It is a renowned saying that “You are what you eat”. Today, that definition has been tweaked a little – “You are what you digest”. The digestion plays a very significant role in deciding how the body functions. The modern lifestyle habits have led to serious deterioration of the human body. One of the most important questions in deciding the overall health is what you do right after eating?
The Michael Thurmond diet encourages avoiding the following activities right after a meal:
1. Sleeping
If you are planning to hit the bed right after the meal than probably this will give you more pain than you would have imagined. The digestion process is a very complex one and to sleep immediately after a meal disturbs the natural process.
2. Taking A Shower
The digestion process requires blood to flow from different parts of the body into the gut. This is very much essential for better assimilation of nutrients. However, taking a shower creates unwanted temperature difference and the blood is forced to move out of the gut and into the hands & legs, causing indigestion.
3. Smoking A Cigarette
The research from numerous studies has shown that what damage 10 cigarettes can do, only one cigarette taken after a meal is enough to replicate. The nicotine in a cigarette binds easily to oxygen after a meal and may cause lung cancer.
4. Eating Fruits
Fruits are very easy to digest. They take very little time to travel through the gut and be completely digested. However, when taken after a meal they bind themselves with the food (which has a longer travel cycle in the gut) and remain undigested causing improper bowel movements.
5. Drinking Tea or Coffee
The health benefits of Tea and Coffee are well known. These benefits turn into serious troubles if Tea or Coffee is consumed after you have eaten the food. The ingredients present in them inhibit proper Iron absorption and may result in anemia, dizziness or loss of appetite.
5. Brushing your Teeth
It is advisable to wait at least 30-45 minutes before you brush after having that sumptuous meal. If you brush immediately than it erodes the protective enamel on the teeth, a kind of corrosion like effect.
6. Go For A Walk
The digestive enzymes are released as soon as the food enters your stomach. Going for a walk quickly after a meal may cause a grave acid reflux situation. After a meal, the maximum amounts of blood must be available in the gut rather than be in your walking legs.
7. Drink Water
Nobody can deny the great health benefits of drinking water. On the flip side if lots of water is going down your throat just after you have finished eating than it muddles with bile and acids needed for complete digestion.
8. Driving
There is a reason you feel drowsy after eating. The blood from most parts of the body, including the brain, rushes into the gut to kickstart the digestion leaving the brain deprived of the oxygen and other nutrients. This interferes with decision-making ability and may lead to accidents.
9. Work out
Surprisingly, working out right after your meal must be strictly avoided to stop interfering with the release of digestive enzymes (Proteases, Amylases, Lipases, etc.). Working out requires a quick breakdown of food nutrients (glucose, fats, etc.) but after a meal the body is busy assimilating them and can’t provide them as desired, leading to fatigue, cramps, etc.
To achieve 360-degree wellness it is advised to adopt a 6 week body makeover routine by shunning these habits right away. If not adopted at the right time, these habits can even be life-threatening over long term.
