In this modern lifestyle, we all get busy, and our eating habits also changed a lot. It is often stated that what we eat impacts our health, and the right kind of food reduces the risk of many diseases and health issues. But do you know your before and after meal habits can also impact your health and lifestyle?
You have to admit that you don’t get enough time to sit, relax and eat your meal. You might also have taken a shower right after eating. But have you ever question yourself if it is okay to shower after eating? or is it bad? Let’s dig into the topic and find out the answer.
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What Happens After You Have a Meal?
Once you eat your meal, your body goes through the process of digestion. The saliva breaks down the food and moves it to the esophagus and then to the stomach.
The blood flows towards your abdomen and stomach to start the digestion process. Then your body releases stomach acid, mainly hydrochloric acid, that breaks down the food.
The digestive enzymes extract the nutrition from the food and supply it to the entire body. Your body increases its temperature during the digestion process.
Why You Shouldn’t Shower After Eating?
You should always avoid taking a shower just after finishing your meal. During the process of digestion, your body increases its temperature in the stomach and the intestine. When you take a shower immediately after having a meal, your body temperature starts going down, interrupting the stomach acid.
Due to this change in external temperature, your brain starts sending a message to the body to decrease the temperature.
The blood flowing towards the abdomen and stomach flows to the other parts of the body to decrease the temperature. Since the body temperature is decreased and the blood circulation flows to the other parts of the body, the digestion process gets interrupted, leading to health issues.
What Does Ayurveda Say About this?
The acid that your body produces for the digestion process is called the digestive fire in Ayurveda. According to Ayurveda, the fire element in the body is responsible for the digestion of food. Taking a shower right after having a meal affects the digestion fire that leads to indigestion. This is the major reason that Ayurveda suggests avoiding taking a shower right after having a meal.
How Long Should You Wait to Take a Shower After Eating?
Digestion is a long process, and it requires a lot of energy and good blood flow for your body to do this process. The digestion time also depends on the food that you eat. The ideal time to wait to take a shower after eating should be at least 20 to 40 minutes.
What Happens if You Take a Shower Immediately After Eating?
Showering right after having a meal leads to indigestion which causes health problems. The undigested food may cause nausea, bloating, and constipation.
Due to indigestion, vitamins, proteins, and minerals in the food will also get destroyed, which can cause tiredness and lower energy levels throughout the day.
Sometimes it can lead to heartburns which provoke acidity in the long run. Showering also increases your heart rate, which can be uncomfortable in the full stomach.
FAQ
Yes, it may cause the accumulation of excess body fat. When you take a shower after eating, the blood flowed to the abdominal flows all over the body. It slows down the digestion process. This undigested food will get rotten in your body’s colon, which leads to fat deposition in your body.
Taking hot showers increases the blood flow all over your body to calm your nerves. Since the blood flow gets interrupted, it again affects the digestion process. It also lowers your blood pressure level and increases your heart rate, which causes discomfort. So it is not advised to take a hot shower right after having a meal.
When you take a shower, the cells in your body will get energized, and your brain sends a signal that your body needs nutrition—taking a shower before a meal helps in better digestion and absorption of nutrients in the food. So it is better to take a shower before having a meal than after eating.
The Bottom Line
Research says that our body temperature increases during the digestion process and it decreases when we take a shower. So your digestion process gets to break up when you take a shower immediately after eating.
It is very important to follow the body’s natural cycle to have a healthy lifestyle. If you want to avoid indigestion, discomfort, or health-related problems, it is always advised to wait at least 20 to 40 minutes to shower after having your meal.
