Principles after meals
The following "do's and don'ts" will help you avoid dangerous mistakes after every meal.
Things to do after meals
1. Rinse mouth
Rinsing your mouth after eating not only helps remove food debris but can also maintain the necessary moisture in the oral cavity.
Not only that, this simple task also stimulates taste buds, increases appetite, and prevents oral diseases.
2. Rub your belly
The abdominal area around the navel is where the intestinal glandular parts of the stomach pylorus are concentrated.
Therefore, regular massage of this part will enhance intestinal motility, increase gastric juice secretion, and help promote the digestion and excretion process.
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Abdominal massage was once a health care secret of many famous doctors such as Hua Tuo, Bian Que... |
Not stopping there, rubbing the belly after eating also acts as a benign stimulus, passing through the nerves to the brain, beneficial for regulating endocrine function.
3. Listen to music
Scientific research has proven that melodious, soothing music is very beneficial for regulating psychology.
A study of a group of Finnish people with stomach pain found that patients who listened to music by Johann Sebastian Bach after meals every day had better treatment results than those who only took medication.
Therefore, enjoying a piece of light music after a meal is a healthy pleasure for health. For the elderly, listening to music after a meal is even more beneficial for the health preservation process.
Medical experts also recommend that we should choose soft, cheerful music and avoid listening to music that is too loud, too strong, or has a sad tone to avoid affecting our mood and digestive function.
4. Walking
With the hustle and bustle of modern society, the majority of us are replacing walking with time spent sitting in the office, in the car...
Being sedentary makes the body prone to obesity, increases stomach acid levels, and causes many unpredictable consequences for the body.
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The ancients said: "Walk a hundred steps after eating and you will live to be 99 years old." This saying partly confirms the important role of walking after eating. |
To overcome this situation, you just need to walk about 20 minutes after meals to promote intestinal motility, support digestion, and protect your health.
However, walking after a meal should absolutely not be fast, nor should the movements be too strong or too hasty. After walking, we should not immediately sit down or lie down to rest to avoid harming the body.
Things not to do after meals
1. Eat fruit
After each meal, our stomach needs 1 to 2 hours to digest all the food. Therefore, enjoying fruit at the end of the meal will cause the amount of fruit entering the body to be blocked by the previously undigested food.
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Fruit is often the dessert chosen by many families to end the meal. In fact, this is a habit that is harmful to health! |
This causes the nutrients from the fruit to not be fully absorbed by the body, and also slows down the digestive process, causing indigestion and bloating.
According to nutritionists, the best time to enjoy fruit is about 1 hour before a meal or 2 to 3 hours after a meal.
2. Smoking
After eating, the stomach and intestines focus on the digestive process, so they contract strongly, causing blood to circulate faster.
If you smoke at this time, your body will absorb all the toxic substances in the smoke. Due to rapid blood circulation, these toxins can easily enter your body, increasing the level of damage to your health.
Therefore, smoking one cigarette after each meal is more harmful than smoking 10 cigarettes at other times.
3. Drink tea
Many people have the habit of drinking tea after meals because they believe that tea cleans the mouth, eliminates bad breath and aids digestion.
In fact, green tea leaves contain tannic acid. Drinking tea after eating causes the stomach to absorb this acid before it can fully digest protein.
Tannic acid in tea combines with protein to form a precipitate that is difficult to digest, affecting the body's absorption of protein.
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Despite its many health benefits, tea is not an ideal choice right after a meal. |
Not stopping there, green tea also hinders iron absorption, which in the long run will cause the body to fall into a state of iron deficiency.
Therefore, drinking tea immediately after eating will slow down the digestion process. If this habit is maintained for a long time, the drinker is at risk of anemia and protein deficiency.
4. Eat sweets
Eating sweets after meals will make the body absorb fat easily, leading to obesity. Not only that, sweets cause insulin levels in the body to decrease, increasing the risk of diabetes.
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It is not good for your body to eat cake after a meal. |
5. Drink soft drinks
Soft drinks, especially carbonated soft drinks, contain a lot of CO2. This substance has a negative effect on the digestive system and causes bloating.
6. Drink plenty of water
Many people mistakenly believe that drinking water after eating can clean the mouth.
In fact, drinking too much water will stretch the stomach, making this organ easily overloaded, hindering the digestion and absorption process.
Regularly maintaining the habit of drinking a lot of water after eating will cause the stomach to be under constant pressure, which can lead to stomach pain in the long run.
According to Young Knowledge
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