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5 Things You Should Avoid Right After A Meal

There's been much talk of what to eat and when to eat but let's look at what all we should do or eat post a meal.

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Say No to these things after a meal
A nutritious, well-balanced diet along with physical activity and refraining from smoking is the foundation of good health. Healthy eating includes consuming high-quality proteins, carbohydrates, heart-healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and water in the foods you take in while minimizing processed foods, saturated fats and alcohol. Eating in this manner helps you maintain your body’s everyday functions, promotes optimal body weight and can assist in disease prevention.According to doctors, eating on time and in the right amount is highly required. There are several things that you should never do right after eating. These are:

1. Smoking

According to scientists, a cigarette after a meal is extremely dangerous, and it is damaging the whole body, because it is, as they say, as if you smoke 10 cigarettes at once. Also, smoking particularly affects the irritation of the intestines.The digestive system works on the whole body, and nicotine binds with oxygen in the blood, because then it’s more easily absorbed. Scientists warn that a cigarette after a meal dramatically increases the risk of bowel cancer and lung cancer.

Smoking is a no-no after your meals
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2. Drinking tea

When you drink tea after your meal (especially dinner), you let it interfere with digestion. This is because a chemical tannin is present in tea and coffee which interferes with iron absorption. Though the beverages are known to relieve mental and muscular fatigue, they should be consumed only in moderation.
 

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3.  Fruits

Fruits are considered to be healthy but unfortunately their consumption after any meal (like lunch and dinner) is considered harmful. Eating fruits close to a meal, especially right after a larger meal and combine with other foods, it's held in the stomach too long along with other foods and will rot and ferment in the gut. If you experience indigestion, heartburn, burping and and other digestive discomforts and you blame on the meal - it could be the combination of the food, the fermentation with fruit that causes your upset stomach.
 

Avoid fruits post a meal to prevent gas formation, bloating etc
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4. Sleeping

We have often told you to never go to sleep after food. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but there are good reasons for not sleeping right after a meal. While you’re napping, your body is hard at work digesting that last meal, and this can lead to problems ranging from indigestion, weight gain to a possible increased risk for a stroke.

Do not sleep right after a meal
Photo Credit: iStock

5. Taking a Shower

When you bathe, your surface temperature increases according to the temperature of the water you use. When the water makes contact with your skin, your brain processes this change in body temperature as an immediate need to direct blood to your skin and bring your temperature back to normal. If you use cold water, your blood vessels dilate. As large volumes of blood in your skin dilate to dissipate the excess heat. This in turn causes more blood to flow in your skin, when the blood should actually flow to stomach to aid digestion. 


 

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