We really become hungry if we skip a meal, don't eat all day, and our stomach contracts, waiting to be filled with something. In such cases, you must apply the brakes and be especially careful in choosing your food. With certain foods, you can irritate the mucous membrane and even permanently damage your digestive tract. This is especially dangerous if you skip meals and have an irregular diet.

1. Spices

Heavily seasoned and spicy food is problematic even when your stomach is full. The digestive tract produces very strong acids to break down the spices, which are harmful even to the body itself. There is a difference, however, if there are other juices in the stomach to dilute the dangerous acids or not. Spicy food on an empty stomach will almost certainly cause cramps and abdominal pain.

If you have no other food, at least drink a glass of milk or yogurt before your meal to strengthen the mucous membrane and prepare your stomach for stronger flavors after several hours of fasting.

2. Coffee and citrus fruits

When you're hungry, coffee won't comfort you. The same goes for morning rituals. If you drink coffee on an empty stomach, you seriously harm your own health. Coffee and citrus on an empty stomach are a true destructive bomb. Acid forms in your stomach that erodes even the healthiest tissue. It causes stomach ulcers and small lesions, which can develop into one of the most dreaded cancers – colon cancer.

3. Snacks

Salty snacks will not satisfy you. With chips, crackers, and other nutritionally empty foods, your body will get neither energy nor nutrients. You will only irritate it and trigger processes in the liver and kidneys that harm all internal organs. It’s like running a machine when you know it has no fuel or oil to run smoothly. The damage can be permanent and severe.

4. Apples and pears

You think fruit can curb hunger? Absolutely not! Even more: if you eat an apple or a pear on an empty stomach, you will feel even hungrier, and too much fruit acid will prevent your body from absorbing nutrients—leaving only sugar behind. For this reason, nutritionists recommend eating a handful of nuts as well; even better if you eat a piece of cheese.