Foods You Should Never Eat Together

Sometimes it’s complicated enough trying to find something healthy and tasty to eat, without having to think about what foods enhance each other’s nutrient absorption and all that. But there are actually some foods that you should be mindful not to eat together, or else you’ll spike your blood sugar, cause bloating, and cut down on nutrient absorption. Here are some pairings to avoid.

Tea with Milk

Tea on its own is really good for you thanks to its high levels of antioxidants. But when you put milk into it, the milk proteins bind to the antioxidants and prevent you from absorbing them. This goes for regular milk as well as soy milk. This also happens in the turn around as well…the caffeine that is in tea can prevent you from absorbing the calcium in the milk. It’s a real wipe out. Try to drink it plain for the best results.

White Bread with Jam

White bread has been processed into a simple carbohydrate which on its own will spike your blood sugar more than a whole grain less processed bread would. But then when you add to that a jam which is basically sugar on sugar on sugar, you can have a bit of a spike problem. You might feel great for a few minutes as your energy rises with your blood sugar, but then your body will burn through the energy too quickly and leave you crashed and hungry all over again. This can also affect your body in the long term, since repeatedly spiking the blood sugar like that can actually put excess work on the pancreas and lead to insulin resistance.

Lentils with Red Wine

They might taste great together, but red wine isn’t the best pairing for lentils. Red wine contain tannins which prevents the body from absorbing iron, which lentils are rich in. This is particularly important for vegetarians who are trying to get enough protein through plant sources. Plant irons will always be harder for the body to absorb than animal based iron, so it’s something to keep in mind.

Salad with Fat Free Dressing

There’s nothing inherently wrong with fat free dressing but it isn’t doing you any favors on a salad. To absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables in a salad you actually need a bit of fat to do so, so you might be rendering your meal less healthy by skipping the fat. It is wise however to be conscious of the high levels of fat present in many salad dressings, because go for the wrong one and you might as well be eating a burger or something. Exercise great portion control or just splash a bit of olive oil with your vinegar for a light but beneficial dressing.

Burgers With Beer

Sorry guys, wine isn’t the only alcohol to cause absorption issues. In this case, both the fats from the burger and the beer are broken down in the liver which is a pretty high order. Your body will always start breaking down the alcohol first, but meanwhile the fat from your burger is just hanging out in your bloodstream where it doesn’t belong, making it more likely to be stored.