Besides, it’s extremely hard to digest…
Summer is an opportunity to enjoy aperitifs with family or friends in the great outdoors. Of course, we remain reasonable: alcohol should be consumed in moderation. This is a basic principle often recalled by the media, the medical profession and health authorities. But it is not the only rule to respect… “Bad for health”, a frequent association of two star aperitif products should also be avoided.
The problem is not taste, on the contrary, this drink and this food go together quite well. On the other hand, in terms of nutrition and health, there is a real risk. And this for several reasons. First, the food in question is fatty, very salty, rich in starch and when mixed with an alcoholic and acidic drink, it tends to strongly dehydrate the body and increase the risk of having a hangover the next day. This dehydration causes significant headaches and a dry mouth.
“Another aspect of this combination is dilution: when you eat something, and you put a liquid on it, you dilute the digestive juices.“, explains Dr Raphaël Perez, naturopath, expert in nutritional reeducation and author of the book Food Pairing Guide (ed. Exuvie). However, the dilution of digestive juices seriously disrupts digestion. Generally speaking, “Combining two heavy to digest products is not a good idea“, because it will require twice as much digestive work.”People with very good digestive capacity manage to digest this mixture as best they can, with great effort. Others cannot.“, warns the naturopath. This is particularly the case for people who have intestinal fragilities or pathologies.
In bars, restaurants or even at home, it is often customary to serve beer with a bowl of peanuts… And it is precisely this food combination that should be avoided. The same goes for wine, which is a very acidic product. If you want to snack on something with your glass of beer or wine, the ideal is to avoid salty and starchy products. We prefer vegetable sticks (tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots…), buckwheat crackers (buckwheat starch is easily digestible) or tzatziki.