What could I do to make this code more efficient?

I'm an 8th grader who just got into programming, and I recently made a program to check if the user's shopping list is valid or not. A valid shopping list is one where every two opposites never go together (for example, artificial sweetener cannot go with regular sugar, artificial spices cannot go with regular spices, etc). I wrote this code in python 3.9, and I was wondering what kinds of things I could do to make this code run more smoothly: ```python def addSpices(shopping): while True: user = input("What spices are you getting? ").lower().split() for i in user: if i.startswith("T"): shopping["Turmeric"] = 0 elif i.startswith("B"): shopping["Basil"] = 0 elif i.startswith("C"): shopping["Cilantro"] = 0 elif i.startswith("S"): shopping["Saffron"] = 0 elif i.startswith("F"): shopping["Fennel"] = 0 elif i.startswith("P"): shopping["Paprika"] = 0 elif i.startswith("M"): shopping["Mint"] = 0 elif i.startswith("E"): shopping["Sage"] = 0 elif i.startswith("D"): shopping["Dill"] = 0 elif i.startswith("I"): shopping["Thyme"] = 0 elif i.startswith("U"): shopping["Oregano"] = 0 elif i.startswith("Y"): shopping["Tarragon"] = 0 elif i.startswith("G"): shopping["Ginger"] = 0 elif i.startswith("K"): shopping["Kaffir Lime Leaf"] = 0 elif i.startswith("H"): shopping["Hyssop"] = 0 elif i.startswith("J"): shopping["Rosemary"] = 0 elif i.startswith("A"): shopping["Artificial Sweetener"] = 0 t = input(f"Your spices are {shopping}, are you finished? (y or n)") if t == "y": break elif t == "n": continue def addMain(shopping): while True: user = input("What are you getting for the main coarse? ").lower().split() for i in user: if i.startswith("W"): shopping["Meat"] = 0 elif i.startswith("M"): shopping["Rice"] = 0 elif i.startswith("P"): shopping["Mushrooms"] = 0 elif i.startswith("U"): shopping["Vinegar"] = 0 elif i.startswith("T"): shopping["Tofu"] = 0 elif i.startswith("A"): shopping["Artificial Spices"] = 0 t = input(f"Your main course is {shopping}, are you finished? (y or n)") if t == "y": break elif t == "n": continue def addDesserts(shopping): while True: user = input("What are you getting for dessert? ").lower().split() for i in user: if i.startswith("B"): shopping["Butter"] = 0 if i.startswith("S"): shopping["Nutmeg"] = 0 elif i.startswith("U"): shopping["Sugar"] = 0 elif i.startswith("C"): shopping["Chocolate"] = 0 elif i.startswith("A"): shopping["Artificial Flavors"] = 0 t = input(f"Your desserts are {shopping}, are you finished? (y or n)") if t == "y": break elif t == "n": continue def addCondiments(shopping): while True: user = input("What are you getting for condiments? ").lower().split() for i in user: if i.startswith("S"): shopping["Salt"] = 0 elif i.startswith("P"): shopping["Pepper"] = 0 elif i.startswith("N"): shopping["Nutmeg"] = 0 elif i.startswith("K"): shopping["Ketchup"] = 0 elif i.startswith("A"): shopping["Artificial Sweeteners"] = 0 t = input(f"Your condiments are {shopping}, are you finished? (y or n)") if t == "y": break elif t == "n": continue def shoppingList(): shopping = {} addSpices(shopping) addMain(shopping) addDesserts(shopping) addCondiments(shopping) print(f"Your shopping list is {shopping}") t = input("Is your shopping list valid? (y or n)") if t == "y": exit() elif t == "n": print("Invalid shopping list. Closing program.") exit() else: print("Invalid input. Please try again.") if __name__ == "__main__": shoppingList() ``` I tested this program with the following opposites, and it failed to not add them in a valid shopping list: -Worcestershire Sauce and Vinegar -Cocoa Powder and Sugar I'm not sure if there's a specific issue that's not letting the program realize that these are opposites, but I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that these two items are both in the same section of the shopping list (Worcestershire Sauce is a steak sauce, and Vinegar is a base for numerous other dressings), while the other opposites (Sugar/Artificial Sweeteners, Rice/Meat, etc) are opposites in the fact that they're in different sections of the shopping list. I also looked at a few code completion AI models and they recommended I do a lot more if/elif statements, but I want to know if there's a way to do this that doesn't add hundreds of additional lines of code. I've been running this code in VSCode, if that makes a difference. Edit: I realize I didn't specify what the opposites are, but the opposites for this program are: * Regular Sugar and Artificial Sweetener * Regular Spices and Artificial Spices * Regular Flavors and Artificial Flavors * Tofu and Meat * Rice and Mushrooms * Vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce * Sugar and Cocoa Powder * Butter and Nutmeg * Chocolate and Salt Every two opposites cannot go together in a valid shopping list, whatever section they're in.

What could I do to make this code more efficient?

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