What are your habits after a full meal?
Walk a hundred steps after meals and live to ninety-nine;
Can not stand after meals, easy stomach sagging;
You should lie down after a meal, which is the correct posture;
Drink a cup of tea after meals to refresh the mind and help digestion;
……
Which is the right way to "open" after a meal? Today I will take you to reveal the secret.
1
Can I lie down after a meal?
Although eating is the instinct of the human body to maintain survival by ingesting food from the outside world to obtain energy and nutrition, however, from eating to digesting, absorbing and using nutrients in food to meet the physiological needs of the body is a complex and magical biological process.
After a meal, it means that the ingested food is pushed into the stomach after being digested in the wetness, chewing and part of the starch in the mouth, that is, the key digestive link of decomposing macromolecular nutrients into small molecules.
The stomach is muscular and elastic, divided into three parts: cardia, stomach body and ancillary, a pouch-shaped digestive organ shaped like a broad bean.
Under normal circumstances, after food enters the stomach, the contraction of the sphincter at the end of the esophagus narrows the opening connected to the gastric cardia to prevent the gastric contents from flowing backwards, and the food temporarily stored in the stomach is fully mixed with the viscous gastric juice containing hydrochloric acid and pepsin to become chyme, and the physical and chemical digestion carried out in this link is to lay the foundation for the next step of absorbing nutrients in the small intestinal cells for use by the body.
It can be seen that if you lie down immediately after a meal, it is easy to cause the food and acid in the stomach to regurgitate into the esophagus through the cardia due to the gastric displacement in the full state, and the phenomenon of acid reflux and heartburn (heartburn) occurs.
The tissue structure of the esophagus is different from the stomach, does not have the function of secreting mucus to prevent acid corrosion, and in the long run, it is inevitable to have esophagitis, especially the accumulation of fat in the waist and abdomen, the elderly and weak sphincter contractile delay, and the decline in gastric motility are more likely to suffer from reflux esophagitis. Even in healthy people, if they lie down after meals, it will be detrimental to weight control due to reduced physical exertion.
2
Standing after a meal with a sagging stomach?
Many people are in the purpose of losing weight and like to get up and stand immediately after eating.
It is true that standing consumes more physical energy than sitting.
However, for those who are emaciated, the standing posture will change the center of gravity of the stomach, and people who habitually stand immediately after meals can easily cause stomach sagging.
But for healthy people, especially young white-collar workers who solve lunch at the workstation, standing a stop after a meal and stepping in place, it is more conducive to promoting blood circulation throughout the body, which can improve afternoon work efficiency.
3
Do you want to sit after a meal?
Sitting for a while after a meal can be counted as a healthy posture, but sitting for more than half an hour or sitting still is not only not conducive to digestion, but also increases the accumulation of fat, especially the accumulation of abdominal fat, which will increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
4
Can I exercise after a meal?
Adverse reactions and health hazards caused by exercise after meals, such as stomach sagging, mainly point to strenuous exercise.
There are conditions to exercise after meals, but there are tips: half an hour after a meal, walking slowly, etc. are all good for health.
In recent years, in the healthy "Mediterranean" diet model that has dominated the list of diets, an important one is to regularly participate in recreational activities such as ballroom dancing after meals, but it is not recommended to exercise strenuously after meals and take hot baths and saunas immediately, especially for people with high blood pressure.
5
Is it good to drink tea and yogurt after meals?
Drinking tea after a meal to get greasy?
Drinking tea after a meal to degreasing is not because there are substances in tea that can degrade undigested oils in the gastrointestinal tract, but may be because most tea leaves contain ingredients such as caffeine, theophylline and theobromine, which can stimulate gastric acid secretion, promote gastric motility, and increase metabolic speed, so that the stomach bracing situation has improved.
Theoretically, the tea saponin containing little tea has the effect of inhibiting lipase activity and hindering fat absorption in the digestive tract, but according to the intake of tea saponin, adults must drink at least one kilogram of tea brewed tea a day to have an effect.
Drink yogurt after a meal to help digestion?
The idea that drinking yogurt after a meal to aid digestion may be from the perspective that organic acids in yogurt can increase stomach acid and lactic acid bacteria, thereby regulating the balance of intestinal flora.
The body's digestive capacity depends on the role of digestive enzymes to break down nutrients, as well as the absorption capacity of small intestinal cells, and yogurt itself also contains proteins and fats that need to be digested, so the health benefits of yogurt are long-term and slow.
If you drink yogurt to help digestion, you will feel bloated.
6
What are the other misunderstandings after meals?
Regarding the habits after meals, many people still have many misunderstandings, pay attention to the following points, not only conducive to digestion and absorption, but also can prevent digestive system diseases:
1. Do not lie down immediately within half an hour after a meal;
2, do not exercise strenuously after meals;
3, eat seven points full of rice, do not believe in tea, yogurt can scrape oil or help digestion;
4. Change the habit of smoking, drinking sparkling drinks and beer after meals.
Source: Popular Science China (ID: Science_China)
Expert of this article: Li Lize, chief physician of nutrition, member of the science popularization committee of the Chinese Nutrition Society
Producer: Mou Yanqiu Cheng Miao
Editor: Guiting
Proofreader: Liang Tiantian Zhang Linglin