13 Food Combinations Most People Don’t Know Are Dangerous

Most of us happily eat these food combinations without thinking about how we might be harming our bodies. Some of these combos are very common and may surprise you, but often digesting them together puts a strain on our digestive system.

1. Bacon and Eggs

Bacon and eggs are often seen as the ideal hangover food, or a great breakfast on a cold winter’s day, but the high protein content in both foods and the fat in the bacon make it difficult to digest. They will lay heavy on your stomach for hours, making you feel lethargic and dull.

To try and avoid this, eat meals in courses, with your lighter proteins first, and meat later. Don’t wait more than ten minutes between each course.

2. Burger and Fries

This is another very popular food combination, but the trans-fats from the frying process can lower your blood sugar and make you feel tired. Not only that, but when you eat a protein and a carb together, the digestive processes are different – protein putrefies, and carbs ferment, so the result is bloating and gas.

3. Cereals and Orange Juice

Cereal and orange juice are the favorite way to start the day with many people, but often it leads to digestive discomfort. When orange juice mixes with milk in the stomach, it curdles it, and the acids in orange juice also lower the activity of an enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates. Drink your fruit juice at least an hour before or after your cereal.

4. Pizza and Soda

Lots of us like this combination, but again it’s hard on your body. The carbs, proteins and starch of the pizza demand a lot of energy from the body to digest, while the sugar in the soda slows down digestion and other stomach functions.

5. Nuts and Olive Oil

You may feel sick if you eat this particular combination. The protein in the nuts and the fat in the olive oil do not mix well. Nuts are also full of fat, so you are putting a double dose of fat into your stomach, giving it twice as much work to do.

6. Muffins and Fruit Juice

This popular breakfast combo will taste good, but leave you feeling lethargic later. There are so many carbohydrates in these items that your blood sugar will spike, and then crash back down, leading to tiredness.

7. Pasta, Tomatoes and Cheese

Pasta with tomatoes is one of the great taste combinations, but it’s not a hit with your digestive system!

Pasta is full of starchy carbs and difficult to digest, while the tomatoes are acidic, which can slow down the digestion of starch and lead to bloating. If you add cheese to the mix, your body will require even more energy to digest it.

8. Yogurt with Acidic Fruit

Most of us would assume this was a healthy combination to eat, but apparently not. When protein-rich yogurt (especially Greek yogurt) comes in contact with acidic fruit, it reduces digestive fibers, creates toxins and may even lead to symptoms of a cold.

This can be avoided by eating unflavored yogurt at room-temperature, and mixing in honey, cinnamon or raisins instead of fresh fruit.

9. Fruit After a Large Meal

Most of us feel virtuous if we choose fruit after a meal instead of a dessert, but it’s actually a bad idea. Eating fruit after a meal doesn’t go well with the food you’ve already eaten, as it causes the fruit to stay in your gut longer than it normally would, where it starts to ferment and cause problems.

To avoid this, eat fruit 30 to 60 minutes before your meal. When fruit is eaten alone on an empty stomach, it helps prepare the digestive system for the meal to come.

10. Meat and Potatoes

Meat and potatoes just seem to go together so well, but the lack of fiber can cause digestive problems and constipation.

11. Cough Syrup and Lemons/Limes

Citrus fruit like these two can block the enzymes needed to break down statins and other drugs, including cough medicine dextromethorphan. If this medicine is not broken down properly, it can build up in the blood stream and cause side effects.

With dextromethorphan, the side effects include hallucinations and sleepiness, with statins you could sustain severe muscle damage.

Lots of us like to treat our cold and flu symptoms with hot lemon drinks and cough syrup, so this is one to be aware of.

12. Bananas and Milk

These two eaten together will weigh heavily on your stomach for quite a while, and can make you feel like you’re in a brain fog as well as lethargic.