​​Why Does Sour Candy Help Nausea?

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Now, when we feel nauseous, one of the last things we expect to help stop this uncomfortable feeling is candy. We expect candy to make us feel even more nauseous. In fact, some of the time, we’ll probably find that eating an abundance of candy is the cause of our nausea. But you may be amazed to learn that sour candy can actually help ease any feelings of nausea you are experiencing. Now how could this be? What has sour candy got that normal sick-inducing candy doesn’t? Is sour candy the only candy that can help with nausea? These are the questions of today, and today we will be answering them!

So, why does sour candy help nausea? Sour candy helps alleviate feelings of nausea due to the compounds it contains. Citric acid and B vitamins are two of which both have nausea-reducing effects – by helping to replenish stomach acid. Secondly, sour candy helps your mouth produce more saliva, again helping to alleviate this feeling. 

Interesting, right?

It certainly is.

So let’s delve into how sour candy helps in further detail before moving on to other types of candy that are known to help!

Reasons Why Sour Candy Helps With Nausea

Sour candy helps with nausea because it contains Citric Acid and B vitamins. It also helps with nausea because it makes you produce more saliva.

The truth is that sour candy can help you with nausea. In fact, it is used particularly by pregnant women who experience morning sickness and nausea.

So let’s start by delving into how Citric Acid and B vitamins help with nausea. After that, we’ll examine how sour candy’s ability to make you produce more saliva helps with nausea as well. 

Citric Acid and B Vitamins

Nausea is normally sprung upon us by an unsettled stomach.

Two compounds that are proven to settle an unsettled stomach are citric acid and B vitamins.

Particularly that combination of Citric Acid with the sugar in the sour candy will help combat your nausea because small amounts of sugar are also proven to help in this case. 

Not only will Citric Acid settle your stomach and reduce the feelings of nausea, but it will also aid your digestion process. This, too, will contribute to a much more settled stomach.

Now, why on earth does sour candy contain an acid? Correction! They contain multiple acids. It’s just that citric acid is the most effective for reducing nausea.

Sour candy contains these acids, which are edible, I must point out because that’s how they get their sour tastes.

If you’re not that familiar with sour candy and you’re here because you just need something to combat your nausea, don’t be put off by this talk of acid.

Sour candy is very enjoyable and relaxing to eat. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so popular.

So sour candy is a relaxing way to reduce your feelings of nausea. And relaxation is just what you need in this situation.

Pop back a few of the sour candies and allow the citric acid to work its magic. In no time, you’ll feel much more relaxed with a stomach that is on its best behavior.

Helps Produce Saliva

Saliva is important for many reasons. 

One of those reasons is that it can help reduce symptoms of sickness and nausea.

So one of the ways we can combat nausea is by increasing our saliva production.

Sour foods, such as lemons and limes, will increase saliva production.

But so, too, will sour candy.

So, not only will sour candy give you the citric acid B vitamins that your body requires, which in turn helps ease nausea, but it also helps produce more saliva in your mouth.

You can therefore suck on sour candy to increase saliva production, thus reducing your feelings of nausea.

Of course, don’t overindulge by eating too much sour candy.

After all, too much sour candy is bad for you because it’s high in sugar but also because it can burn your tongue due to its high acidic content.

Now, if your nausea is caused by the fact that you’re pregnant, you might be wondering if sour candy is a safe method for reducing your nausea or morning sickness.

And I can tell you that, yes, sour candy is safe for pregnant women to use to reduce their nausea and morning sickness.

In fact, many women use this as an effective method in this situation.

What’s not to love? You get to get rid of a greatly uncomfortable feeling of nausea all whilst enjoying one of your favorite sour candies…within moderation, of course.

What Does Sour Candy Do To Your Stomach?

Sour candy has several positive health benefits for your stomach, including that it settles it through acid replenishment and it helps your stomach absorb nutrients. However, too much sour candy could make you feel sick, which is very counterproductive.

Ok, so there are two positive impacts and one negative. Let’s talk through each of them.

Stomach Acid Replenishment 

Our stomachs contain acids that are there to aid the digestive process, mainly by breaking food down.

But there’s not a constant supply of stomach acids in our bodies. So the supply needs to be refilled from time to time.

We refill our stomach’s acidic content by eating acidic foods. 

And if we don’t eat enough acidic foods, then our stomach acid levels will drop significantly. Our stomachs will consequently struggle to break food down after we’ve eaten them.

In addition to this, it will also cause us digestive discomfort and, in the worst cases, food allergies and other illnesses.

Sour candy gets its sour taste from edible acids. The most commonly used edible acids for making sour candies are malic acid and citric acid. 

So when we eat sour candy, it will help by replenishing our stomach acid levels. And our body knows this.

It’s a highly intelligent organism. So if you ever feel like you’re craving sour candy or sour food, then this is why. Your body wants some acids to refill its supply. 

This all means that when you eat sour candy, you are replenishing your stomach acid level, which means you are improving your gut health and your digestive system’s efficiency.

All of which will reduce your nausea substantially. 

Nutrient Absorption

The other thing sour candy will do to your stomach is it will help it absorb nutrients.

Again, this comes down to the presence of citric acid.

Citric acid, if in your stomach, will help it absorb nutrients, but especially calcium. Who would have thought, hey?

Can Cause Nausea

Then there is the negative effect that eating too much sour candy can have on your stomach.

We have to remember that sour candy still contains sugar.

Too much sugar can make you sick.

So if you eat too much sour candy, then this can cause your stomach to feel sick and nauseous. 

So don’t overdo it!

Other Candies That Help With Nausea?

Ginger-flavored candies and hard candies can also help reduce feelings of nausea, no matter what the cause may be.

So sour candies aren’t the only special ones out there, after all. Ginger-flavored candies and hard candies will do the trick as well. 

A ginger-flavored or sour-flavored hard candy would be hitting the jackpot when it came to nausea-reducing techniques!

This might be some news that provides you with some relief if you’re feeling nauseous but not fond of sour candy at all.

But why are ginger-flavored candies and hard candies also effective when it comes to combating nausea?

Let’s start with…

Ginger Candies

Yes, that’s right. Ginger candies will also help with nausea.

There are plenty of types out there, including lollipops. So if you’re not too keen on sour candies, give ginger-flavored ones a go instead.

Ginger-flavored candies are also safe if you are pregnant and experiencing nausea.

In fact, many people recommend consuming ginger candies for nausea, and a lot of people like ginger products because they feel soothing and “calm the stomach;” it’s no placebo; ginger really can help the gut because it eases inflammation and helps your body digest what you put in it.

Be warned; if you overdo it on the ginger when you’re nauseous, your body may start associating ginger with queasiness, eventually deeming ginger useless.

If you see success with ginger candies, you might want to try sour candies, as well, so you can have some variety.

Hard Candies

Hard candies don’t necessarily contain specific compounds that help aid nausea.

Unless, of course, they are sour or ginger flavored. If you were eating sour-flavored candy, for example, then you would be ingesting citric acid.

As we know, citric acid helps combat nausea by settling your stomach. And it’s definitely used in sour hard candies. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to achieve their sour taste!

As for hard candies that aren’t sour, they can still help combat your feelings of nausea.

Firstly, hard candies can settle your gastric juices, which will, in turn, fight back nausea. So mints and other hard candies are also good choices to go for.

Secondly, hard candies help produce more saliva. You see, because they have hard textures, we have to suck on them to wear them down. 

This sucking stimulates saliva production.

And as we know from earlier, increased saliva production is also helpful for reducing and combating nausea. That was one of the reasons why sour candy was so effective on its own.

Finally

So it would seem that sour candy it’s just a delightful taste after all.

It can also help combat nausea. 

But just like every other type of candy out there, you should never overindulge!

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