Ah that was a satisfying meal, wasn’t it? Wait what are you doing, you shouldn’t do that after a meal! Everybody knows that… wait, what do you mean you didn’t? What do you mean a lot of people don’t know there are things you shouldn’t do after a meal? You mean the things not to do after eating isn’t that well known? Well I’ll be, that’s quite a surprise, I always thought that people knew that after meals there are certain no-no things that you really should not do as it will have a bad effect on your body. However since it isn’t that well known, I’ll happily admit that there are a few on this list of things not to do after eating, that I wasn’t too aware of as well, let’s go over them to make sure that we stay safe after a good meal.

Smoking – Well this should be obvious on things not to do after eating, in fact don’t do this any time ever. Smoking not only causes a lot of sicknesses, it really does quite a number on your entire body especially your lungs. The bad effect of smoking is a really long list and I don’t really have to go through it but let’s just say that smoking is definitely one of the worst things that you can do and should be on top of your things not to do after eating. If I was too subtle, let me make it a little clear: don’t smoke!

Sleeping right after a meal is never healthy and can contribute to harmful results.

Fruit – Alright I was a little surprised here too, but it does have some science to it. When you eat a fruit after a full meal, it ends up going to your stomach with all the other food and takes time to digest or reach your intestines, which by then could cause bloating or another bad effect or two. It is ideal to wait until later on to consume fruits or perhaps to eat it in the morning or before the meal. Just make sure that it is part of your list of things not to do after eating and you should be fine.

Cold water – While water in general is good for you, drinking cold water can really have a bad effect on the food you just ate and can make it clump up in your stomach. So in order to absorb the nutrients better, best to drink some warm water after a meal in order to get what you need.

Sleeping – Again getting proper sleep everyday is a must for anyone who wants to take care of his or her health, however immediately sleeping after a full meal has a bad effect or two that you’ll want avoid. Again just like the other items on the things not to do after eating, sleeping should be avoided as you when you lay down, the digestive juices in your body could flow back into your esophagus and that isn’t something you want to happen.

Immediate walk – I am an advocate of after meal walks, however you cannot immediately take a walk after finishing a full meal, you have to wait about 10 – 20 minutes before walking. Allow your body to get the nutrients and to start digestion by giving it a few minutes, this will negate any bad effect you may encounter from walking right away, and quite frankly this is maybe one of the easier items to avoid on the list of things not to do after eating.

Exercise – Pretty much the same idea with not walking immediately, dancing, exercise, yoga or other activities like that aren’t really ideal to do after a full meal, otherwise expect a bad effect or several for that matter if you continue to persist. Again on the list of things not to do after eating, just give yourself some rest before planning a good workout or vigorous activity, this shouldn’t be too difficult if you take the time to plan the day out.

Shower – This item on things not to do after eating, will really catch a lot of people off guard, as it is not ideal to take a warm or hot shower after eating. The bad effect of showering shows by reducing the blood flow in your body, the body needs blood in order to digest your food but taking a warm shower really reduces the flow, so in order to avoid this after effect, make sure you wait it out before showering or if you are into cold showers… all the same just wait a few minutes or so before hitting the shower.

Walking or starting a workout right after a meal is not healthy either. This may contribute to appendicitis.

Loosening your belt after meals – We’ve seen it done a few times over, but the truth of the matter is doing this activity does not have a real bad effect after all, however it does seem a little inappropriate to do it in public. Aside from that, the reason I included it into the list of things not to do after eating, is that you should never eat too much. Eating enough to expand your stomach, so much so that you need to loosen a belt is a bad idea in general. I don’t think I need to elaborate more than that to really dissuade you from doing this but again it doesn’t necessarily have a direct bad effect to you or your body, but I’ll still say that it deserves a place on things not to do after eating.

Drinking tea or coffee – I am a super advocate of tea, you and many other readers know this, in fact my entire family and all my friends know that. However it has been found a bad effect arises when you take to the habit of drinking tea or coffee after a meal, this simple act of things not to do after eating, makes it difficult to absorb some of the nutrients and quite frankly that defeats the purpose of a healthy meal. It has been found that this is especially true for younger people who need more nutrients, so if you do fancy a cup of tea or maybe a cup of coffee, you need to wait ideally an hour or so before consumption, I would say for your health, it shouldn’t be impossible to do that.

And there it is, a rather simple and quick list of things not to do after eating, simply avoid them and wait a moment or two and you should be okay. After eating, the ideal scenario is to sit down and talk maybe stand a little but best not to be too active in order to avoid any bad effect or several for that matter. Since it is your health and the health of your loved ones, it shouldn’t be too difficult to incorporate or change some existing habits you have and really take to heart the things not to do after eating. Stay healthy!