and the internal reaction could be dangerous.
What happens in your body when you drink soda?
Whether you mix it or not, soft drinks aren’t good for your health. Some say they’re good for everything besides drinking them. What happens to your body when you drink them?
After 10 minutes
A glass of soda has 10 tablespoons of sugar. Yes, you read that right. Indeed, soda jolts your body.
Let’s set the record straight. Soda doesn’t give you energy or allow you to be alert, but it does unbalance your blood sugar and can be dangerous.
After 20 minutes
Insulin levels in the bloodstream soar and your liver has to work harder to convert sugar. The downside is that it turns this sugar into fat.
After 40 minutes
Caffeine begins to take effect in the body: your pupils dilate and your blood pressure increases. You don’t feel tired and the liver releases sugar into your bloodstream.
Read this article: Detox Sugar from Your Body with These Tips
After 45 minutes
Your body increases the production of a hormone called dopamine, which is responsible for stimulating the area of the brain dedicated to pleasure and rewards.
That’s why we like to drink soft drinks so much: they’re like a fabulous drug for your brain.
After 1 hour
More calcium is flushed out through your urine. This can cause osteoporosis, cause your teeth to fall out, or your bones to become more brittle. Phosphoric acid from soda also binds to magnesium and zinc.
The diuretic effect that these drinks supposedly have is false since it doesn’t eliminate body waste, but essential nutrients. Therefore, people often feel weak or irritable after drinking soda.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Landi F., Calvani R., Tosato M., Martone AM., et al., Protein intake and muscle heatlh in old age: from biological plausibility to clinical evidence. Nutrients, 2016. 8 (5): 295.
- Carreon CC., Parsh B., How to recognize caffeine overdose. Nursing, 2019 49 (4): 52-55.
- Varghese S., Kubatka P., Rodrigo L., Gazdikova K., Caprnda M., et al., Chili pepper as a body weigth loss food. Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2017. 68 (4): 392-401.