Many factors affect your health. Some you cannot control, such as your genetic makeup or your age. But you can make changes to your lifestyle. The reason lifestyle is so important is because how you live determines your choices and these choices decide how healthy you are. Habits are an important part of your lifestyle. As humans, we like habits and routines, so much that we often keep doing the same things even when we know they aren't good for us.
This brings us to our after-meal habits. Many of us undertake some activities that are not essentially healthy after consumption of a meal. Doing or eating certain things after meals will cause some reactions to our body which may interfere with the process of digestion and metabolism. But most of us are not aware of these things which give birth to various myths.
Myths are obviously the fruit of partial or total ignorance, and speculations, handed down from generation to generation. There are many myths floating around concerning what not to do after a meal. Here are some myths about the things that are not good for us after a meal:
- Do not walk after a meal
Myth: Walking or strolling after a meal is not bad at all. Rather, leisure walking after a meal helps in digestion of the food, controlling weight and is excellent for people who already are facing problems of indigestion or flatulence. But walking immediately after a meal will make it difficult for the digestive system to absorb the nutrition from the food we eat. Wait at least thrity minutes to an hour after your meal and then walk.
- Don't smoke
Myth: There is no evidence that smoking after a meal increases the risks already associated with smoking. Smoking cigarettes is harmful to your health at any time. Cigarettes are one of the most lethal carcinogens (substances known to cause cancer) known to man. They are the single most common and preventable cause of cancer in society.
- After Dinner Tea/Coffee helps in digestion
Myth: Drinking tea or coffee after a meal can interfere with the absorption of non-heme iron (found in plants as opposed to heme iron found in meats) consumed in the meal. This is because tanin (found in tea) forms a bond to the iron, effectively limiting the body's ability to absorb this important mineral. It is recommended to limit your tea drinking to between meals or one hour after a meal.
- Don't sleep immediately
Fact: Immediately sleeping after eating a meal can lead to digestion problems thereby leading to gastro-intestinal problems. This is because after eating the BMR (Basal metabolic rate) increases and sleeping immediately would decrease the BMR causing digestion problems. Habitually sleeping immediately after a meal will also increase the tendency to obesity. Wait for at least 2-3 hours and then go to sleep. Also when you sleep, sleep in a position such that your head is placed slightly at a higher level than the body.
- A Bath after a meal refreshes you
Myth: Here again, the bath would decrease the BMR causing digestion problems which can create problems in the long run.
- Avoid Cold water
Myth: Many people believe in the myth that cold water can freeze food, especially those containing oils which may lead to cancer. The truth: internal heat of your body quickly nullifies any temperature differences among the various items that you have swallowed before it reaches the intestine.
- Have fruits after a meal
Myth: Some fruits are citric in nature and may cause further reactions on combining with the acids and complex compounds present in the food we eat leading to stomach upset or problems in digestion. Therefore have your fruits one or two hours before or after your meal. This will also avoid a spike in blood sugar levels.
Living a healthy lifestyle and learning to eat healthy is easier than you might think. It doesn't cost extra money and it doesn't require expensive equipment.
