Is it better to exercise before or after meals?

The choice of exercise time period will have a great impact on ourselves. Many people may not know whether it is better to exercise before or after meals. Only by understanding this aspect in advance can we avoid unnecessary harm to our body due to the issue of exercise time period. Let us understand whether it is better to exercise before or after meals. I hope it will be helpful to everyone.

1. It is best to exercise half an hour after a meal. Exercising before meals at night is on an empty stomach. Exercise requires proper energy. The body's normal energy source is mainly from carbohydrates in the diet. However, when exercising on an empty stomach, the main source of energy is fat. When people exercise on an empty stomach, the free fatty acids in the blood will increase significantly. If the fatty acids, the source of muscle activity, are excessive, they will appear as "poisons" that damage the myocardium, cause arrhythmias, and even lead to sudden death. Therefore, before exercising on an empty stomach, you should drink a glass of milk or eat some cakes, which can reduce the risk of inducing hypoglycemia. On the contrary, exercising half an hour after a meal can effectively avoid the harm of exercising on an empty stomach. You should not exercise immediately after a meal. It is best to exercise half an hour after a meal.

2. It is not advisable to engage in strenuous exercise before or after meals. There should be a certain interval between exercise and meals.

During exercise, the activity of muscles redistributes blood throughout the body, and a large amount of blood flows to the muscles involved in the activity. The blood vessels of internal organs, such as the stomach and intestines, are in a state of relative contraction. Therefore, the digestion and absorption functions are also inhibited, the secretion of gastric juice decreases, and the digestive ability weakens. In addition, the sympathetic nerves are excited during exercise and the secretion of adrenaline is greatly increased, which can also weaken the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract and greatly reduce the secretion of the digestive glands. However, this state cannot be changed immediately after exercise. It takes a certain amount of rest to return to normal, so you cannot eat immediately after intense exercise. If you eat immediately after intense exercise, it will affect your digestion and absorption ability. If this continues for a long time, it will cause symptoms such as indigestion, loss of appetite, and chronic gastritis. Generally speaking, it is more appropriate to rest for half an hour or even longer before eating after exercise.

Similarly, you should not engage in strenuous exercise immediately after a meal. If you engage in strenuous exercise immediately after a meal, the blood that is currently involved in gastrointestinal digestion will be redistributed and flow to organs such as muscles, which will also affect gastrointestinal digestion and absorption.

Participating in intense exercise immediately after a meal can also cause abdominal pain and discomfort due to gastrointestinal vibration and mesenteric involvement, which is not good for the body and exercise. Therefore, you should wait at least one and a half hours after a meal before exercising.

It is very important for us to know in advance whether it is better to exercise before or after meals. It can effectively help us alleviate many problems that we have. Doing some appropriate exercise will have a very good effect, but we must also choose the method that suits us to achieve the best effect.