Popcorn is a snack that you can eat guilt-free, as long as you don’t overdo yourself and stay conscious about what you add to it for flavor. Eating popcorn is good for you as it’s high in fiber and phenolic acids. However, some people don’t respond well to popcorn and experience a nasty stomach ache.
What you drink after eating popcorn is up to you. If your stomach hurts after the snack, you can drink chamomile or ginger tea or water with lemon. For a refreshing experience, you can drink soda or a slush puppy. You can even have your popcorn with an alcoholic beverage of your choice.
In this article, I’ll discuss what to drink after eating popcorn if your stomach aches, why popcorn can make your stomach ache, refreshing and alcoholic drinks that go with popcorn, and what to avoid after you’ve eaten popcorn. Keep reading.
What To Drink If Your Stomach Aches After Eating Popcorn?
Consider drinking chamomile or ginger tea if your stomach aches after eating popcorn. You can have these teas after eating homemade or theater popcorn. They’ll help alleviate those aches and pains. Warm water with lemon can also do the trick.
The following discusses the reasons you should consider these drinks after eating popcorn.
Chamomile Tea Can Lessen Or Stop Stomach Cramps
You may have heard that Chamomile tea relaxes you and helps you sleep better, so why would it help with a stomach ache from eating popcorn? Well, thanks to its relaxing properties, your upper digestive tract muscles will lose their tension, lessening or stopping your stomach cramps.
Chamomile tea is also an anti-inflammatory, ready to settle your stomach back to the way it should be.
Ginger Tea Can Prevent Nausea Or Cure an Upset Stomach
Ginger tea has many purposes and is excellent at settling your stomach and preventing nausea. Whether you’re battling morning sickness, motion sickness, or an upset stomach from eating popcorn, ginger tea has the properties to cure you in no time.
Ginger protects your gut and helps with digestion and bowel regularity.
You can use fresh ginger root with warm water to make your tea. Or, you can buy the ginger tea bag from your local store. Make sure to take small sips of your tea instead of gulping it down.
Lemon Water Can Relieve A Bloated Stomach Or Rehydrate You
Not only is warm lemon water good for you, but its high acidity helps with digestion and will relieve your stomach from feeling bloated and sore. This drink will get you going on the toilet and quickly rid your stomach of the popcorn.
Popcorn is often dosed in many added flavors for the tastiest experience, especially at the movies. Unfortunately, many of those flavors are high in salt and will absorb water from your body, leaving you dehydrated and very thirsty. It’s essential to put liquids back into your body after eating popcorn.
Warm lemon water won’t only aid in curing your aching stomach, but it’ll also rehydrate you.
Why Does My Stomach Ache After Eating Popcorn?
Your stomach may ache after eating popcorn because the snack is too greasy, fatty, contain toxic ingredients or too much sodium, or because you have IBS and your stomach can’t handle the insoluble fiber.
Theater Popcorn Is Typically Greasy
Most likely, the popcorn isn’t making your stomach ache but rather how it was cooked. The worst popcorn to eat is theater popcorn because they use oils to prevent the popcorn from going bad quickly. Unfortunately, those oils don’t sit right with our bodies because they’re hard to digest.
Some People With IBS Can Get Sick From Eating Popcorn
If you have IBS, popcorn is either a blessing or a curse. Some types of IBS are helped by eating popcorn, while others get triggered by popcorn due to the insoluble fiber, which increases gas, bloating, and discomfort.
What To Drink After Eating Popcorn At The Theater?
Here’s a list of some cold, refreshing options to drink after eating popcorn at the theater:
- Slushie
- Coke
- Pepsi
- Lemonade mixed with sparkling water
- Sprite
- Mountain Dew
- Redbull
- Monster
- Diet sodas
- Apple juice
- Orange juice
Most people don’t go to the theater every day, and it’s often an exciting occasion with friends or family. When you’ve eaten an entire box of popcorn during a movie, there’s nothing better than enjoying a refreshing, cold drink.
What To Drink After Eating Popcorn At A Party?
You can drink alcoholic drinks like dessert wine or champagne after eating popcorn at a party. If you’ve only ever associated popcorn with something fizzy, you’ll be blown away by how well these drinks go with popcorn.
The flavors you put on your popcorn will determine the best alcoholic drink to pair it with to make the flavors pop. Below is a table of flavored popcorn that pairs with the taste of the alcoholic beverage.
| Flavored Popcorn | Alcoholic Beverage |
| Smoky Paprika Popcorn | A cold beer |
| Parmesan, Garlic, & Black Pepper Popcorn | Red wine or Blue Lagoon Cocktail |
| Caramel Corn | Bourbon or Strawberry Peach Bellini |
| Lime & Chili Popcorn | Tequila or Jalapeño Margarita |
| Plain Popcorn | Prosecco wine |
| Buffalo Cheddar Popcorn | Whiskey Sour |
What Shouldn’t You Drink After You Eat Popcorn?
You shouldn’t drink water after you eat popcorn. Popcorn has starch, beneficial to your body, and helps regulate your insulin levels. Popcorn also contains carbohydrates that energize your body. Drinking water right after eating popcorn can also cause reflux and high gas levels in your stomach.
The reflux and high gas levels in your stomach will result in bloating and discomfort. That said, drinking water straight after eating popcorn may not be the best idea.
If you want to drink water after eating popcorn (because popcorn can make you thirsty), you might want to give your stomach time to settle and then have a glass of water.
Conclusion
Popcorn can be good for the body, but the way it’s prepared can leave some people feeling sick, bloated, and with a bad stomach ache. If your stomach aches from eating popcorn, consider drinking chamomile and ginger tea—warm lemon water works, too.
If you don’t have any problem after eating popcorn, go ahead and drink whatever you want after that. Any soda, slushie, energy drink, or cold drink can leave you feeling refreshed after a box of popcorn.
Pair your flavored popcorn with different alcoholic beverages as they complement each other and make the flavors pop.
