10 things you musn't do after meals.

Many people have  very bad and unhealthy after-meal habits, and changing a habit could be difficult at times. Most people have come to accept some of these  habits as normal because its consequences don't show up quickly. For some people, an after lunch sleep is difficult to resist. Some other folks would prefer to smoke a stick of cigarette or two immediately after a meal. But no matter how
enjoyable  these habits may seem, they harm our body and hence should be avoided.
Below are 10 things you shouldn't do immediately after a meal.

• Do not take a walk immediately after a meal

Taking a stroll often is very good for your health, but the timing is also very important. Taking a walk immediately after eating will not do you any good but cause more harm due to indigestion and stomach upsets. It can also result in acid re-flux (gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, taking a 10-minute walk about 30 minutes after meals is very good for the body as it is a good way to burn energy. Again, it will help you sleep faster and deeper. The point here is to know the right time for it

•  Never take your  bath with warm water "immediately" after a meal

 A warm bath before or immediately after a good meal is a not nice and here is why. When you eat, the stomach needs a good amount of blood for digestion process to properly occur. But a warm bath reduces the amount of blood available to the stomach because it raises the temperature of our body in order to cool the body so there is more blood flow near the skin to allow the heat to be released. So to be on the safe side, wait about half an hour after your meal before going into the bathroom to take a hot shower.

• Loosening your belt before or after a meal, may be wrong

Even though there is no known  disease associated with loosening your belt after eating, loosening your belt can cause obesity, How?   Loosening your belt makes you eat more which is not healthy. There is a popular saying that says “one should always leave the dining table with a half-full stomach.” This is true and your tightened belt helps you do that. So the advice is to eat moderately without loosening your belt.

• Never drink cold water after a meal

The reason is because cold water does not let the food digest properly because it causes clumping of food. Warm water helps absorb nutrients better. So to be healthy stop the bad habit of drinking cold water after meals.

• Do not eat fruits after meal

Most fruits contain sugars so, they are easily digested  in the intestine. Because fruits reach the intestines faster that ordinary meals, eating them within an hour after a meal will make them get stuck in the stomach for longer periods and as such deteriorating the fruits nutritional value. This can also cause bloating and Gastrointestinal distress. And even though, it is almost a normal thing to serve fruits right after a meal as a dessert, it is not a good for the health. The best time to have your fruits is as an appetizer before breakfast. This way, the body can best harness all the nutrients in the fruits and get enough energy that will be put to good use throughout the day.

• Never drink tea or coffee immediately after a meal

Most people are so addicted to tea and coffee that they will always drink it immediately after meal. But even though tea and coffee have a lot of benefits which may include reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease, putting off diabetes and providing anti-oxidants that will help your body fight aging, nutrition experts say it’s not good to be taken after a meal. This is because tea or coffee contains substances that can absorb the essence of your food. Polyphenols and tannins found in tea and coffee can inhibit iron absorption by binding the iron in the foods  which can lead to iron deficiency or anemia. Tea  and coffee also have high acidic content which will cause the protein in the food to be hardened and so, difficult to digest. So, for your health's sake drink your tea, at least an hour after the meal.

• Never smoke after a meal

A stick of cigarette contains unhealthy ingredients like nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, tar, ammonia and as many as 60 carcinogens. Smoking a cigarette right after your meal is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes which worsen the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), increases the risk of lung cancer, shortness of breath, ulcerative colitis (a stomach ulcer) and other types of cancer associated with smoking. It also has a bad effect on muscles of the colon.

•  Dancing immediately after eating is a no-no

 Dancing too much after your meal will make it tough to absorb the nutrients in the intestine. You may even throw up or suffer a stomach upset. Take some rest, maybe for an hour, before you step on the dance floor.

• Never lie down "immediately" after a meal

This is certainly not good for your health because if you lie down, there is excessive pressure put on the diaphragm because of the food that is still in the stomach this causes snoring and even sleep apnea. Also, some amount of digestive juices from the stomach which are acidic flows back to the esophagus because of the body posture and burns the inner layer. It also leads to obesity. So you should try your best  to stay up for at least two hours after your meal before you sleep.

• Finally, never go to the gym immediately after a meal

It will be unwise to hit the gym immediately after a meal as that will be counterproductive to the body. Having an excercise immediately after a meal  may result in vomiting, puffiness, nausea.