Foods to avoid on a road trip

The foods you eat have a profound impact on your body – they can affect alertness, digestion, mood and coordination. So just because you’re sitting in a car for hours, doesn’t mean you should neglect how you fuel your body – you’re operating a car, after all.

Here are five types of foods you should avoid on your next road trip to maintain optimal driving health and avoid car sickness.

Fatty foods
It takes a lot of your body’s energy for it to digest fatty food. The roadside burgers and hot chips always seems like a good idea at the time, until you get back on the road, feeling bloated, full and in desperate need of a groggy nap. Groggy and driving are two things that just don’t mix.

Carbonated drinks
Aside from soft drink companies being one of the largest users of sugar in the world, with a single can of cola containing up to 10 teaspoons of sugar, carbonated drinks do a lot more than cause your blood sugar to rise. These drinks can cause bloating and indigestion which are uncomfortable for long trips, but the high sugar, sodium and caffeine content of soft drinks can also dehydrate your body which can cause you to become nauseous.

Acidic foods
Acidic foods can irritate your bladder, and no one wants to be the person that asks to pull over at every sight of a bush to empty it. Tomatoes, oranges, lemons, grapefruits are off limits unless you want to stop every few seconds.

Milky products
If you’re an Australian, chances are you’ve thought a quick Macca’s drive-thru run for a vanilla thickshake was a good idea, only to get to have your stomach cramp up around the same time your straw runs dry. We’re pretty sure we don’t need to go into detail, but trust us on this one, your gut will thank you for deciding against dairy products while driving.

Salt
Much like fatty foods and carbonated drinks, salty foods can cause your belly to bloat, and forces your body to retain more water. It’ll end up forcing you to drink more water, which again means pulling over to empty that bladder. Annoying. In saying that, salty foods can be help with nausea so if you are motion sick, you may prefer to deal with the quick pit stops.