After eating a meal, the urge to sit or lie down is quite strong, especially if it is a heavy meal. Resisting the food coma, the overpowering, sluggish and sleepy feeling is quite tough. While settling down after a meal may feel comforting, for your health, something as simple and unmindful as sitting after a meal may wreak havoc and may pose problems in the long-run.
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New Jersey-based endocrinologist Dr Alessia Roehnelt addressed this common habit of sitting after eating. In a January 2 post on Instagram, she stated the clinical reasons, revealing what happens in your body if you sit right after eating your food. She named certain groups, like people with pre-diabetes, diabetes or insulin resistance, as they are more likely to benefit if they unlearn this common, but harmful habit.
Reasons why you should not sit after meals
Endocrinologist Dr Alessia Roehnelt disclosed the major reasons why you need to give up sitting after meals.
1. Improves digestion
Inactivity after eating is not recommended. Light movement or any kind, such as brief walking, the endocrinologist remarked, helps to digest your food better.
It also keeps common digestion-related problems away. “Walkingafter meals helps to aid indigestion because it stimulates the stomach and intestines to move food faster, which can reduce bloating, gas, and that feeling of heaviness after you eat,” Dr Roehnelt advised.
Usually, after eating heavy meals, bloating and acidity follow, and as a result, people reach out for antacids. But a quick stroll lowers this overreliance on antacids to soothe irritation that you can naturally resolve by walking.
2. Reduces sugar spikes
Walking directly benefits blood sugar management. How? The endocrinologist elaborated that when you walk, your muscles are engaged, and they are instrumental in keeping your sugar levels steady.
“Walking after meals tells your muscles to absorb glucose immediately without even needing insulin,” she noted. “If you sit right after meals, the glucose is gonna stay in your bloodstream longer, and that means more of a blood sugar spike and an insulin spike.”
So, this means people with already existing insulin sensitivity, such as those with insulin resistance, diabetes, or pre-diabetes, can regulate their sugar spikes better.
Challenge in weight loss
Dr Roehnelt zeroed in on one hurdle that many face in the weight loss journey. “When insulin is high, it is almost impossible to lose weight because insulin makes your body store fat, not burn it,” she cautioned. To improve blood sugar, one does not always require a long, intense workout. Simple habits like walking aid in losing weight, especially, as the doctor shared, for those who are in menopause, perimenopause, or insulin resistance, or just struggling to lose belly fat. Dr Roehnelt suggested walking for 10 to 15 minutes, post-meal.
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.
