Post-meal habits should be distinguished as good or bad: Correcting common misconceptions about post-meal habits

32. Post-meal habits should be distinguished as good or bad.

What do you usually do after a meal? Loosen your belt, take a short walk, or lie down immediately? Many middle-aged men might think that smoking a cigarette or taking a walk after a meal are old examples with scientific basis. But in fact, doing certain things immediately after a meal, such as drinking tea, smoking, eating fruit, or taking a walk, not only does not benefit the body in any way, but can also be quite harmful.

Taking a walk immediately after a meal not only won't help you live to 99, but it can also hinder the body's digestion and absorption of nutrients due to increased physical activity. This is especially true for middle-aged people, whose heart and blood vessel functions are already declining; walking immediately after a meal can lead to a drop in blood pressure. It's better to sit and rest for about half an hour after eating, allowing the body to begin digesting and absorbing the food before engaging in any exercise.

What other misconceptions about meals need to be corrected?

(1) Drinking strong tea after meals: Tea is rich in tannic acid. If there is undigested protein in the stomach and intestines after meals, the tannic acid will combine with it to form indigestible precipitates, affecting the body's absorption of protein. Tea can also affect the body's absorption of iron, which can lead to iron deficiency over time. It is not advisable to drink tea immediately after meals, nor is it suitable to drink tea before meals, otherwise it will not only dilute stomach acid but also hinder digestion.

Correct approach: It is best to drink tea 2 hours after a meal.

(2) Eating fruit after meals: Treating fruit as a dessert after meals will cause the minerals in other foods to combine with the organic acids in the fruit, which will have an adverse effect on the body's digestion and absorption. After food enters the stomach, digestion generally takes 2 hours. If you eat fruit immediately after a meal, the food you ate earlier will block the fruit, and the fruit will not be properly digested and absorbed.

Correct approach: The best times to eat fruit are two hours after a meal and one hour before a meal. Also, remember to avoid eating fruit before bed, as this prevents your digestive system from getting proper rest and can disrupt your sleep.

(3) Loosen your belt after meals: Many men feel that their belts suddenly become tight after eating, so they like to loosen the belt buckle. Although this can make the stomach feel more comfortable, it will cause the intra-abdominal pressure to drop, which can easily lead to gastric prolapse.

Correct approach: Chew slowly and thoroughly when eating, and stop when you're about 70% full, especially when eating fast food. You may not feel bloated when eating fast food, but this type of food will gradually expand in your stomach, so you should leave the table when you're about 70% full.

(4) Taking a bath after meals: There is a folk saying that goes, "Shave your head when you're hungry and take a bath when you're full," but this is actually very unscientific. After a meal, the stomach and intestines need a lot of blood flow to help digestion. If you take a bath at this time, a lot of blood will flow to the surface of the body, which can easily reduce the function of the stomach and intestines and lead to indigestion.

Correct practice: When taking a bath, especially when soaking in a large bathhouse, you should do so one hour after a meal. This allows for faster blood circulation and absorption, and also greatly helps the digestive system.

(5) "A cigarette after a meal is better than being a god": This statement is a huge misconception and has nothing to do with science. After eating, the speed and volume of blood circulation increase. If you smoke, the toxic nicotine will enter the bloodstream in the shortest time, putting the body in an excited state, which is what many smokers call the "god-like feeling." In fact, smoking after a meal is more harmful than smoking three cigarettes in daily life. This is because the body's heat increases significantly after a meal, and smoking at this time will inhibit the basal secretion of bicarbonate and protein, hindering the digestion and absorption of food. At the same time, it will also directly damage the duodenum and stomach, increasing bile secretion, causing gastrointestinal dysfunction, and making the abdomen prone to pain and other symptoms. Moreover, while the body absorbs nutrients from food, it also actively absorbs harmful substances from cigarette smoke. Therefore, it can be said that "smoking after a meal is more harmful than anything else."

Correct approach: Vitamin C has a strong effect on clearing nicotine from the body, can also improve cell resistance, and plays a role in maintaining blood vessel elasticity. Foods rich in vitamin C include lemons, oranges, rose hips, white radishes, tangerines, fresh dates, tomatoes, cauliflower, peppers, bitter melon, rapeseed, carrots, and bok choy. Therefore, men who like to smoke should eat more fruits and vegetables.

"A hundred steps after a meal" is not suitable for everyone.

At this time, the stomach is full and requires a sufficient blood supply to function properly. Walking at this time diverts some blood flow to the musculoskeletal system, easily leading to ischemia in the digestive tract. This reduces the secretion of digestive juices and weakens gastrointestinal motility, disrupting normal digestion and causing indigestion, ultimately affecting nutrient absorption. Furthermore, the increased stomach contents after a meal increase the body's burden; therefore, walking too quickly can exacerbate this burden and may even cause conditions like gastric prolapse.

Since it's not advisable to walk immediately after a meal, when is the best time to walk? It's best to take a walk about half an hour after eating. Post-meal walks are especially suitable for people who work at a desk for long periods, are generally less active, or are overweight. For these individuals, a 20-minute walk after a meal can help promote digestion and absorption, the secretion of digestive juices, and gastrointestinal motility, which is very beneficial to health. Even healthy people should rest for a while after a meal before walking, and the intensity should be determined based on their own physical condition-just enough to avoid fatigue. If you want to engage in more vigorous exercise, it's best to wait two hours after eating.

People who are weak and prone to illness, especially those with conditions like gastroptosis, should absolutely not walk immediately after meals. They should lie flat for at least 10 minutes before walking. Patients with cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, should also avoid walking immediately after meals. Those with weak constitutions, especially after a large meal, should ideally wait at least two hours before exercising.

In addition, it is best to avoid outdoor sports during the cold winter, especially for people with weak constitutions.

After meals, gently massage your abdomen with warm hands, from left to right and from top to bottom, or in a clockwise circular motion. This helps improve blood circulation in the abdominal cavity and significantly enhances gastrointestinal digestion. Taking a slow walk after meals is also extremely beneficial for rest and digestion. What is a slow walk? Simply put, it's a stroll, or even more simply, walking at a leisurely pace.