5 things you should not do after a full meal.

Often, after a full meal, I naturally feel sleepy. On weekends, I sometimes head back to bed after lunch. Some of my smoker friends like to go for a puff immediately after a meal. Others like to have a cup of tea thinking it will help them digest the food. Many of these habits do you more harm than good.

Here are 5 things you should avoid doing immediately after a full meal:

No sleeping

On some weekends, I plunge into bed after lunch. More often than not, I wake up still feeling full from the meal. The meal has not been digested at all! A nap immediately after a meal is also not relaxing.

No smoking

It is said that smoking after a meal is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes. No matter how true or false this is, smoking is harmful to your body and you should not smoke anyhow.

No bathing

Bathing after a meal delays digestion. The blood around the stomach flows to other parts of the body during a shower instead of helping with digestion.

No fruits

Different foods digest at different speeds. Eat fruits first as they are the easiest to digest. Fruits should be eaten an hour before a meal or two hours after a meal. Fruits will not be digested properly if you eat them directly after a meal.

No tea

Tea leaves are acidic and will affect the digestion process. If you consume protein in the meal, the acid from the tea will harden the protein content, making it difficult to digest. Drinking tea immediately after a meal will also interfere with iron absorption by the body. Avoid tea one hour before and after meals.

Ref: S13