Should you lie down, sit, or stand after eating? Doctors give standard answers

What is your habit after a full meal?

Walk a hundred steps after a meal and live to be ninety-nine;

You can’t stand after a meal, it is easy to have a sagging stomach;

You should lie down after a meal, so that It is the correct posture;

Drink a cup of tea after meals to refresh and aid digestion;

Exactly Which is the correct way to “open” after a meal? Today I will take you to reveal the secret.

Can I lie down after a meal?

Eating is the instinct of the human body to obtain energy and nutrients through external intake of food to maintain survival. However, from food intake to digestion, absorption and utilization of nutrients in food to meet the body’s physiological needs It is a complex and magical biological process.

After a meal, it means that the ingested food is pushed into the stomach after being moistened in the mouth, chewed and part of the starch is digested.

The stomach is a muscular, elastic, bag-like digestive organ that is divided into three parts: the cardia, the gastric body and the gastric antrum.

Under normal circumstances, after food enters the stomach, the terminal esophageal sphincter contracts to narrow the opening connected to the gastric spout to prevent the backflow of gastric contents. The food in the stomach is fully mixed with the viscous gastric juice containing hydrochloric acid and pepsin to become chyme. The physical and chemical digestion in this link is to lay the foundation for the next step to absorb nutrients in the small intestine cells for the body to use.

It can be seen that If you lie down immediately after a meal, it is easy to cause the food and stomach acid in the stomach to flow back into the esophagus through the spout door due to the displacement of the stomach in the filling state. Acid, heartburn (heartburn) phenomenon.

The tissue structure of the esophagus is different from that of the stomach, and it does not have the function of secreting mucus to prevent acid corrosion. In the long run, esophagitis will inevitably occur, especially the accumulation of fat in the waist and abdomen, aging Reflux esophagitis is more likely to develop in the aged and frail population with slow sphincter contraction and decreased gastric motility. Even in healthy people, the habit of lying down after meals can be detrimental to weight control because of reduced physical consumption.

Stomach ptosis when standing after a meal?

Many people want to lose weight and like to stand up right after eating.

It is true that standing consumes more energy than sitting.

However, for skinny people, standing posture will change the center of gravity of the stomach, and people who stand up immediately after meals are easy to cause gastric ptosis .

But for healthy people, especially young white-collar workers who have lunch at their workstations, after meals One stop, walking in place, is more conducive to promoting the blood circulation of the whole body, which can improve the work efficiency in the afternoon.

Would you like to sit after a meal?

Sitting for a while after a meal can be considered a healthy posture, but sitting for more than half an hour or sitting still is not only bad for digestion, but also increases fat The accumulation of fat, especially the accumulation of abdominal fat, will increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Can I exercise after a meal?

The adverse reactions and health hazards caused by exercise after meals, such as gastroptosis, mainly point to strenuous exercise.

There are conditions to exercise after meals, but there are tips: walking for half an hour after meals, dancing soothingly, etc. are all healthy lifestyles.

In recent years, the most important part of the healthy Mediterranean diet is the regular participation in ballroom dancing after meals Other recreational activities, but strenuous exercise after meals, hot water, sauna baths, etc. are not recommended, especially for people with high blood pressure.

Is it good to drink tea and yogurt after meals?

Drinking tea after meals to relieve oiliness?

Drinking tea after meals to relieve oiliness is not due to the presence of substances in tea that can degrade undigested oils and fats in the gastrointestinal tract, but maybe because most teas contain substances that can stimulate The ingredients such as caffeine, theophylline and theobromine secreted by gastric acid can promote gastric motility, and at the same time, metabolism is also accelerated, and the process and feeling of gastric support are improved.

Theoretically, tea saponin, which is not much in tea, has the effect of inhibiting lipase activity and hindering the absorption of fat in the digestive tract. According to the calculation of vegetarian intake, adults should drink at least one kilogram of tea brewed tea a day to be effective.

Drinking yogurt after meals to aid digestion?

The idea that drinking yogurt after meals to help digestion may be from the perspective that organic acids in yogurt can increase gastric acid and lactic acid bacteria to regulate the balance of intestinal flora.

The strength of the human body’s digestive ability depends on the function of digestive enzymes to decompose nutrients and the absorption capacity of small intestinal cells, and yogurt itself also contains protein and fat that need to be digested, so the health benefits of yogurt are long-term and long-term. slowly.

If you drink yogurt to aid digestion, you will feel bloated instead.

What other misunderstandings are there after a meal?

A lot of people still have many misunderstandings about their habits after meals, pay attention to the following points, which are not only conducive to digestion and absorption, but also prevent digestive system diseases:

1. Do not lie down immediately within half an hour after a meal;

2. Do not exercise vigorously after meals;

3. Eat seven full meals, Don’t be superstitious about tea, yogurt can scrape oil or aid digestion;

4. Change the habit of smoking, drinking sparkling drinks and beer after meals.

Experts in this article: Palize, Chief Physician of Nutrition, Member of Popular Science of Chinese Nutrition Society