When is the best time to exercise after a meal?

Many friends like to exercise after meals. Moderate exercise after meals will have certain benefits for enhancing people's immunity and accelerating metabolism. However, you should pay attention to the intensity of the exercise. Too strenuous exercise will cause many adverse effects on the body. Let us learn about which exercises are suitable for after meals and some precautions for exercise after meals.

“Take a hundred steps after a meal, and you will live to be ninety-nine.” People who usually have less activity, especially those who work at a desk for long hours, or those who are overweight or have excessive stomach acid, can promote gastrointestinal motility, help the secretion of gastrointestinal digestive juices and the digestion and absorption of food, and benefit their health if they take a 20-minute walk after a meal. It is recorded in Sheyang Zhenzhong Zhongfang: "Walking a few hundred steps after eating is very beneficial to people." It also means that walking slowly after eating can promote gastrointestinal motility, help the secretion of gastrointestinal digestive juices and the digestion and absorption of food. However, you should not walk briskly, do strenuous exercise, or sit down or lie down to rest immediately after eating.

The time for a walk after a meal should be 20 minutes after a meal, and you should never go out for a walk right after a meal. If you start walking a hundred steps right after a meal, the blood in your body will be distributed more to the active parts of the body such as the trunk and limbs, which will reduce the blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract and the secretion of digestive enzymes. As a result, the food in the stomach cannot be fully digested.

“Walking a hundred steps after a meal” is not suitable for everyone. People with poor physical condition or suffering from diseases such as gastroptosis should not take a walk after a meal. Instead, they should lie down for 10 minutes after a meal. This is because the stomach is full of food after a meal. Performing upright activities at this time will increase the vibration of the stomach, increase the burden on the stomach, and aggravate gastroptosis. Therefore, you should sit quietly after a meal and close your eyes for 30 minutes before any activity. People with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are not suitable for "walking a hundred steps after a meal" because gastrointestinal activity increases after a meal, blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract increases, while blood flow to the brain decreases accordingly. "Walking a hundred steps after a meal" will compete for blood supply to the brain, which is tantamount to adding insult to injury. Patients of this type should sit or lie down to rest after meals, otherwise accidents may occur due to insufficient blood supply to the brain.

Taking a walk after a meal can speed up metabolism, promote blood circulation, and help digest food better. It also has many benefits for the gastrointestinal tract. However, for some friends who suffer from physical illnesses, they must be careful when exercising. Improper exercise may aggravate the condition and increase physical discomfort.