Things to avoid after eating a heavy meal

Did you know that there are certain things you should not do after eating? Okay it’s not like you’re going to die if you do them, but it’s important to stay healthy and avoid them altogether for your own good. Let’s get straight into it.

1. Smoking.

You already know that smoking is bad enough for your health and it’s even worse after eating a meal. If you must, wait a couple of hours after eating before grabbing a smoke. According to studies, smoking after a meal is like smoking ten cigarettes at once and it increase your chances of bowel and lung cancer significantly.

Woman smoking (Courtesy)

2. Going to bed immediately after a meal.

There’s a reason why people are advised to have dinner around 6-7pm instead of past 9 pm. This gives the body time to digest the food. A majority of us feel the urge to take a nap after a meal but this habit is not healthy at all. When you lie down, some digestive juices from the stomach flow back to the esophagus because of gravitational force. Due to its acidic nature, it can burn the inner layer of the esophagus causing acid reflex.

3. Showering.

Wait 30 minutes after taking a meal, before you jump into the shower. Digestion needs a a lot of energy and blood flow into our bodies. When you take a warm shower, blood flows towards your skin to release off the heat and this makes it difficult to digest food.

Woman showering (Courtesy) ece-auto-gen

4. Drinking tea.

We are all guilt of this one! Teas are healthy, but they should not be consumed after a meal because doing so can interfere with the iron absorption in your body as tea contains tannic acid which binds to the iron and protein from the food and this can result in 87% decrease in iron absorption and even iron deficiency, which can lead to anemia, dizziness, weakness and fatigue.

Beautiful woman drinking tea at home ece-auto-gen

5. Eating fruits after a meal.

You should always eat your fruits before and not after a meal. Fruits are the easiest to digest and take about 20 minutes. If you eat them after a meal, they may not be digested properly.

6. Avoid ice water after a meal.

This is simply because ice water causes clumping of food and this makes it hard for it to be digested properly. Instead, drink warm water as it allows nutrients to be absorbed better.

(H:T/healthxchange.sg)